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…
- backed up my device
- erased everything (still on iOS 10)
- set up my Apple ID and installed the developer profile from the developer console
- 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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