iOS 11: All you need to know

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. Here is the list of features you need to know.

1. Lock Screen/Notification Center

   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.

2. Control Center

   

   Control Center, accessed by swiping upwards from the bottom of the display, takes full screen now.. 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.

3. 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. It integrates with other cloud services like Dropbox, Box, One Drive, Google Drive, and more.

4. Siri

   Siri has been updated with more realistic male and female voices that are designed to more closely mimic natural human speech. Siri can 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.”Type to Siri” is a new 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 like bill paying, task management, and QR codes in iOS 11.

5. Messages(App switcher)

   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.All installed apps and stickers are located in the App Drawer and can be selected with a tap and scrolled through with swipes. The first icon in the App Drawer opens the App Store for downloading new apps. There’s a new Messages in iCloud feature that will let you store all of your iMessages in iCloud. Messages will sync across all devices, including new devices

6. Maps

   iOS 11 supports indoor maps of select malls and airports around the world, displaying full layouts of each location with icons for restaurants, bathrooms, and other notable indoor landmarks. Maps is gaining lane guidance, which is designed to help you avoid missing a sudden turn or an exit by telling you which lane to be in, and it will now display the speed limit of the road that you’re on.

7. Music

   In iOS 11, you can make an Apple Music profile that allows you to share playlists with friends and see your friends’ playlists. Profiles can be set to public or private, as with any social network.

8. Camera

   Now withing camera you can use a slider to select a portion of the Live Photo that looks the best. Since Live Photos are essentially short videos, it’s like pulling the best still shot out of a video.There’s also an option to crop Live Photos to keep only a portion of the motion recording, and there are new Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure options. When you FaceTime someone in iOS 11 on an device that’s capable of taking Live Photos, there’s a new button for capturing a Live Photo during the chat.

9. Notes

   Notes features an Instant Notes option that works with the Apple Pencil, and Inline Drawing for annotating notes with simple sketches and images. Notes includes a new Document Scanner that senses and scans a document, crops the edges, and removes tilt or glare before allowing the document to be edited, saved, and shared. The new Document Scanner is able to effectively replace third-party document scanning apps.

10. Developers bundle

    1. 1. 

          Drag and drop has been integrated throughout iOS and can be used in the following places: Home screen, Dock, Reminders, Calendar, Messages, Spotlight, Files, Safari, Contacts, iBooks, News, Notes, Photos, Maps, Keynote, Pages, and Numbers.

       1. ARKit, a new framework that allows you to easily create unparalleled augmented reality experiences for iPhone and iPad. By blending digital objects and information with the environment around you, ARKit takes apps beyond the screen, freeing them to interact with the real world in entirely new ways.
       2. Core ML, a new foundational machine learning framework used across Apple products, including Siri, Camera, and QuickType. Core ML delivers blazingly fast performance with easy integration of machine learning models enabling you to build apps with intelligent new features using just a few lines of code.
       3. “Core NFC” a new framework that allows apps to read Near Field Communication (NFC) tags. According to Apple, this lets developers create apps that can read tags to “give users more information about their physical environment and the real-world objects in it.” Specific examples include apps that can provide information about items in a store, or exhibits in a museum.

        

To get features already in iOS 10 read my post on iOS10 features. Hope you found this article interesting. If you feel something was missed, do share and comment.