On Monday June 5, 2017, Apple finally unveiled iOS 11, showing off loads of new features. The biggest update is clearly for the iPad, making the device even more usable as a possible laptop replacement (for normal, daily use). Apple added more multitasking possibilities, a new dock and much, much more.

First: installing iOS 11 developer beta 1

If you’re interested in trying out the developer beta of iOS 11, you should know that you need a developer account with Apple. If you don’t have one, then just wait a few weeks until the public betas kick off. You can sign up at http://beta.apple.com. Remember: it’s not recommended to install the beta on your only device, as bugs could, in the worst case, brick your device.

I wanted to make sure that my device would run as smooth as possible, knowing that betas (especially developer betas) can really be buggy. So I…

1. backed up my device
2. erased everything (still on iOS 10)
3. set up my Apple ID and installed the developer profile from the developer console
4. upgraded to iOS 11

This resulted in an easy installation of iOS 11 and a smooth performance on my iPad Air 2, which I’m now using as my daily driver.

#1: A brand new dock

• The dock consists of two parts:
  • left: pinned apps
  • right: the 3 most recently opened apps
• Drag and drop as many icons on to the dock
• Icons no longer have labels
• Long press on an icon to view the recently opened documents or files in that app
• The dock can be swiped up within any application (see further)

#2: Quick app switcher (dock)

• The dock can be swiped up within any application (see further)
• You can easily switch between apps using the right part of the dock

#3: New app switcher

• When you swipe up with your four fingers or double click the home button, you’ll notice the new app switcher
• More apps in an overview

#4: New control center

• The control center can be brought up:
  • by swiping up from the lock screen
  • by swiping up with four fingers anywhere else (one finger brings up the dock from now on)
• The control center is no longer at the bottom, but on the right side of the screen
• You can long press (or 3D touch on iPhone) to go more advanced

#5: Adding shortcuts to the control center

• You can add, remove and even change the order of the control center shortcuts

#6: Screen recording

• Screen recording from the control center
• Once pressed, it immediately records your screen
• Recording of you microphone is optional
• The screen recorder also records the sound within apps

#7: Killing apps in the app switcher

• Long press an app and tap X
• Killing multiple apps at once (like with swipe gestures) isn’t available anymore

#8: Spotlight search

• Spotlight search doesn’t work at the first boot after iOS 11’s installation
• After reboot, Spotlight works again by swiping down

#9: New multitasking and floating windows

 

• To open a second app next to an open one, swipe up to open your dock, take an icon and drag it to the side
• You can pin the app to the left or right by dragging it all the way

#10: Drag & drop between apps

• In iOS 11, it will be possible to drag and drop text, images, etc. between apps that are open side by side
• This isn’t working for me yet on developer beta 1

#11: The Files app

• Finally an explorer / Finder app for iOS!
• Tag your files

#12: Several cloud services in Files

• You’ll be able to access or your “Locations”, which will include other installed cloud apps
• Currently not available yet

#13: Changes in the Notes app

• New title on top of the notes list
• Swiping notes also allow you to move them to folders
• New / redesigned editing tools above the keyboard

#14: Changes in the Messaging app

• New title on top of the messages list
• iMessage apps at the bottom of each conversation
• Two new screen effects when sending an iMessage

#15: Changes in the iTunes Store

• New icon
• New menu at the bottom

#16: A brand new App Store

• Completely redesigned with 5 tabs:
  • “Today” with a bunch of app recommendations
  • Games
  • Apps
  • Updates
  • Search
• Everything is larger
• New app pages with screenshots, autoplaying videos and review area

#17: No changes in the mail app

• Not really a feature, but it’s worth noting that the Mail app still didn’t get any changes

#18: Scan QR codes with the Camera app

• There’s an option for that in Settings, which is automatically turned on
• Still no option to change photo/video resolution settings within the Camera app

#19: Photo compression

• Photos are more compressed now, while keeping their quality, thanks to the HEVC codec

#20: GIF-support in Photos

• GIFs autoplay when opened in Photos
• GIFs don’t play when viewing them in a grid

#21: Updated Siri

• New icon
• More realistic voice (intonation)
• Results are viewed in cards (like the widgets in the lock screen)

#22: Translate with Siri

• Siri reads translations from now on

#23: Follow up questions

• Siri can now answer follow up questions within the same session

#24: New font in the Notes app

#25: New storage overview

• Go to Settings > General

#26: Offload unused apps

• (see screenshot #25)
• To save space, iOS can automatically delete apps that you haven’t used in a while
• When offloaded, data is still saved and ready to be restored when you restore the app

#27+28: New video and volume controls

#29: New keyboard keys

• Swipe down a key to type the symbol or number above it

#30: Taking screenshots

• When you take a screenshot, you can immediately edit them using markup
• Screenshots can immediately be shared or saved to your Photos

 

So that’s it!

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