Apple fan? Then you probably already know that iOS 11 was announced by Tim Cook recently at WWDC 2017. With a breadth of new features, it’s sometimes a bit overwhelming when a new version of iOS comes out. After all, the days of marquee features like copy and paste are now long gone. In its place are a number of smaller, quality-of-life-focused additions that Cupertino promises will vastly improve your overall experience. Let’s take a look, shall we?
Synchronized Conversations
Hallelujah, Synchronized Conversations are finally here. While in the past your messages would be sent to all of your devices, users would often complain that when they would delete a conversation on their tablet, for example, that the deleted message would still show up on a phone or Mac. Now you’ll never have to worry about losing your messages them or having to delete them twice. What’s more, your messages will be stored on iCloud so you’ll be able to retrieve them whenever you’d like.
Peer-To-Peer Transactions
You probably noticed peer-to-peer transactions becoming a mainstream hit. Naturally, Apple jumped on this opportunity and decided to expand their peer-to-peer transactions on Venmo and Square Cash. iOS 11 will be introducing the Apple Pay Cash Card where you’ll be able to receive funds from peer-to-peer transactions and have that money transferred to your bank account.
Siri
Another favorite of the Apple features is Siri. Well, Apple’s been working on Siri and has made the voice sound more natural when speaking to users. What’s the amazing part of Siri now, is that it’ll be able to translate from English to Chinese, Italian, German, Spanish or French. In addition, Siri is also becoming “smarter.” Siri will be able to use on-device learning which means it’ll be able to learn the topics or phrases you browse most often on Siri.
Updated Camera
Everyone loves the iPhone for its camera, and we don’t blame them. Most publications agree — the iPhone’s camera is the best on the market right now. iOS 11 brings with it an updated Camera app that’ll allow users to take Portrait mode images with optical image stabilization either by using flash or HDR. It’ll also include new loop and bounce effects that you’ll be able to use on live photos. In addition, the HEIF Apple is using will be able to essentially shrink the amount of storage your photos need on your iPhone, so you’ll be able to store more photos than before.
Redesigned Control Center
iOS 11 has a completely redesigned control center that is broken up into various “panels”. One panel will highlight your most frequently used icons and settings and another will be entirely dedicated to music. Looks like Apple is staying true to its iPod roots after all. Oh, and say goodbye to the frosted glass look. The new Control Center is all clear, baby.
New Dock and Drag and Drop
This new feature is exclusively for the iPad. iOS 11 makes it so that the iPad’s dock will function very similarly to how it does in macOS. This means that you’ll be able to add more apps to it and even customize it to your liking. The new drag and drop feature will also allow you to move media around from one side if the split-screen to the other. Finally!
Simplified Files App
With iOS 11, you’ll be able to easily access your files on your device and see the ones that are also stored on your iCloud, OneDrive and Dropbox. It’s not a huge addition, but it’s a nice feature to have on your iPhone or iPad.
Indoor Maps
Apple is featuring indoor maps of airports and shopping centers in selected cities. You’ll be able to receive the layouts for these cities: Chicago, San Francisco, San Jose, Tokyo, Washington, DC, Hong Kong, Boston, LA, New York and Philadelphia. You won’t have to waste time finding your way through a busy airport or crowded shopping mall – Apple is helping you out.
Updated Maps
Apple is hoping that iOS 11 will bring you back to Apple Maps. The new update brings speed limits, land guides and a “Do Not Disturb While Driving” feature. This “Do Not Disturb While Driving” feature prevents texts from annoying you to no end while you hit the pavement. Waiting for something urgent? Senders will also be allowed the option to send “priority” messages in case you really need to see that text.
