Feeling impatient, over the weekend I installed the iOS 11 public beta software update in hopes of getting a jump on acquainting myself with the new features and updates before the official release. As soon as the update was successfully downloaded onto my iPhone 6s Plus, the first thing I noticed was the update to the password entry screen. Although not a big interface change, the number icons have been rounded out, (I’ve been calling them bubbles due to their appearance), giving them a “sleeker” look in my opinion.
Once I got to the home screen, my eyes were immediately drawn to the dock. With iOS 11, whichever apps you’ve placed in your dock will no longer display their title or label. In my opinion, this is the most aesthetically pleasing update to the UI; it gives iOS devices a more “Mac-like” feel. It just looks natural.
Swiping up on the home screen brings us to the new and improved Control Center. This was my most anticipated feature in iOS 11, as I felt the previous Control Center had been due for an upgrade for some time. Finally we’re able to tweak and edit what we see in Control Center (to some extent) and the icons have also been upgraded to fit the new iOS 11 aesthetic. For example, before iOS 11, if you were running low on battery life, instead of navigating to Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode to conserve battery, iOS 11 gives users the option to place a Low Power Mode button right in Control Center.
Perhaps one of the larger changes in iOS 11 is the updated Siri. I’m certain everyone at one point has felt Siri was just a little too “robotic”. But now with iOS 11, Siri received a huge update to it’s voice and learning system. Siri now uses “on-device learning”, a privacy-minded local learning technique to understand a user’s behavior and interests inside different apps, to offer better suggestions and recommendations.
iOS 11 comes with a multitude of other additions, but these were the ones I imagine most users out there will notice immediately. I haven’t yet had the chance to play around with the new and long anticipated “Files” app, but I think I’ll get a jump on familiarizing myself with it for my next article.
Enjoy iOS 11!