What are the features in iOS 11?
What’s New in iOS 11
Introduced on June 5, 2017 at the Worldwide Developers Conference, iOS 11 is the next-generation version of iOS. As Apple CEO Tim Cook said on stage, the update takes the best and most advanced operating system and turns it up to 11.
iOS 11 brings subtle design changes to interface elements throughout the operating system. Text is bolder, apps like Calculator and Phone have a new look, and the Lock screen and Control Center have been entirely redesigned.
The Control Center is customizable and there are options to include a wider range of settings. It’s no longer split across multiple screens, and 3D Touch integration has expanded, so you can do more without needing to open the Settings app.
Betas
Apple has seeded three betas of iOS 11 to developers and two betas to public beta testers.
Apple introduces multiple changes and feature tweaks over the course of the beta testing period, which can be tracked in our dedicated tidbit posts covering each beta: Beta 2, Beta 3. The most recent beta video, covering beta 3, can also be found below.
Design Changes
Before iOS 11 was unveiled, rumors suggested it would see design changes. We didn’t get a complete overhaul to the design language, but there are indeed subtle design updates throughout the operating system.
Many built-in apps have been refined with darker lines and bolder fonts, with Apple moving away from the thin fonts that have dominated since iOS 7. Some apps, like Phone and Calculator have new designs with darker fonts and round buttons sans borders, while others, like Reminders and Calendar, remain entirely unchanged. Still others, like Messages, Podcasts, and Apple News, feature smaller design tweaks.
Important UI elements like the Control Center and the Lock screen have seen the most significant updates.
Control Center
In iOS 10, Apple split the Control Center, accessed by swiping upwards from the bottom of the display, into multiple windows. In iOS 11, it’s back to a single consolidated window and it has an entirely new look with bubble-style icons. There are two top sections for basic networking options and Apple Music controls, plus sliders for volume and brightness. Smaller icons are available for rotation lock, Do Not Disturb, and other options.
Instead of taking up just the bottom half of the display when brought up, Control Center now takes over the entire iPhone screen. Because the Control Center is no longer restricted to half the display, it can offer access to a wider range of functions, which can be customized.
In the Settings app, there’s a section for choosing which features you want to be able to access in the Control Center, and there are quite a few options available. Low Power Mode can be added to the Control Center, for example, and there’s even an option to add an Apple TV remote.
- Flashlight
- Timer
- Calculator
- Camera
- Accessibility Shortcut
- Alarm
- Apple TV Remote
- Do Not Disturb While Driving
- Guided Access
- Home
- Low Power Mode
- Magnifier
- Notes
- Screen Recording
- Stopwatch
- Text Size
- Voice Memos
- Wallet
You can add all of the options to Control Center if you want, or just what’s most relevant to your usage habits.
Along with new customization options, Control Center also has expanded 3D Touch access. A 3D Touch on one of the icons brings up additional options. For example, with the Music icon, play controls are accessible by default, but with a 3D Touch, a bigger playback window opens up with song info and more granular control options.
3D Touch options are available for all of the Control Center settings that are more complex than just a simple toggle on/off button.
While the Control Center takes up the full display on the iPhone, it works differently on the iPad. A swipe up from the bottom of the screen opens up the App Switcher, where Control Center is located on the right side of the display in both landscape and portrait mode.
Lock Screen
The Lock screen and the Notification Center have been merged into one entity in iOS 11. When you pull down from the top of the iPhone or iPad’s display to access your notifications, it’s the Lock screen that comes down now instead of a separate Notification Center window.
Once on the Lock screen, missed notifications are prominently displayed, while recent notifications you’ve already seen can be accessed by a second upward swipe in the middle of the display. A second upward swipe from the middle of the display brings you back to the Home screen.
The Notification Center “Today” view that houses widgets continues to be accessible from the Lock screen and the Home screen with a swipe to the right.
What’s New With Siri
Siri improves with each iteration of iOS, and iOS 11 is no exception. Siri has been updated with more realistic male and female voices that are designed to more closely mimic natural human speech. Apple says Siri’s new voice options are powered by deep learning for better pronunciation and a more expressive voice.
In iOS 11, Siri is using on-device learning to understand more about your preferences, allowing the personal assistant to learn more about your interests to better anticipate what you might need next. Siri is also syncing that information across all of iOS and Mac devices so the Siri experience is the same regardless of what product you’re using.
Cross-device Siri syncing is a new feature that’s going to make Siri smarter faster, but Apple had privacy in mind when enabling this function. End-to-end encryption is in place so the data being shared is readable only by your devices.
These new Siri features will let Siri do things like suggest a topic you might like in Apple News based on Safari browsing habits, or suggest a Calendar reminder for an appointment you’ve booked on the web. Or when you’re typing, Siri might suggest things based on what you’ve recently viewed — names of movies or places, for example. Siri can also suggest Safari searches based on what you’ve been reading, or if you let a friend know you’re on your way, Siri can offer up an estimated time of arrival using QuickType suggestions.
When using Siri, you might notice a new icon at the bottom of the display in iOS 11, and you can now ask Siri to translate English to Chinese, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Apple plans to expand translation languages over the coming months.
As part of enhancements to Apple Music, Siri is able to learn your music tastes and instantly bring up content you’ll like when you ask Siri to play some music. Siri is also able to answer Music-related trivia in iOS 11, like “Who is the drummer in this song?”
With new Accessibility options, available in the Settings app, there’s a new “Type to Siri” feature you can turn on that allows you to type your Siri queries instead of speaking them aloud.
