As Apple launches its iOS 17, the excitement in the air is palpable. We've been working relentlessly to optimize our suite of apps and unleash their full potential with iOS 17's innovative tools.
This latest OS chapter has captured our interest, but at Readdle, we're especially keen on one innovation: Widgets. It all began with iOS 14 when Apple first introduced them. From that moment, we’ve championed their potential, working side-by-side with Apple to showcase how widgets can reshape our experiences. If you haven't used them yet, iOS 17 shows how one tap with widgets can be personal, beautiful, and useful.
Our vision? For your iPhone and your iPad to be more than just a device. We see it as your partner in productivity, your personal assistant, a tool to help you truly appreciate life's moments, and with the integration of iOS 17 into our apps, a gateway to an elevated digital day-to-day.
We have always envisioned an ecosystem where daily tasks are elevated to experiences of convenience and productivity. By intertwining the capabilities of iOS 17 with our suite of apps, we're set to make your everyday digital interactions nothing short of extraordinary.
Here's a peek at what's new in Calendars, Spark, Scanner Pro, Documents, and PDF Expert.
Calendars: glimpse your life and elevate productivity with widgets
Calendars is stepping up with a suite of new tools aimed at enhancing your scheduling experience. Managing time effectively is paramount, and our Calendars app is here to ensure you're always a step ahead. With the advent of iOS 17, Calendars is pioneering advancements in both functionality and design. Here’s a deep dive into what’s new:
Widgets: The heart of Calendars experience
Widgets have become a quintessential part of the Calendars experience. Many of our users have actively embraced the convenience of having a mini calendar right on their home screen. Given the impressive traction, we took full advantage of iOS 17 to enhance and diversify our widgets collection. The existing favorites, the compact month calendar, and the medium-sized date+agenda are a testament to the app's versatility. They cater to power users with jam-packed schedules and more casual users with sporadic calendar entries.
New interactive widgets for iPhone
Widgets have evolved in iOS 17. Calendars now offers interactive widgets that not only update automatically but also let you take actions directly from the widget itself, without needing to open the app. This adds a new layer of accessibility and functionality to your user experience.
Here's what you can expect:
- Icon with current date: We've created a widget that serves as a larger app icon with the date. It shows you the current date and opens the app with a single tap, giving you both style and functionality.
- Bi-weekly view with load indicators: The colored circle indicators provide an overview of your schedule intensity over a fortnight, perfect for visualizing work-life balance.
- Large interactive Week+Agenda Widget: Think of it as a mini calendar app right on your home screen. Ideal for those with hefty schedules.
- Month calendar options: Catering to all, whether you prefer a detailed view or a quick glance.
- Stand-by mode: Turn your iPhone into a smart display with our new update. Whether it's on your nightstand or your desk, enjoy a dimmed, always-on screen that showcases useful widgets. It's convenience on a whole new level, day or night.
Unprecedented support for iPadOS 17
We're committed to ensuring a smooth transition and user experience with iPadOS 17. Not only will the app run seamlessly, but both our existing and newly introduced Calendars widgets. You'll find all the iPhone widgets and some bigger ones exclusive to iPad on your home screen. For the lock screen, we're keeping it simple with smaller widgets for quick access. This way, both your iPad and iPhone offer a seamless widget experience.
Spark: interactive widget integration and iPad optimizations
With iOS 17, Spark is set to improve your email management process even further. Widgets, particularly within Spark, enable us to explore fresh avenues for inventive experiences, diminishing the reliance on laptops.
The integration of Interactive Widgets allows you to mark emails as done swiftly right from your home screen, eliminating the need to open the app. But that's not all: Spark App Intents and Shortcuts further amplify your user experience. These new shortcuts streamline various tasks:
- Open Priority List in Spark: Directly access all Priority emails in a unique view.
- Email 'I'm Late’ in Spark: In case you're behind schedule, this shortcut sends a templated message to participants of your upcoming event, informing them of the delay.
- Send Latest Photo in Spark: Need to attach a recent photo quickly? This shortcut pulls the most recent image taken on your iPhone and attaches it to a new Spark email draft.
- Open Next Meeting in Spark: Stay on top of your commitments by viewing the agenda for your closest scheduled event in the Spark Calendar.
- Create a Calendar Event: Jump straight into scheduling with the Spark Calendar.
For our iPad users, we're introducing a better approach to handling your emails. Now, effortlessly drag and drop files directly onto the app icon in the dock, prompting the email draft window to pop up with the attachments pre-loaded. Plus, navigate using the enhanced window relocation functionality via the navigation bar.
PDF Expert: simplifying PDF usage through the power of iOS 17
Breeze through routine PDF tasks, benefit from intuitive workflows, and have fun editing PDFs, with the latest iOS 17 adaptations in PDF Expert.
Jump right into action with Spotlight shortcuts
No longer wade through layers of menus to get to your favorite actions. With the integration of App Shortcuts for Spotlight in iOS 17, PDF Expert elevates your user experience by offering direct access to pivotal actions. Convert to PDF, Merge Files, Compress PDF, or Scan PDF – now just a Spotlight search away on your iPhone.
Have some fun with your PDFs
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PDF Expert isn't just about business. The upcoming support for iOS emojis and stickers will allow you to sprinkle your documents with a personal touch, making PDF interactions more delightful. Imagine annotating with your favorite stickers, adding flair and emotion to your comments!
Drag, drop, done…
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For our iPad aficionados, simplicity is being redefined. Envision dragging files of diverse formats and dropping them onto the PDF Expert icon in your dock. An instinctive workflow is at your fingertips, ensuring your productivity never skips a beat.
Take the stage with seamless inter-app communication
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And there's more for iPad users! With the advancements in iOS 17's Stage Manager, PDF Expert promises a fluid exchange of information between apps, catering to those multitaskers seeking efficient inter-app communication.
These enhancements aren't just features; they're responses to user needs, ensuring PDF Expert provides the best experience for Apple users.
Documents: elevating your creativity and organization
Documents is also stepping up with iOS17 from day one. A standout tool lets you lift objects from your photos and videos, offering creative freedom like never before. Sharing these has been made effortless, too.
Documents adopts the utility of the volume button, allowing it to act as a shutter. This not only provides a consistent user experience across our suite but also ensures comfort during scanning or capturing activities.
Looking for something within Documents? The new Shortcuts in Spotlight guarantees a swift search, ensuring you get to what you need faster.
Scanner Pro: turning physical into digital with ease
Scanner Pro is bringing a new level of convenience to your document scanning. With iOS 17's launch, our newest update lets you find us even quicker through Spotlight, ensuring those essential tasks like scanning or opening recent documents are one tap away. We've enhanced App Shortcuts for a smoother, more intuitive experience. In short, we've finessed the user experience to make it more intuitive and efficient than ever.
Embracing the future
We're thrilled about the launch of iOS 17 and are devoted to maximizing its potential across our suite of apps. By making our apps more personalized and efficient, like iOS 17, we believe we're offering a new way to appreciate life's moments.
Our dedication is to making your life easier, more organized, and ultimately more enjoyable by optimizing your device usage. We are excited to continue this journey with you and the new possibilities that iOS 17 brings. Widgets allow us to open up new opportunities to create innovative experiences and reduce the need for laptops.
All these updates will be available coinciding with the release of iOS 17 in just a few days (September 18). Stay tuned for more as we continue to innovate and enhance your experience with our suite of apps.
The Readdle Team 
