In the recent iPhone event, Apple also announced the official launch date for the iOS 11 update. An upgrade for both the iPhones and the iPads that were first announced back in June, and it’s finally be coming on September 19th.
The iOS 11 is designed to work well with Apple’s mobile products. But more importantly, it has an exclusive set of features per type of device that will take full advantage of their capabilities. Hence, iOS 11 is feature packed to work seamlessly with the iPad’s large screen, the iPhones’ impressive cameras, and of course — the iPhone X’ contemporary screen.
What’s new with iOS 11?
App Store
- Redesigned App Store
- New “Today” tab that showcases new apps
- New “Games” tab shows the most popular titles
- Some games pages show stories, guides, and more
- New “Apps” tab shows top picks, charts, and categories
- Added more video previews, better access to ratings, badges, and detailed in-app purchases info on App pages.
Siri
- Siri’s voice gets more natural and expressive
- Suggestions based from the activities on Safari, News, Mail, and Messages
- English word and phrases translator (Chinese, Italian, German, French, or Spanish)
- Hindi and Shanghainese dictation
- Account transfer and balances with banking apps
- Create to-do lists, notes and reminders with the Notes App
Camera
- OIS, HDR, True Tone flash now works in Portrait mode
- HEIF and HEVC image and video formats for lower memory size
- Nine filters optimized for natural skin tones
- QR codes can automatically be identified
Photos
- New Live Photos effects: Bounce, Loop, Long Exposure
- More accurate and up to date People Album thanks to iCloud
- Live Photos can be muted, trimmed, or change the key photo
- Portrait and landscape orientation on Memory Movies
- New memory types
- Support for Animated GIFs
Maps
- Indoor Maps in select shopping malls and airports
- Lane guidance and turn-by-turn directions
- Speed limit information
- One-handed zoom, double tap, and swipe
- Flyover interaction by device movement
See also: Apple iPhone 8 and 8 Plus: 70% faster CPU, Improved Dual Cameras, Wireless Charging
Do Not Disturb while Driving
- Activated automatically when you start driving
- Optional iMessage auto-reply to notify contacts you’re driving
And of course, there’s a lot of drastic design changes on the iOS’ looks with its 11th iteration. For one, the control center is now more useful. For the longest time ever, you can now enable/disable Cellular data right from the Control Center. This is because it is now fully customizable. You can also adjust the volume from there, and orient everything whatever way you want.
Furthermore, you can expect a lot of AR integrations as Apple is betting big on the said technology.
The iPhone X also gets some exclusive new features. Due to the omitted Home Button, Apple had to resort to on-screen gesture. Swiping from the bottom up launches the home page. Swipe up and pause reveals the multitasking tab. You’ll also be getting Animojis, Face ID, and new camera featured – all are activated thanks to the device’s TrueDepth camera.
On the other hand, the iPads will have features that only its users will enjoy. Most of them actually are made for multitasking. In iOS 11, you can now access the dock anywhere, even when you’re inside an app. You can also drag and drop texts, images, and files in split screen mode.
And speaking of files, the iPads will be getting a “Files” app. A feature that Apple finally enables. This lets you organize files the way you want them to. To learn more about iOS 11 for the iPad, you can check out our dedicated article here.
Like I said earlier, the iOS 11 is arriving on September 19th for both the iPhone and iPads.
iOS 11 is compatible with the following Apple devices:
iPhone
- iPhone 5s
- iPhone SE
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6s Plus
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone X
iPad
- iPad mini 2
- iPad mini 3
- iPad mini 4
- iPad 5th Gen
- iPad Air
- iPad Air 2
- iPad Pro 9.7-inch
- iPad Pro 10.5-inch
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1nd Gen)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd Gen)
iPod
- iPod Touch 6th Gen
Source: Apple