Finally, the SiriKit API that allows developers to add Siri integration into their apps works with more kinds of apps. SiriKit was previously limited to ride scheduling, banking, messaging, photo search, VoIP calling, and car controls, but it has expanded to encompass bill paying, task management, and QR codes in iOS 11.
The Files App
There is no iCloud Drive app in iOS 11, because it’s been expanded into a more comprehensive “Files” app that’s designed to mimic the Finder app on the Mac. Files houses all of the content stored locally on the iPhone or iPad, iCloud content, app content, and content stored in other cloud services like Dropbox, Box, One Drive, Google Drive, and more.
Files is well-organized and offers up quick access to all content that’s stored on an iOS device. Like Finder for Mac, it’s searchable, has a section for viewing all recently accessed files, and it supports tags, spring-loading, nested folders, and favorites. Adding a tag to a file for organizational purposes is as simple as dragging the file to the tag color of your choice.
Developers are able to add Files integration into their apps, so individual apps will also be listed in the Files app, making it simpler than ever to transfer documents, photos, videos, and other content between apps.
Files is available on both the iPhone and the iPad, and while many users will likely never need to access the Files folder because much of the file management on iOS is automatic, it’s a nice feature for pro users.
iOS 11 for the iPad
iOS 10 was an operating system update that largely ignored the iPad, but Apple made up for it in iOS 11 with a range of iPad only features that cater to users who want to use the tablet as a full PC replacement. In addition to the new Files app, there are several other new functions in iOS 11 that iPad users have long wanted.
Dock
The Dock on the iPad has been expanded in iOS 11, and it’s a lot more like the dock on the Mac. Before iOS 11, the Dock was only accessible from the Home screen, but now it’s persistent and can be pulled up in any app.
A quick swipe up from the bottom iPad’s display will bring up the Dock regardless of what you’re doing on the iPad, which makes accessing your favorite apps and switching between them much faster. The Dock is able to hold up to 13 apps, along with a user’s most recently used app and Continuity icons when using Handoff.
The Dock can be used for multitasking purposes. Bringing up the Dock while using an app and then dragging a Dock icon upwards will pop up a new window. The secondary window can be used for a quick task and then swiped away, or it can be pulled into a Slide Over or Split View window. If Slide Over or Split View are already in use, the open windows can be changed by dragging an app icon from the Dock.
App Switcher
While the newly revamped Dock offers a quick way to switch between apps, Apple has also included a revamped iPad App Switcher in iOS 11. Accessible with a double tap on the Home button or a double upwards screen swipe, the App Switcher is similar to Mission Control on the Mac. It shows the Dock and a tiled view of the apps that are open, with the most recently used apps at the forefront.
The App Switcher is where the Control Center is located on the iPad. Control Center icons are at the right of the App Switcher display, giving iPad users a streamlined way to access apps and change settings all in one location.
There’s one other notable thing about App Switcher — it preserves your current Split View or Slide Over multitasking windows, so you can quickly access a third app without needing to interrupt a split-screen workflow.
Drag and Drop
A new Drag and Drop feature allows text, links, photos, files, and more to be transferred between one app to another without the need to bother with in-app share sheets. A tap and a hold with a finger initiates a drag action, while another finger can be used to bring up the Dock or access the Home screen to open up another app where the item being dragged can be dropped.
Drag and Drop is especially useful in Split View mode, where it’s simple to drag files between two open apps on the iPad’s display. Multiple items can be dragged and dropped at the same.
QuickType Keyboard
The keyboard on the iPad now uses flicks as a way to enter numbers and symbols without the need to use a shift key. All of the keys now display both letters and numbers/symbols, and a downward swipe or a “flick” can be used to type a symbol or a number instead of the letter on the key.
Typing symbols and numbers this way is simple, intuitive, and quicker than taking the time to use the shift key. Holding down on a key continues to bring up special characters with accent marks. The new flick feature is available on all iPad models except the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
Apple Pencil
For iPad Pro models, Apple Pencil support has been expanded with new features and functionality that allows it to work anywhere in the operating system, similar to a standard stylus or a finger. In previous versions of iOS, the Apple Pencil could only be used within certain apps, but there is system-wide support in iOS 11.
Instant Markup
Instant Markup is a feature that allows essentially anything on the iPad to be annotated using the Apple Pencil.
Taking a screenshot, for example, now brings up a small icon in the corner of the screen, and a tap on the icon opens up a Markup interface where the screenshot can be edited using simple drawing tools. A similar feature is available for all kinds of other documents through a new “Markup Through PDF” Share Sheet option that converts any document into a PDF and then opens up Markup. Anything that can be printed can use the “Markup Through PDF” feature.
These Markup features were designed to be used with the Apple Pencil on the iPad, but a finger works just as well — the Apple Pencil is not required. Instant Markup is also available on the iPhone, where a finger or a stylus can be used for editing.
Inline Drawing and Instant Notes
Two other features have been added with the Apple Pencil in mind — Instant Notes and Inline Drawing. With Instant Notes, a tap of the Apple Pencil on the Lock screen of the iPad Pro will automatically open up the Notes app, allowing you to quickly start a new notes document.
Inline Drawing is available in Notes and Mail and allows simple drawings to be added right inside of a note or an email message. Inline Drawing was also designed with the Apple Pencil in mind, and Inline Drawing options will automatically pop up when using the Apple Pencil, but it also works on both the iPad and the iPhone without the pencil.
App Updates in iOS 11
Messages and Apple Pay
In iOS 10, Apple introduced apps for Messages and an iMessage App Store. In iOS 11, there’s a new App Drawer located below the text entry in Messages that’s designed to make it easier to access apps and stickers. Read full post
