Apple has taken the wraps off of iOS 11, the next version of the mobile operating system powering the iPhone and the iPad, at its 28th annual Worldwide Developers Conference. The release brings a slew of new features, such as peer-to-peer transactions with Apple Pay, a redesigned App Store, and improvements to augmented reality.
The public beta is available now and the final version is scheduled for the fall. Apple is dropping support for all 32-bit products and apps with iOS 11, meaning devices prior to the switch to 64-bit architecture with the iPhone 5S will no longer be supported. That includes the iPhone 5c, as well as the original iPad Mini.
Whether you are a developer or simply interested in trying the public beta, you can download iOS 11 for yourself with the help of our handy guide. Here’s everything we know about the update.
With iOS 11, Apple intends to streamline the screenshot-sharing process, and also give users the ability to record their screen. However, the third beta has listed a new broadcasting feature to accompany screen recording.
The “Start Broadcast” option doesn’t seem to currently be functional, as tapping the menu item merely saves captured footage to the device’s camera roll. However, it could hint at system-level support for live-streaming the content on your screen, or perhaps integrating with apps like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch. We should know more as future betas release.
Meanwhile, screenshots have received a major overhaul. Prior to iOS 11, sharing screenshots from an iPhone or iPad was a Sisyphean task. But it has gotten a lot easier.
Previously, screenshots saved to your camera roll. But when you grab a screenshot in iOS 11, you get a brief thumbnail of the picture you just took. you tap and hold it, you can share it to another app, or add an annotation to it by typing with the keyboard. (If you forget to tap on the screenshot, iOS 11 will automatically save it to the camera roll.)
Apple also allows the grouping of screenshots in the thumbnail interface. You can select multiple screenshots by tapping and dragging on them with your fingers and move them into apps or share them.
Beginning with iOS 11, Apple Music customers will be able to create a profile others may follow. When they do, they’ll see each other’s activity on the landing page within the app. In an ironic twist of fate, the new functionality harks back to Ping, Apple’s short-lived attempt at making iTunes a social experience nearly seven years ago.
Playlist sharing is the other big addition, and just like on Spotify, users will be able to set their playlists as private or public. Apple Music will also better integrate with Siri, so users can simply ask the digital assistant to play something they’ll like, and it will respond with intelligent suggestions based on recently played artists and current listening habits.
At this time it is unknown if or when these features will make their way to the Android version of Apple Music. We have reached out to Apple for clarification and will report back when we receive word.
Know when an app is sharing your location
When it comes to location charging, iOS 11 is a lot more transparent than it was before. Now, when background apps share your location, a prominent blue status bar will appear. (If you leave the Facebook app, for example, the blue bar warns you that Facebook is actively using your location, even though you have since returned to the home screen.)
One of the features coming in iOS 11 that is still sure to please many, many iPhone and iPad owners is the inclusion of Wi-Fi sharing. Simply open Wi-Fi settings on your device and attempt to join a network. If you’re close to another iOS 11 device on that network, and that second device is unlocked, the user can grant you access without ever having to exchange passwords. Images of the feature come to us by way of9to5Mac.
In iOS 10, some apps that require your location are automatically given free rein to monitor it at all times, so long as you have location services turned on. This behavior caused some negative press for Uber when reports emerged in April that the popular ridesharing service was perpetually tracking users’ locations — in some cases even after they had deleted the app.
Thankfully, changes to permissions in iOS 11 will give users greater choice over how specific apps handle location tracking. There is already a setting in iOS 10 to permit apps to view your location only while they are being used, but it is not available for every app. With iOS 11, users will have the option to select this behavior for all apps. You will still be able to leave location monitoring on in the background if you wish — which is especially useful for navigation — or turn it off entirely.
As for new features announced at WWDC, Apple Maps will gain floor plans for shopping centers and airports, and the company says it expects to add hundreds of places every week. Interacting with your iPhone on the road will also be much safer in iOS 11 thanks to a new Do Not Disturb mode specifically made for drivers. Your iPhone will read Bluetooth connectivity status and movement to determine whether or not it is in a car, and ask if you would like to silence notifications as you drive.
With Do Not Disturb While Driving on, you will not be notified as new notifications roll in and your screen will stay off. You can also set it to auto-reply to messages to let others know you’re behind the wheel. If you are a passenger, you can easily bypass the feature.
This change is more notable for what it takes away than what it adds. With iOS 11, it has been confirmed that Apple is removing support for Facebook and Twitter accounts at the system level. Facebook had been integrated since 2012, and Twitter since 2011.
Previously, adding these accounts would function as a single sign on for other apps that might require them. In Facebook’s case, you could also sync your device’s calendars and contacts with your events and friends list.
If you wanted to share a link or photo to these services, iOS currently has its own windowed interface that pops up above the content you are viewing, letting you fire off a quick post before returning to the previous app. In the future, iOS 11 will transport you momentarily to the social app in question when you’ve got something to share.
