Go mobile with the brand new iOS 11
A major overhaul is coming to your iPhone and iPad – it’s the most powerful iOS ever
This year’s WWDC was an event dominated by hardware, but software stole the show. Due to be released this autumn, iOS 11 looks to be a huge upgrade on the current mobile operating system. With many, many new features added, it was one of the most exciting announcements of this year’s show.
We’ll get underway with Siri. Apple’s voice assistant is getting new voices, with different intonations if words are repeated in a sentence. The new Siri is more intelligent, with a better understanding of context, your interests and how you use your device.
The camera app uses a better compression algorithm, so your photos use less space, and portrait mode works better in low light. The Memories feature in Photos can identify topics more effectively, and you can view the slides and movies it makes in both portrait and landscape orientation. Live Photos have also been overhauled, giving you an edit mode and more animation options.
Take control
Elsewhere, Control Centre has a new singlepage design, and HomeKit can now control your speakers. You’ll now be able to see what friends are listening to in Apple Music, too.
And there’s an added safety focus with Do Not Disturb while driving. This can detect when you might be driving and switches on Do Not Disturb, so you won’t see distracting notifications while you’re on the road.
In a move that you’ll either love or hate, the App Store is getting a redesign to look more like Apple Music, with the same large, bold headlines throughout (see opposite).
But the most interesting features were saved for iOS 11 on iPad. This update is all about workflows and productivity.
For one thing, you’ll get a Dock much like that found on macOS. Drag an app icon out of the Dock and it’ll go into Slide Over mode, or drag up from the bottom of the screen to show the Dock, then drag further to enable the app switcher (which now keeps your app pairings, such as those in Slide Over, intact).
Also on iPad for the first time is MultiTouch Drag and Drop, enabling you to move and organise files, text and photos across apps, and select multiple files to move at once.
If you have an iPad Pro with Apple Pencil, iOS 11 will make it even easier to mark up your documents with notes and drawings. You can add notes to pages in Safari, or to screenshots and Mail messages.
Similarly, using Notes with the Apple Pencil is now a much better experience. Aside from marking up notes, iOS 11 has built-in handwriting recognition, and you can search Spotlight for your handwritten notes. When your iPad is locked, just tap on the screen with the Pencil to instantly open your most recently used note.
Find your Files
A persistent complaint levelled at iOS is that it has always lacked a proper file viewer. Well, no longer – iOS 11 now has a Files app. This is available on both iPhone and iPad, but really comes into its own when combined with the iPad’s new productivity features and abilities.
You can tap and hold to select files, then use your other hand to tap files and add them to your selection. Or tap and hold the Files icon in the Dock to see recent files, and then drag and drop these files into other apps.
And with nested folders, tags, favourites and cloud storage support, it’s like having Finder on your iPad.
It’s clear that Apple has adopted an almost ‘iPad first’ approach with iOS 11. There’s plenty to look forward to if you use an iPhone, but the iPad is where the real meat of iOS 11 lies.
Using Notes with the Apple Pencil is now a much better experience