iOS 11 is the eleventh major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 10.
Among iOS 11’s changes: the lock screen and Notification Center are combined, allowing all notifications to be displayed directly on the lock screen. The various pages of the Control Center are unified, gaining custom settings and the ability to 3D Touch icons for more options. The App Store receives a visual overhaul to focus on editorial content and daily highlights. A “Files” file manager app allows direct access to files stored locally and in cloud services. Siri can now translate between languages and use a privacy-minded “on-device learning” technique to better understand a user’s interests and offer suggestions.
The camera has new settings for improved portrait-mode photos and will use new encoding technologies to reduce file sizes on newer devices. In a future release, Messages will be integrated with iCloud to better synchronize messages across iOS and macOS devices. A previous point release also added support for person-to-person Apple Pay payments. The operating system also introduces the ability to record the screen, limited forms of drag-and-drop functionality, and support for augmented reality. Certain new features will appear only on iPad, including an always-accessible application dock, cross-app drag-and-drop, and a new user interface to show multiple apps at once.
iOS 11 introduces native support for QR code scanning, through the Camera app. Once a QR code is positioned in front of the camera, a notification is created offering suggestions for actions based on the scanned content. Twitter users have so far discovered that joining Wi-Fi networks and adding someone to the contacts list are supported through QR codes.
Third-party keyboards can add a one-handed mode.
Users are able to record the screen natively. In order to record the screen, users must first add the feature to the Control Center through the Settings app. Once added, users can start and stop recordings from a dedicated Control Center icon, with a distinctly colored bar appearing at the top of the screen indicating active recording. Pressing the bar gives the option to end recording, and videos are saved to the Photos app.
When an iOS 11 device is attempting to connect to a Wi-Fi network, nearby iOS 11 or macOS High Sierra devices already connected can wirelessly send the password, streamlining the connection process.
The volume change overlay no longer covers the screen while playing video, and a smaller scrubber appears on the top right of the screen.
After a user takes a screenshot, a thumbnail of the screenshot will appear at the bottom left of the screen. The user can then tap the thumbnail to bring up an interface that allows them to crop, annotate, or delete the screenshot.
Third-party apps are also able to take advantage of iCloud Keychain to allow autofilling passwords.
The user’s airline flight information can be viewed in Spotlight through a dedicated widget.
iOS 11 switches the top-left cellular network strength icons from five dots to four signal bars, similar to that before iOS 7.
A new “Automatic Setup” feature aims to simplify the first-time setup of new devices, with wireless transfer between the old and new device, transferring preferences, Apple ID and Wi-Fi info, preferred Settings, and iCloud Keychain passwords. Similar to iPad, drag-and-drop file support is available on iPhone, though with more limitations, specifically only supported within apps, not between.
Many of Apple’s pre-installed applications, including Notes, Contacts, Reminders, Maps, and App Store, have redesigned home screen icons.
An “Emergency SOS” feature was added, that disables Touch ID after pressing the Sleep/Wake button five times in quick succession. It prevents Touch ID from working until the iPhone’s pass-code has been entered.
iOS 11 adds support for 8-bit and 10-bit HEVC. Devices with an Apple A9 chip or newer support hardware decoding, while older devices support software-based decoding.
The above is a brief about iOS 11. Watch this space for more updates on the latest trends in Technology.