IOS 11: what's new

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Lifehacker studied the functions of the new Apple operating system and talks about the new features that your iPhone and iPad will receive after the update.

This is a detailed overview of all the new features and changes in iOS 11. For those who do not want to spend a lot of time, we have also prepared the most concise version.

Design

The first thing that catches your eye is the new status line. The dots of the signal strength indicator have been replaced by more compact sticks, which many have missed since the days of iOS 7. The battery indicator has also undergone changes, but not so dramatically. They just added a semi-transparent stroke to it.

The icons in the Dock have disappeared signatures, it has become more airy. At first it is a little unusual, but then you realize that this is the correct and logical step - it is simply impossible to get confused in the applications that you open dozens of times a day.

But the fonts in the captions of the rest of the icons have become more contrasting and readable. Apple ditched thin, lightweight fonts in favor of bold ones. These were used in the Apple Music app in iOS 10.

The App Store, iTunes Store and Calculator applications received new icons. The latter even received a redesign of the interface and received nice round buttons. The dialer now has the same buttons in the dialer.

New lock screen

The lock screen has changed a bit. Now, when you press the Home button, the display turns on with a beautiful animation. To view recent notifications, you need to swipe up. Also, the lock screen itself, along with notifications, can be quickly viewed in any application by making the usual swipe down from the top edge of the display.

Another innovation is the emergency calls function, which is instantly activated if you press the lock button five times in a row. Function parameters and emergency numbers can be set in the settings item of the same name.

New "Control Center"

A big and long-awaited innovation in Control Center is that it can finally be customized. For the occasion, Apple also completely redesigned the menu interface, making it look like a real remote. The volume and brightness sliders have become larger, and some of the items contain additional menus with advanced functions that are available by holding your finger on the icon even on devices without 3D Touch.

Camera and photo

There are three new effects for Live Photos. Playback can be looped back, played forward or backward, and you can apply the Long Exposure effect, which will help you simulate a slow shutter speed like on a DSLR.

In the camera itself, new filters are now available, an optimized compression format for video that will save space, as well as remembering the previous shooting mode and a QR code scanner. In the "Photos" application, you can turn off the face scanning function using the corresponding option in the settings.

App Store

Apple has completely redesigned the app store. In addition to an updated design with a more minimalist style, the App Store has a new structure, curated collections and articles from editors, as well as a new search interface, app pages and a purchase screen.

Siri

Siri now has a new icon and design. In addition, the virtual assistant has become smarter and has a more human voice. From now on, Siri learns and remembers what kind of music you listen to in order to suggest new items. Also, it can be accessed not only by voice, but also using text commands.

iMessage

iMessage just got better. Apple has added several new effects for messages, expanded the work of add-ons, and also introduced the function of sending money to interlocutors directly via chat. In addition, the history of all chats is now stored in the cloud and is available on any of your devices, even on the new iPhone 8.

Files app

ICloud Drive has been replaced by the new Files app, which is similar to the Finder in macOS. It has access to all your documents from iCloud, and also has the ability to connect Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, Google Drive and other services.

Notes

Built-in "Notes" have changed for the better, so the need for third-party solutions is now even less. To turn paper documents into digital ones, Apple has added a scanner function. There are also control gestures, the ability to insert tables and change the background of the paper - several lined options are available to choose from.

Cards

"Maps" got an updated design and a couple of new features. Now you have room maps to help you navigate inside airports and large shopping centers. Also, thanks to the "Desired lane" function, "Maps" will prompt in advance when it will be necessary to rebuild for a turn, and show speed limits directly on the display.

The new Do Not Disturb Driver mode prevents annoying notifications and calls from distracting you from the road. It automatically turns on while driving and mutes all incoming signals. In this case, everyone who tries to contact you will be warned that you are driving.

Apple Music

Improvements to the interface have not spared Apple Music either. The app now has friends' profiles showing their playlists and musical finds, as well as the ability to share your favorite tracks. The mini player on the lock screen has also received a more minimalistic and airy design.

QuickType keyboard

The standard on-screen keyboard in iOS 11 is much more user-friendly with QuickType. A small but very nice improvement shifts the keyboard left or right, making it easy to type with one hand. The corresponding menu opens by long pressing the button for switching the layout. From here you can also get into the keyboard settings.

Settings

Several new items have also appeared in the settings themselves. The accounts and passwords menu, reminiscent of 1Password, contains your usernames and passwords protected with Touch ID. Here you can quickly find, view and change them.

The changes also affected the "Storage" menu. Now it has a visual scale showing the ratio of occupied space between programs, media files, books and mail. It also gives recommendations for cleaning the place in various ways. One of them is unloading unused software, in which applications are temporarily removed from the iPhone, but all their settings are saved with the possibility of full recovery.

AR Kit

The new technology of augmented reality allows using the camera to add non-existent objects to the screen. The corresponding APIs are open to developers. There are already several applications that demonstrate the capabilities of the technology. Among them there is a virtual fitting room of IKEA furniture, a game based on The Walking Dead, as well as an application from Giphy that allows you to superimpose GIFs on surrounding objects and take photos with them.

Other

There are also many other innovations. For example, iOS 11 has an automatic iPhone setup feature. To transfer data to a new smartphone, you just need to bring the old one to it.

A quick screenshot editor has also appeared, allowing you to immediately go to editing through a small button that appears a few seconds after shooting. Basic tools are available, such as cropping, captioning, drawing, and other features familiar from macOS Preview.

In addition to extended work with screenshots, it became possible to record screencasts. The corresponding button is located in the "Control Center", and after the end of recording the video is saved in the gallery.

It has become more convenient to customize desktop icons. Thanks to the multi-selection function, you can move several icons at a time. To do this, you need to start dragging one, and then touch the others.

The proprietary AirPlay technology was developed. Its second version provides an even smarter approach to controlling your home audio system. You can network multiple speakers together, or play the same song by selecting the volume for each room.

IPad improvements

For the iPad, Apple has prepared even more interesting innovations. With a new Dock that can accommodate more apps, your tablet will look even more like a Mac. The right side of the panel contains frequently used applications and recent programs from your other devices, and you can open files and switch between them by simply swiping on the icon.

The redesigned multitasking menu has become much more convenient, which now allows you to quickly switch from one application to another, and also remembers the combinations of the last used applications.

In addition, Apple has added a full-fledged drag and drop functionality. Now with Slide Over and Split View modes, you can easily transfer media files, documents or text from one application to another.