In April, it was revealed that Apple was interested in adding peer-to-peer money transfers to its digital wallet service, in an effort to take on Venmo and SquareCash. Sure enough, Apple Pay will now be capable of handling transactions between you and your family and friends. This works as an iMessage app that can be called upon in conversations, either through opening the app itself or via contextually-aware Quick Type suggestions. The money you receive will land in an Apple Pay Cash Card that can be used as a payment method like any credit card in your wallet, or transferred to a bank account.
Speaking of iMessage’s app drawer, discovering and accessing your iMessage apps has been made a little easier. Apple says you can reach them in just one tap in iOS 11 — an improvement over the three taps that were necessary to call up the drawer in iOS 10. Conversations are also now better synchronized over all your devices thanks to iCloud message storage.
There are also new bubble and text effects making their way to iMessage in iOS 11. Users will be able to send their messages with an “echo” effect, which creates many identical texts behind it, or a “spotlight,” which pretty much does what it says.
The Control Center is getting a major face lift in iOS 11, with a new, larger interface that takes up more of the display, but also contains every function on one page. You’ll no longer need to swipe back and forth between panels to access all your device’s settings, and you will be able to use 3D Touch to dive into deeper options. For example, a force touch on music currently playing will bring up a progress bar, as well as skip and pause buttons.
The notification center has been similarly overhauled. Pulling down the status bar will now lead to the same interface you’re presented with on your lock screen. Swiping up within that menu will call up less recent notifications, and from there you can still move to your Today view and check out your widgets with a swipe to the right.
Siri has sharpened its language skills, which means more natural, conversational male and female voices for English users, as well as the ability to translate on the fly. At launch, the translation beta will support Chinese, French, Italian, German, and Spanish, with more languages to follow.
Siri has also become better at predicting your interests, and much more mindful of how you use your devices. For example, Apple’s Craig Federighi provided a demo on stage at WWDC where he visited an Icelandic travel site, and the iOS News app quickly surfaced stories about the country.
App Store sees its biggest makeover yet
In iOS 11, the App Store will receive its most significant redesign since its launch nearly a decade ago. At the front of it is a new Today tab that serves as the store’s home page, calling attention to new experiences and software. There’s also a Games tab, making it much easier to access the App Store’s most popular category. Meanwhile, Apple says it has dramatically shortened app review times, which is sure to please developers. You can read more about the improvements to the App Store here.
Live Photos is one of iOS’ most recognizable features, and now it’s receiving more fun effects — like the ability to make your photos “bounce” by automatically playing them forwards and backwards. If you’re an iPhone 7 Plus owner, you’ll also be able to use the device’s depth-sensing dual cameras in new ways, thanks to DepthKit. With DepthKit, spatially-aware objects can be inserted into images for an AR-like effect.
Video and photo compression are also seeing improvements in iOS 11, thanks to support for H.265, or High Efficiency Video Coding, as well as High Efficiency Image Coding for pictures. Both are touted to reduce storage usage by doubling file compression while preserving more detail than previous codecs. You can read more about the photography improvements coming in iOS 11 here.
With iOS 11, Apple is focusing on augmented reality in a way never has before. The company’s ARKit will standardize and improve AR functions across apps that use them, thanks to improved motion tracking and ambient light awareness. This means however you interact with AR — even if you just kill time with Pokemon Go, for example — everything should look better and move more naturally. Improved 3D modeling and animations will take your surroundings into account more realistically, better integrating AR creations into your world. You can read more about ARKit here.
In addition to the Amazon Echo-competitor — the Home Pod — Apple announced the second generation of Airplay. Airplay 2 offers multi-room audio via iOS 11 that can be controlled through the Home app, Control Center, or Siri. This allows listeners to select different Airplay-supported speakers, along with third-party applications, to play music at the same time. The multi-room audio function is also integrated with Apple TV. You can read more about Airplay 2 here.
Files, a new app available for iOS 11, is a file management system that keeps all your stored documents together in an organized manner on both your iPhone and iPad. Even if you use third-party services like Dropbox or Google Drive, Files allows you to conveniently access and keep track of them all in one app. You can read more about the Files app here.
The public beta is available now and the final version is scheduled for the fall. Apple is dropping support for all 32-bit products and apps with iOS 11, meaning devices prior to the switch to 64-bit architecture with the iPhone 5S will no longer be supported. That includes the iPhone 5c, as well as the original iPad Mini.
Whether you are a developer or simply interested in trying the public beta, you can download iOS 11 for yourself with the help of our handy guide. Here’s everything we know about the update.
Screen sharing and recording tools
With iOS 11, Apple intends to streamline the screenshot-sharing process, and also give users the ability to record their screen. However, the third beta has listed a new broadcasting feature to accompany screen recording.
