iOS 11 has been finallyreleased to the public. We sharedApple’s official release notesyesterday, but we’ve spent a little time of our own coming up with any changes and features not present in iOS 10.
There is an unbelievable amount of things to touch on, so we highly recommend watching our video to see it all in action.
For those who would rather scan through our list, we highlighted a few of the most important features up top before getting to the all inclusive index below.
Control Center
Gone are the cards that occupied Control Center in the past. It is now a full screen overlay that is fully customizable by you. Many controls have additional functions with a 3D Touch, such as the communications widget. When you 3D Touch it, you have expanded options like cellular (finally!) and personal hotspot toggles.
We also have several new additions to Control Center. Screen recording is finally native, so you don’t need any odd apps orQuicktime to accomplish. This is really great to show something on your phone, and share it with a friend. The Apple TV remote widget is also something I’ve come to rely on. A simple swipe of the Control Center is often a lot faster than actually finding my Siri Remote in real life. A few others include a Low Power Mode toggle, alarm, and Wallet shortcuts.
Files is a completely new app inside of iOS 11, though technically it replaces the iCloud Drive application currently available. It allows you easy access to not only your iCloud Drive files, but third-party cloud storage apps as well such as Amazon Drive, Google Drive, Dropbox, and more. It is incredibly handy to have all of these in one location.
There are real file management features here including favorites, recent files, recently deleted, and tags. iCloud Drive has also been upgraded to a true cloud storage platform with the ability to share files with anyone. you’re able to share a file or folder with specific people, or share a link.
Augmented Reality is making its way to iPhones withARKit, a new framework for developers. Wedemoed itearly on, but we’veseencountlessotherusesfrom developers, leading up to the official release. Everything from locating lost objects in AR to ordering food off a menu.
Though iOS 11 just launched, we’ve seen some app updates from prominent developers that have included ARKit support. The fact so many are building it in appears to show just how easy it is for developers to utilize.
Camera and Photos
There is a lot to be said for camera and photo updates in iOS 11. Portrait mode got several nice additions like the ability to add filters, improved image quality, OIS, flash, and HDR support.
Live Photos are even more powerful now as well. You can choose your own key frame now if there is a better one available. You can trim the start and end points, so you can get rid of any unnecessary footage that was included.
A really fun aspect is new Live Photo effects, like Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure. Long Exposure is a personal favorite, and looks really great with moving water or traffic. Basically, any moving objects get a motion blur, while the rest stays sharp. Creating an effect normally reserved for DSLRs and a long shutter.
Other big improvements
CarPlay got a lot of nice additions, and the new lane guidance and speed limits feel at home here more than ever. HomeKit got some newly supported accessories, occupancy gates so scenes don’t run if you aren’t home, and support for notifications, only when you’re away.
The App Store got a whole new refresh, starting with a new icon. There is a new featured stories page with interesting editorials and compilations of Apple’s favorite apps. There have been behind the scenes stories, fresh looks at indie games, and more. All of this leads to new App Store specific pages which are a very much needed update.
Lest we forget, all of the new iPad specific features like drag and drop, new expanded and predictive dock, and improved split view. Apple revamped the app switcher completely, combining the dock, app switcher, and Control Center into one new interface.
Full list of changes and features
Here is the full list of what we cover in the video of changes we’ve found inside of iOS 11.
Weather App
Phone & FaceTime
Notification Center, Spotlight, and Lock Screen
iPad Specific Features
Other App Tweaks
Be sure to let us know down in the comments if you find anything we missed!
