Live Voicemail

With iOS 17, your iPhone now has a built-in answering machine. With Live Voicemail turned on, your iPhone will automatically answer any calls you miss or decline, play your voicemail greeting, and immediately start recording whatever message the caller is leaving you.

As they’re doing this, you’ll see the message transcribed on your iPhone in real-time, so you can see what they’re saying as they’re leaving the message without having to wait to check it later. More significantly, you can also pick up the call and break in on the message, just like an old-school answering machine from the eighties.

The Live Voicemail gets saved to your Voicemail list the same way a normal Visual Voicemail does, and your carrier’s Visual Voicemail service is still there to back you up for those times when your iPhone is turned off, in Airplane Mode, or otherwise out of cellular coverage.