The “Start Broadcast” option doesn’t seem to currently be functional, as tapping the menu item merely saves captured footage to the device’s camera roll. However, it could hint at system-level support for live-streaming the content on your screen, or perhaps integrating with apps like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch. We should know more as future betas release.
Meanwhile, screenshots have received a major overhaul. Prior to iOS 11, sharing screenshots from an iPhone or iPad was a Sisyphean task. But it has gotten a lot easier.
Previously, screenshots saved to your camera roll. But when you grab a screenshot in iOS 11, you get a brief thumbnail of the picture you just took. you tap and hold it, you can share it to another app, or add an annotation to it by typing with the keyboard. (If you forget to tap on the screenshot, iOS 11 will automatically save it to the camera roll.)
Apple also allows the grouping of screenshots in the thumbnail interface. You can select multiple screenshots by tapping and dragging on them with your fingers and move them into apps or share them.
Apple Music gets user profiles and playlist sharing
Apple Music offers much of what its competitor Spotify can do, but it’s still missing two popular features: Sharing playlists and being able to see what your friends are listening to. That looks to change with the next update.Beginning with iOS 11, Apple Music customers will be able to create a profile others may follow. When they do, they’ll see each other’s activity on the landing page within the app. In an ironic twist of fate, the new functionality harks back to Ping, Apple’s short-lived attempt at making iTunes a social experience nearly seven years ago.
Playlist sharing is the other big addition, and just like on Spotify, users will be able to set their playlists as private or public. Apple Music will also better integrate with Siri, so users can simply ask the digital assistant to play something they’ll like, and it will respond with intelligent suggestions based on recently played artists and current listening habits.
At this time it is unknown if or when these features will make their way to the Android version of Apple Music. We have reached out to Apple for clarification and will report back when we receive word.
Know when an app is sharing your location
When it comes to location charging, iOS 11 is a lot more transparent than it was before. Now, when background apps share your location, a prominent blue status bar will appear. (If you leave the Facebook app, for example, the blue bar warns you that Facebook is actively using your location, even though you have since returned to the home screen.)
Apple is moving closer to Dark Mode
Apple has refused to bring Dark Mode to the iPhone for some time now, but a new feature in iOS 11 brings something very close to Dark Mode. The feature is called “Smart Invert Colors,” and it basically involves the operating system inverting the colors on the display without inverting things like photos and videos. In other words, it’s a suped-up version of the old “Invert Colors” feature, which inverted all the colors on the display. Many, however, wanted to still be able to see their photos and videos without the colors inverted — which is where the “smart” comes in. The feature was first spotted in a report from 9to5Mac.A new spot for the volume indicator
While it may be a very small tweak, Apple has opted to change the location of the volume indicator in iOS 11. Rather than being located at the bottom of the display, the volume indicator will now be found in the top right of the display during video playback, according to a report from Mashable. The change was first spotted by Twitter user @Hughesyy_, and you can see an image of the new location in the tweet below.Wi-Fi sharing for faster connectivity
One of the features coming in iOS 11 that is still sure to please many, many iPhone and iPad owners is the inclusion of Wi-Fi sharing. Simply open Wi-Fi settings on your device and attempt to join a network. If you’re close to another iOS 11 device on that network, and that second device is unlocked, the user can grant you access without ever having to exchange passwords. Images of the feature come to us by way of9to5Mac.
Updates to location services, Maps, and Do Not Disturb
In iOS 10, some apps that require your location are automatically given free rein to monitor it at all times, so long as you have location services turned on. This behavior caused some negative press for Uber when reports emerged in April that the popular ridesharing service was perpetually tracking users’ locations — in some cases even after they had deleted the app.
Thankfully, changes to permissions in iOS 11 will give users greater choice over how specific apps handle location tracking. There is already a setting in iOS 10 to permit apps to view your location only while they are being used, but it is not available for every app. With iOS 11, users will have the option to select this behavior for all apps. You will still be able to leave location monitoring on in the background if you wish — which is especially useful for navigation — or turn it off entirely.
As for new features announced at WWDC, Apple Maps will gain floor plans for shopping centers and airports, and the company says it expects to add hundreds of places every week. Interacting with your iPhone on the road will also be much safer in iOS 11 thanks to a new Do Not Disturb mode specifically made for drivers. Your iPhone will read Bluetooth connectivity status and movement to determine whether or not it is in a car, and ask if you would like to silence notifications as you drive.
With Do Not Disturb While Driving on, you will not be notified as new notifications roll in and your screen will stay off. You can also set it to auto-reply to messages to let others know you’re behind the wheel. If you are a passenger, you can easily bypass the feature.
Built-in Facebook and Twitter support removed
This change is more notable for what it takes away than what it adds. With iOS 11, it has been confirmed that Apple is removing support for Facebook and Twitter accounts at the system level. Facebook had been integrated since 2012, and Twitter since 2011.
