Apple on Tuesday officially released its next-generation iOS 11 operating system to the general public, capping about a four-month beta testing process since it was unveiled in June.
The new software should now be available as a free, over-the-air update for iOS users. Alternatively, it can also be downloaded and installed via iTunes on Mac and PC — though only on newer versions of the app.
iOS 11 is a major update to Apple’s mobile OS. It adds a slew of features, including a revamped Control Center with customizable shortcuts and a new Lock screen that’s been merged with the Notification Center. Other additions a slew of updates to native apps, some minor visual tweaks, a Do Not Disturb While Driving mode and built-in screen recording.
The next-gen software also adds several upgrades to Siri, including a completely new voice that is much more natural-sounding. Additionally, iOS 11 will introduce a real-time translation feature and other hefty upgrades to the digital assistant. It also marks the general release of ARKit, meaning that iOS 11 is now the largest augmented reality platform in the world.
iOS 11 is also one of the largest updates to the iPad operating system, and will bring the tablet much closer in function and capability to a computer. It will introduce a new Mac-style Dock, improved multitasking and a revamped app switcher, a dedicated Files app for managing files and data, and systemwide drag and drop.
There are a couple features that haven’t been released in the first version of iOS 11. Chief among them is Apple’s new peer-to-peer payment system Apple Pay Cash. The company confirmed yesterday in a press release that Cash would be coming in an update later this fall.
The new software is available for any Apple iOS device with 64-bit architecture. Going forward, 32-bit applications won’t work on the OS. And unfortunately, that means devices that there are several devices that won’t be compatible.
Finally, as with any software update, iOS 11 carries a number of important bug fixes, security updates and under-the-hood improvements.
How to Download iOS 11
To download iOS 11, just go to Settings > General > Software Update, or plug your device into a computer with iTunes. If the update isn’t showing up for you currently, it should appear shortly.
Official iOS 11 Release Notes
App Store
- All-new App Store designed for discovering great apps and games everyday
- New Today tab helps you discover new apps and games with stories, how-to guides, and more
- New Games tab to find new games and see what’s most popular with top game charts
- Dedicated Apps tab with top picks, dedicated app charts, and app categories
- App pages include more video previews, Editors’ Choice badges, easier access to user ratings, and information about in-app purchases
Siri
- New Siri voice is more natural and expressive
- Translate English words and phrases into Chinese, French, German, Italian or Spanish (beta)
- Siri suggestions based on your usage of Safari, News, Mail, and Messages
- Works with notes apps to create to-do lists, notes and reminders
- Works with banking apps for account transfer and balances
- Works with apps that display QR codes
- Hindi and Shanghainese dictation
Camera
- Portrait mode now supports optical image stabilization, HDR and True Tone flash
- Photos and videos will take up half the space with the new HEIF and HEVC image and video formats
- Redesigned set of nine filters optimized for natural skin tones
- Automatically identify and scan QR codes
Photos
- Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure Live Photo effects
- Mute, trim, or choose a new key photo for Live Photos
- Memory Movies automatically adapt content for portrait and landscape orientation
- More than a dozen new memory types including pets, babies, weddings, and sporting events
- People album is more accurate and stays up to date across devices with iCloud Photo Library
- Animated GIF support
Maps
- Indoor maps for major airports and shopping centers
- Lane guidance and speed limit information with Turn-by-turn directions
- One-handed zoom with double tap and swipe
- Interact with Flyover by moving your device
Do Not Disturb while Driving
- Automatically silences notifications while driving and keeps iPhone silent and display off
- Optional iMessage auto reply to alert selected contacts that you’re driving
New features designed for iPad
- An all new Dock provides quick access to your favorite and recently used apps and can even be shown on top of active apps
- Dock resizes so you can add all of your favorite apps
- Recently used and Continuity apps are available on the right
- Enhanced Slide Over and Split View
- Apps can be easily started in Slide Over and Split View from the Dock
- Slide Over and background apps now run simultaneously
- Apps in Slide Over and Split View can now be placed on the left side of the screen
- Drag and drop
- Move text, images, and files between apps on iPad
- Multi-Touch to move multiple items at the same time
- Spring-loading to move content between apps
- Markup
- Markup works across documents, PDFs, webpages, photos and more
- Instant markup anything in iOS – just place Apple Pencil on what you want to mark
- Create a PDF and markup anything that can be printed
- Notes
- Instantly create a new note by tapping on Lock Screen with Apple Pencil
- Inline drawing available by simply placing Apple Pencil in body of a note
- Search handwritten text
- Document scanner autocorrects for skewing and uses image filters to remove shadows
- Table support to organize and display information
- Pin important notes to the top of the list
- Files
- All-new Files app to browse, search and organize files
- Works with iCloud Drive and 3rd party cloud file providers
- Recents view for quick access to recently used files across all apps and cloud services
- Create folders and sort files by name, date, size and tags
QuickType
- Flick down on letter keys to enter numbers, symbols and punctuation marks on iPad
- One-handed keyboard support on iPhone
- New keyboards for Armenian, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, Georgian, Irish, Kannada, Malayalam, Maori, Odia, Swahili, and Welsh
- English input on the 10-key Pinyin keyboard
- English input on the Japanese Romaji keyboard
HomeKit
- New accessory types including AirPlay 2 speakers, sprinklers and faucets
- Expanded occupancy, time and accessory based triggers
- QR code and tap to pair accessory setup support
Augmented Reality
- Augmented reality technologies that apps from the App Store can use to deliver content on top of real-world scenes for interactive gaming, immersive shopping experiences, industrial design and more
Machine Learning
- Core machine learning technologies that apps from the App Store can use to deliver intelligent features with machine learning data processed on device for high performance and user privacy
Other features and improvements
- Control Center redesign brings all controls on one page
- Control Center custom controls including accessibility, guided access, magnifier, text size, screen recording and Wallet
- Apple Music now helps you discover music with friends. Create a profile so friends can listen to playlists you’ve shared and see the music you listen to most
- Apple News now includes Top Stories picked just for you, recommendations from Siri, the best videos of the day in Today View, and great stories selected by our editors in the new Spotlight tab
- Automatic Setup signs you in to iCloud, Keychain, iTunes, App Store, iMessage, and FaceTime with your Apple ID
- Automatic Setup restores device settings including language, region, network, keyboard preferences, places you frequently visit, how you talk to Siri, home and health data
- Easily share access to your Wi-Fi networks
- Storage optimization notifications and free up space in Settings for apps like Photos, Messages, and more
- Emergency SOS calls emergency services based on your current location and automatically notifies emergency contacts, shares your location, and displays your Medical ID
- FaceTime lets you capture Live Photos from the other person’s Mac or iPhone camera
- Easily check Flight status in Spotlight and Safari
- Definitions, conversions and math support in Safari
- Russian and English bilingual dictionary
- Portuguese and English bilingual dictionary
- Arabic system font support
Accessibility
- VoiceOver descriptions support for images
- VoiceOver tables and lists support in PDFs
- Type to Siri support for basic search queries
- Spoken and braille caption support for videos
- Dynamic Type increases text and app UI to larger sizes
- Redesigned Invert Colors make media content easier to view
- Highlight Colors improvements in Speak Selection and Speak Screen
- Switch Control typing can scan and type whole words at a time
iOS 11 is performance optimized for 64-bit apps. 32-bit apps will need to be updated by the app developer to work with this version of iOS.
iOS 11 Supported Devices
