The iPhone 15 may be the biggest news of the week, but phones aren’t the only new things coming to Apple’s ecosystem in the next few weeks. In fact it’s now been revealed that iOS 17 will overhaul the ringtone and text tones on your devices — with over 20 new sounds to choose from.
Reflection is still the default ringtone option, in case you have any sentimental attachment to that particular tone. But it’s joined by a bunch of new sounds that are both longer and designed to sound a little more modern than their predecessors.
They also have the typically abstract names like “Breaking”, “Milky Way” “Valley” and “Sprinkles”.
Any die hard fans of the older ringtones won’t be missing out, though. While iOS 17’s newest ringtones will be more accessible from the Sound & Haptics menu, the old tones will still be around. You’ll just have to find the “Classic” section.
It’s the same deal for the text tones, with 10 new sounds to choose from. That way you can set your texts and notifications to one of the brand new sounds that haven’t been around long enough to drive people crazy. Seriously, though, is it such a bad thing to just mute your phone when you're around other people?
The old sounds are sticking around, but they’re also getting moved to the “Classic” menu. So if you have a sense of nostalgia for the older iOS text tones, if such a thing is even possible, you can still choose the more familiar sounds rather than accept the inevitable advance of change.
iOS 17 is due to arrive on September 18, just 4 days before the release of the iPhone 15. Those of you running the iOS 17 beta can enjoy these new tones right now, but those of you that aren't, and have no desire to upgrade to the iPhone 15, don't have to wait very long to see what's going on — and enjoy the other new features iOS 17 will have to offer.
That includes the new ring and text tones, if you so wish, alongside the new StandBy Mode, offline maps, new interactive widgets, contact posters, NameDrop and other AirDrop upgrades, Live Voicemail and the ability to summon Siri without having to say “hey” first.
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