Previously, adding these accounts would function as a single sign on for other apps that might require them. In Facebook’s case, you could also sync your device’s calendars and contacts with your events and friends list.
If you wanted to share a link or photo to these services, iOS currently has its own windowed interface that pops up above the content you are viewing, letting you fire off a quick post before returning to the previous app. In the future, iOS 11 will transport you momentarily to the social app in question when you’ve got something to share.
New Apple Pay and iMessage features
In April, it was revealed that Apple was interested in adding peer-to-peer money transfers to its digital wallet service, in an effort to take on Venmo and SquareCash. Sure enough, Apple Pay will now be capable of handling transactions between you and your family and friends. This works as an iMessage app that can be called upon in conversations, either through opening the app itself or via contextually-aware Quick Type suggestions. The money you receive will land in an Apple Pay Cash Card that can be used as a payment method like any credit card in your wallet, or transferred to a bank account.
Speaking of iMessage’s app drawer, discovering and accessing your iMessage apps has been made a little easier. Apple says you can reach them in just one tap in iOS 11 — an improvement over the three taps that were necessary to call up the drawer in iOS 10. Conversations are also now better synchronized over all your devices thanks to iCloud message storage.
There are also new bubble and text effects making their way to iMessage in iOS 11. Users will be able to send their messages with an “echo” effect, which creates many identical texts behind it, or a “spotlight,” which pretty much does what it says.
Redesigned Control Center and notifications
The Control Center is getting a major face lift in iOS 11, with a new, larger interface that takes up more of the display, but also contains every function on one page. You’ll no longer need to swipe back and forth between panels to access all your device’s settings, and you will be able to use 3D Touch to dive into deeper options. For example, a force touch on music currently playing will bring up a progress bar, as well as skip and pause buttons.
The notification center has been similarly overhauled. Pulling down the status bar will now lead to the same interface you’re presented with on your lock screen. Swiping up within that menu will call up less recent notifications, and from there you can still move to your Today view and check out your widgets with a swipe to the right.
Siri gets even smarter
Siri has sharpened its language skills, which means more natural, conversational male and female voices for English users, as well as the ability to translate on the fly. At launch, the translation beta will support Chinese, French, Italian, German, and Spanish, with more languages to follow.
Siri has also become better at predicting your interests, and much more mindful of how you use your devices. For example, Apple’s Craig Federighi provided a demo on stage at WWDC where he visited an Icelandic travel site, and the iOS News app quickly surfaced stories about the country.
App Store sees its biggest makeover yet
In iOS 11, the App Store will receive its most significant redesign since its launch nearly a decade ago. At the front of it is a new Today tab that serves as the store’s home page, calling attention to new experiences and software. There’s also a Games tab, making it much easier to access the App Store’s most popular category. Meanwhile, Apple says it has dramatically shortened app review times, which is sure to please developers. You can read more about the improvements to the App Store here.
New photo effects and compression technologies
Live Photos is one of iOS’ most recognizable features, and now it’s receiving more fun effects — like the ability to make your photos “bounce” by automatically playing them forwards and backwards. If you’re an iPhone 7 Plus owner, you’ll also be able to use the device’s depth-sensing dual cameras in new ways, thanks to DepthKit. With DepthKit, spatially-aware objects can be inserted into images for an AR-like effect.
Video and photo compression are also seeing improvements in iOS 11, thanks to support for H.265, or High Efficiency Video Coding, as well as High Efficiency Image Coding for pictures. Both are touted to reduce storage usage by doubling file compression while preserving more detail than previous codecs. You can read more about the photography improvements coming in iOS 11 here.
Apple goes all in on AR
With iOS 11, Apple is focusing on augmented reality in a way never has before. The company’s ARKit will standardize and improve AR functions across apps that use them, thanks to improved motion tracking and ambient light awareness. This means however you interact with AR — even if you just kill time with Pokemon Go, for example — everything should look better and move more naturally. Improved 3D modeling and animations will take your surroundings into account more realistically, better integrating AR creations into your world. You can read more about ARKit here.
Airplay 2 brings multiroom audio
In addition to the Amazon Echo-competitor — the Home Pod — Apple announced the second generation of Airplay. Airplay 2 offers multi-room audio via iOS 11 that can be controlled through the Home app, Control Center, or Siri. This allows listeners to select different Airplay-supported speakers, along with third-party applications, to play music at the same time. The multi-room audio function is also integrated with Apple TV. You can read more about Airplay 2 here.
A new way to manage files
Files, a new app available for iOS 11, is a file management system that keeps all your stored documents together in an organized manner on both your iPhone and iPad. Even if you use third-party services like Dropbox or Google Drive, Files allows you to conveniently access and keep track of them all in one app. You can read more about the Files app here.
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