Top 10 exciting things in the new Apple iOS 11 update

Because I am a bit of a geek I downloaded the iOS 11 beta version today and I am very excited about what Apple have been working on. I have been playing with it today and there is a lot of cool stuff that Apple have really thought about, from: the notification centre to the all new files directory and the new live photos editing. That is by far the most exciting thing for me! The new update works on various iPhone models, all of which you can get from EE.

The top 10 exciting things coming in iOS 11

1 Live photo editing

Now you can edit your live photos, something that I have been waiting for as I love the live images. You can change them to 3 different types of image/video: loop, bounce and long exposure. The bus image above was a live photo that I made into a long exposure, it was moving and so created the yellow blur across the screen. I thought it looked fun.

2 New photo filters

There are a whole new collection of photo filters, my favourite is silvertone. It adds a silvery tone to the photos, as you would imagine. They are all new and show you a preview of what your photo would look like so you can choose your favourite.

3 New control centre

This was rather cool! I could add more things to the control centre and the way the volume controls work are slightly different. You tap and drag the bar to get the volume higher or lower. Very clever. There are new features like a recording one, demonstrated below in the short video clip.

4 Improved iCloud Drive

I love the fact they are giving us the facility to have a proper document management tool. That’s the one debilitating thing with my current set up, I have to go to the mac to edit documents and share them via email to devices, or plonk them in iCloud Drive to pick up elsewhere. Being able to work seamlessly from one device to another, search for files and have better access will make blogging easier!

5 One handed keyboard!

How often do we use our phones with one hand, whilst the other is clasping a handbag or a cup of coffee? Well there will be no need to worry in future. You can now choose the one handed keyboard, it shuffles all the keys to the right hand side so that you can use it with one hand. It is very clever. It is really easy to get back to the normal keyboard too. I am hoping they make it easier to choose the keyboard in the first place. Great idea though.

6 Driving do not disturb

This is super clever. The phone detects when you’re driving, I’m guessing it senses the speed you’re going at by gps and edits the state of your phone accordingly. I’ll have to try it out as a passenger. It basically stops alerts from showing on your phone and causing a distraction. Safe and efficient. Excellent.

7 Maps show now show in buildings

I love this idea. Basically, if I’m going to a foreign country I can look up the airports and shopping malls to see what is inside. Restaurants and shops etc. I can plan my trips a little better then too. Bonus for those travel lovers out there.

8 A clever app store

The App Store now shows you things you may like, or the app of the day etc. It has more of a news stream feed on the opening page. Which is more personalised to your likes and what is popular.

9 iPad dock (like a Mac)

This is a great idea and one I’ve thought about for a while. I love the dock on the Mac, it’s essential to work effectively when multi tasking between windows and opening your favourite software. To have this on the iPad would make it very easy to get more done! I love being productive.

10 Better multi tasking

Due to the dock and the new drag and drop facility on iPad, it makes for better multi tasking. The iPad can now have two windows side by side, so you can read a website and message your partner back at the same time! I’m excited to try it out on the iPad.

The new iOS 11 Apple software update is full of clever things for all of your devices. Please be aware that although the software worked on my phone, I did have to uninstall it as phone calls were becoming an issue. In order to revert back to iOS 10, I had to use iTunes and do a recovery, details of which are on the Apple website. I am very excited for September 2017, when it is released. The new iPhone 8 will be out at the same time, make sure you check your contracts and upgrade at the right time!

I love the screen recording option in the control centre too, a quick video clip is below, you will be able to see the volume bar and how quick it is to adjust. The red dot at the bottom means it is recording, so you can monitor. The car icon is a setting you can press to go into “driving mode” – this is a brilliant idea. 

I took these photos and videos using my own iPhone 7, with EE.