30 Exciting New iOS 11 Features You Didn’t Know About

If you think that you’ve mastered all the new features of iOS 11, then you’re in for a surprise because iOS 11 contains many hidden features that might go unnoticed. We’ll outline 30 hidden features in iOS 11 that you probably didn’t know about. From a new document scanner to better storage management solutions, this list will explore all of the hidden gems in iOS 11 that you should check out.

1 Move Multiple Apps at Once

Organizing the apps on your iPhone Home screen has always been a tedious task, but this is no longer the case in iOS 11. You can now move multiple apps at once from one page to another as opposed to iOS 10 which allows you to move only one app at a time. Here’s how to use this feature:

1. Tap and hold on an app until it starts wiggling.
2. Next, touch and hold on an app that you wish to move and drag it to an empty area. Do not let go of the app just yet.
3. Using another finger, tap on other apps that you’d like to move together in a group.
4. Once you’re done selecting the apps to be moved, drag them to a different page on the Home screen and let go. All the selected apps will be placed there.

Using the same method as above, you can also move multiple folders at once as well as move a group of apps into a folder.

2 One-Handed Keyboard

It’s difficult to type with a single hand on iPhones with a large screen, so Apple has addressed this issue in iOS 11 by introducing a one-handed keyboard mode. Once enabled, the keyboard keys move closer to each other and are pushed to either the left or the right side of the screen so that you can type more easily with a single hand.

1. When viewing the stock iOS keyboard, tap and hold on the globe (or emoji) icon in the bottom left side of the keyboard.
2. This opens a menu with a list of available keyboards and also displays three icons at the bottom.
3. Tap on either the first or the third icon to enable one-handed keyboard.

3 Dark Mode

Many users have been eagerly waiting for Apple to add Dark Mode functionality to iOS. While we’re yet to see this feature in iOS, Apple has introduced Smart Invert in iOS 11 which mimics the functionality of Dark Mode to some extent. Smart Invert is an improvised version of the old “Invert Colors” feature present in iOS 10. It is an Accessibility feature that reverses the color of interfaces for users with vision impairments.

1. Open the Settings app and go to General > Accessibility.
2. Tap Display Accommodations.
3. Next, tap Invert Colors.
4. Toggle on Smart Invert. You’ll also find another toggle named Classic Invert which works like the old Invert Colors feature.

4 Wi-Fi Password Sharing

When you have friends coming over to your house, the first thing that they’d probably ask for is your Wi-Fi password. It can be a hassle to type or give out your long, complicated password to each and everyone who wants to connect to your Wi-Fi. iOS 11 solves this problem with an innovative new feature called ‘Share Your Wi-Fi’ which does exactly what it says.

Now, if a friend’s device running iOS 11 tries to join a Wi-Fi network that you’re connected to, your iOS device will get a simple pop-up asking if you’d like to share the network’s password. Tap “Send Password” and your friend’s device will automatically connect to the network. The only requirement is that both of you should have iOS 11 installed, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth toggles turned on.

5 Customize Control Center

Control Center has received a major redesign in iOS 11, and the best part is that Apple now allows you to customize it by adding, removing, and reorganizing the controls that appear.

1. Open the Settings app and go to Control Center.
2. Tap Customize Controls.
3. Here you’ll view a list of all the controls that can be added to Control Center. Press the + button next to a control to add it to Control Center or press the – button to remove it. To reposition a control, tap and hold the dragger next to it and move it to the position you want.

6 Screen Recording

Before iOS 11, users had to rely on Mac or a third-party software to record their iPhone or iPad screen. Things are now a lot easier in iOS 11 as Apple has added the ability to record your screen right from your iPhone or iPad without using a computer. Open Control Center and tap on the Recording button to begin recording your screen. If you don’t see the button, make sure that you’ve added it to Control Center from Settings.

7 Scan QR Codes from Camera App

In iOS 11, you no longer need third-party apps to scan QR codes because the stock Camera app is now capable of doing it. Using it is quite simple. All you have to do is to open your iPhone’s camera and point it at the QR code you want to scan. It will immediately scan and interpret the QR code as well as allow you to take an action, e.g. open a URL in Safari.

8 Four Levels of Light Intensity for the Flashlight

A useful feature that was added to the flashlight in iOS 10 was the three different levels of light intensity. This feature was available to 3D Touch devices only, but non-3D Touch devices can also access it in iOS 11. Furthermore, there are now four levels of light intensity available for the flashlight in iOS 11.

To adjust the light intensity, 3D Touch or tap and hold on its icon in Control Center to expand it, then choose the light intensity that you want.

9 Disable In-App Ratings and Reviews

You must have came across an app that displays a popup asking you to rate and review their app in the App Store. Although these popups don’t appear as much as they used to, iOS 11 allows you to disable in-app ratings and reviews popups so you don’t see them anymore.

1. Open the Settings app and go to iTunes & App Store.
2. Scroll to the bottom and turn off the toggle for In-App Ratings & Reviews.

10 New Screen Effects for iMessage

iMessage screen effects were one of the highlight new features of iOS 10, so Apple has added two new effects in iOS 11 for more entertainment. There are now ‘Echo’ and ‘Spotlight’ effects which you can send in iOS 11 iMessage.