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Apple held their first special event in the Steve Jobs Theatre at Apple Park on the 12th September. Every year there is great anticipation in the build-up to the Apple event, with speculation on what new products and features will be announced. And this year was no different. All talk in the lead-up to this event was about three new iPhones, including the iPhone X, and a software update to iOS 11.
Apple did not disappoint. iOS 11 officially launched on the 19th of September and seems to be very similar to beta versions which Xtremepush tested this summer.
Here are some of the key changes:
Location
- The display of the Blue Bar highlighting when an App is using location in the background will also highlight Apps that are aggressively using location in the background
- Users will have more control and choice over location permissions in Apps. If your app requires that location is ‘Always’ on, users will now have the option to select ‘When in Usage’ only.
For more information on the changes to Location service, check out our new iOS 11 Location Services FAQ and our iOS Location Services support docs.
Notification center
- Lock screen notifications and notification center are coming together in iOS 11, which makes it clear to see which older alerts you’ve missed. Swiping up on the normal lock screen will display notifications from earlier in the day, essentially giving you access to notification center from the lock screen.
Control centre
- The control centre has had a complete change and users can now disable the Control Centre in apps. This is great news for apps where swiping up may be a means to control on-screen features. It also utilizes 3D touch much more. Most of the controls are accessed by pushing down on the screen.
App Store
- The App Store has been completely redesigned with a new today tab which gives information on the latest and greatest apps.
Files App
- There is a new files app where you can see all the files you have stored on iCloud and other apps such as Dropbox.
Siri
- iOS 11 makes Siri even more helpful. Through advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence, Siri can send a message, set a timer, become a translator and so much more. The new Siri voice is more natural and expressive.
Do not disturb when Driving
- The iPhone can now sense when you might be driving and can help keep you from being distracted by calls, text messages and notifications with automatically silencing notifications. People trying to contact you will be notified that you’re driving.
Maps
- You can now see detailed maps of hundreds of major airports and shopping centres around the world. Find out which restaurants are past security at the airport or which shops are on level two of the shopping centre.
iOS 11 is compatible with iPhone 5s or newer and iPads that have been made in the past few years, download it today and let us know what you think.
