Cranking iOS up to 11

6 months ago in Apple, Articles, Reviews by Wardy Miller | No Comments

First, I kinda stole that line from Tim during the keynote, but it applies. Before we get started I want to say this review in no way will be able to cover all the new features of iOS 11, but hopefully it will cover enough to persuade you to download it and see the additional things the OS has to offer. iOS 11 is slightly different this time. While there is a huge amount of update goodness in iPhone. There is more in iPad and even more in iPad Pro. For this review I’ll stick to the iPhone.

Files – Files was a new app that was added to iOS to give you access to the files you keep in your iCloud drive. But wait there’s more!!! You can also add other file sharing apps such as Dropbox, G-Drive, Box, Onedrive and so on. This gives you the opportunity to access your files regardless of the sharing service they are located on.

Screen Shots – I tend to take a lot of screenshots for demonstration purposes and so forth, and this new feature allows me to not only take a screenshot, but I can also mark it up and send it off without using multiple applications.
Apple Pay – In iOS 11 you will be able to use Apple pay through messenger to send money to anyone with an iPhone. (Note: This was not available at launch, but the website says coming this fall)

Photos – The live photos you take have just gotten more fun. In addition to being able to skim through the live photo to find the exact shot you want, there are also filters that can be applied real-time as well as some fun effects such as Loop, Bounce and Long Exposure. I have my favorites, but I’m not going to try to influence you. You’ll have to explore these on your own.

App Store –  This might sound unimportant, but it is a big deal. The redesigned app store is much cleaner and easier to navigate. In addition to being curated and new app/game selections posted daily.

Siri – Siri is now using even deeper machine learning to anticipate what you want and make suggestions before you ask. Any information that is not stored on the devices is encrypted “in flight” keeping your information private. For example, Siri will learn what you are interested in and can make suggestions in the News app.

Control Center – Control Center is one of the most hyped features of iOS 11 and it should be. Control Center is now a single page. No more swiping to get to the music app. You can also configure what buttons are available to you.

Do Not Disturb – This has been around for a while, but this has a twist. It is Do Not Disturb While Driving. This can be configured so that when your phone detects that you are connected to your cars Bluetooth it will enable it. If your car doesn’t have Bluetooth your phone can use wi-fi doppler effect to detect you are riding in a car and enable Do Not Disturb. If you are a passenger in a car you can simply click the button that says, “I’m not driving” and you will be able to use your phone.

This is in no way a complete list of features. As I stated before this is a huge update and there is even more great features in iPad. Put your favorite new feature in the comments.