I always find it helpful to sum up what’s new in a release, and I can never remember where to find such documents once a release has happened.
So here it is, Apple’s “biggest and best ever release”, iOS 11.
General changes
iOS 11 requires Xcode 9+ to develop your apps. It is the first major release to drop support for 32 bit binaries. The following devices are supported in iOS 11:
- iPhone 5s and above
- iPad Air and above
- iPhone 5, 5c and lower are no longer supported
- iPad 4 and below are no longer supported
This release also drops native support for integrated services such as Vimeo, Flickr, Facebook and Twitter.
The iCloud Drive app is removed and replaced with the new Files app.
New frameworks we can tinker with are:
- ARKit for Augmented Reality (requires devices with A9 chip and above)
- Core ML for Machine Learning (identifying shapes in images, or words in sentences)
- Depth API to access the dual cameras on iPhone 7, 8 and X
- Core NFC for (limited) access to the NFC chip in most devices
From the upgrade dialogue on iOS devices
iOS 11 brings hundreds of new features to iPhone and iPad including an all new App Store, a more proactive and intelligent Siri, improvements to Camera and Photos, and augmented reality technologies to enable immersive experiences.
iOS 11 is also the biggest release for iPad ever and adds powerful new multitasking features, a new Files app and more ways to use Apple Pencil.
App Store
- All-new App Store designed for discovering great apps and games everyday
- New Today tab helps you discover new apps and games with stories, how-to guides, and more
- New Games tab to find new games and see what’s most popular with top game charts
- Dedicated Apps tab with top picks, dedicated app charts, and app categories
- App pages include more video previews, Editors’ Choice badges, easier access to user ratings, and information about in-app purchases
Siri
- New Siri voice is more natural and expressive
- Translate English words and phrases into Chinese, French, German, Italian or Spanish (beta)
- Siri suggestions based on your usage of Safari, News, Mail, and Messages
- Works with notes apps to create to-do lists, notes and reminders
- Works with banking apps for account transfer and balances
- Works with apps that display QR codes
- Hindi and Shanghainese dictation
Camera
- Portrait mode now supports optical image stabilization, HDR and True Tone flash
- Photos and videos will take up half the space with the new HEIF and HEVC image and video formats
- Redesigned set of nine filters optimized for natural skin tones
- Automatically identify and scan QR codes
Photos
- Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure Live Photo effects
- Mute, trim, or choose a new key photo for Live Photos
- Memory Movies automatically adapt content for portrait and landscape orientation
- More than a dozen new memory types including pets, babies, weddings, and sporting events
- People album is more accurate and stays up to date across devices with iCloud Photo Library
- Animated GIF support
Maps
- Indoor maps for major airports and shopping centers
- Lane guidance and speed limit information with Turn-by-turn directions
- One-handed zoom with double tap and swipe
- Interact with Flyover by moving your device
- Do Not Disturb while Driving
- Automatically silences notifications while driving and keeps iPhone silent and display off
- Optional iMessage auto reply to alert selected contacts that you’re driving
New features designed for iPad
- An all new Dock provides quick access to your favorite and recently used apps and can even be shown on top of active apps
- Dock resizes so you can add all of your favorite apps
- Recently used and Continuity apps are available on the right
- Enhanced Slide Over and Split View
- Apps can be easily started in Slide Over and Split View from the Dock
- Slide Over and background apps now run simultaneously
- Apps in Slide Over and Split View can now be placed on the left side of the screen
- Drag and drop
- Move text, images, and files between apps on iPad
- Multi-Touch to move multiple items at the same time
- Spring-loading to move content between apps
Markup
- Markup works across documents, PDFs, webpages, photos and more
- Instant markup anything in iOS – just place Apple Pencil on what you want to mark
- Create a PDF and markup anything that can be printed
Notes
- Instantly create a new note by tapping on Lock Screen with Apple Pencil
- Inline drawing available by simply placing Apple Pencil in body of a note
- Search handwritten text
- Document scanner autocorrects for skewing and uses image filters to remove shadows
- Table support to organize and display information
- Pin important notes to the top of the list
Files
- All-new Files app to browse, search and organize files
- Works with iCloud Drive and 3rd party cloud file providers
- Recents view for quick access to recently used files across all apps and cloud services
- Create folders and sort files by name, date, size and tags
QuickType
- Flick down on letter keys to enter numbers, symbols and punctuation marks on iPad
- One-handed keyboard support on iPhone
- New keyboards for Armenian, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, Georgian, Irish, Kannada, Malayalam, Maori, Odia, Swahili, and Welsh
- English input on the 10-key Pinyin keyboard
- English input on the Japanese Romaji keyboard
HomeKit
- New accessory types including AirPlay 2 speakers, sprinklers and faucets
- Expanded occupancy, time and accessory based triggers
- QR code and tap to pair accessory setup support
Augmented Reality
- Augmented reality technologies that apps from the App Store can use to deliver content on top of real-world scenes for interactive gaming, immersive shopping experiences, industrial design and more
Machine Learning
- Core machine learning technologies that apps from the App Store can use to deliver intelligent features with machine learning data processed on device for high performance and user privacy
Other features and improvements
- Control Center redesign brings all controls on one page
- Control Center custom controls including accessibility, guided access, magnifier, text size, screen recording and Wallet
- Apple Music now helps you discover music with friends. Create a profile so friends can listen to playlists you’ve shared and see the music you listen to most
- Apple News now includes Top Stories picked just for you, recommendations from Siri, the best videos of the day in Today View, and great stories selected by our editors in the new Spotlight tab
- Automatic Setup signs you in to iCloud, Keychain, iTunes, App Store, iMessage, and FaceTime with your Apple ID
- Automatic Setup restores device settings including language, region, network, keyboard preferences, places you frequently visit, how you talk to Siri, home and health data
- Easily share access to your Wi-Fi networks
- Storage optimization notifications and free up space in Settings for apps like Photos, Messages, and more
- Emergency SOS calls emergency services based on your current location and automatically notifies emergency contacts, shares your location, and displays your Medical ID
- FaceTime lets you capture Live Photos from the other person’s Mac or iPhone camera
- Easily check Flight status in Spotlight and Safari
- Definitions, conversions and math support in Safari
- Russian and English bilingual dictionary
- Portuguese and English bilingual dictionary
- Arabic system font support
Accessibility
- VoiceOver descriptions support for images
- VoiceOver tables and lists support in PDFs
- Type to Siri support for basic search queries
- Spoken and braille caption support for videos
- Dynamic Type increases text and app UI to larger sizes
- Redesigned Invert Colors make media content easier to view
- Highlight Colors improvements in Speak Selection and Speak Screen
- Switch Control typing can scan and type whole words at a time
iOS 11 is performance optimized for 64-bit apps. 32-bit apps will need to be updated by the app developer to work with this version of iOS.
Some features may not be available for all countries or all areas, for more information visit: https://www.apple.com/ios/feature-availability and https://www.apple.com/ios/whats-new
For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website: