Saudi Gazette report

Have you gotten a chance to get to know the newest features on your Apple devices?

Just when the latest flagship iPhones were announced, Apple released an upgrade in its iOS, creating a makeover for iPhones and iPads. According to many reviews, it’s more easy-friendly and has a better face.

There are some obvious changes that have appeared and others that are hidden.

With lots of new features to explore in the iPhone, here are some of the boldest:

A new Control Center

Swipe up and a newly designed Control Center will appear. You can customize the Control Center by adding all the most common apps you use regularly such as Alarm, Notes, Stopwatch, Calculator, Wallet, Magnifier tool and many others.

A boost in screenshots

When you screenshot a page, it will appear in an image on the bottom left of the screen and allow you to edit, mark, and share it immediately. You can get creative with this feature and use content more easily.

Screenshot in Video

You can record your screen in a video. This is useful for bloggers who want to show a presentation or demonstrate to viewers how an app works. It’s a novel update that’s introduced for the first time. It’s not obvious at first; you have to go to the Settings à Control Center à Add record icon

Fun messaging

This is one of most noticeable updates in Messages where the screen is less plain and has more tweaks. The bottom of the messaging screen has a new line of integrations including stickers, balloons, animated effects, spotlight and echo. Spotlight highlights your latest text and darkens the rest of the conversation. This is the latest trend in texting in smartphones.

A redesigned App Store

The new design aims to invite you to spend more time on the App Store by featuring more news and interesting categories.

Siri is easier to talk to

Siri has the option to choose between a male and female voice that sounds more natural in conversation. Easier communication means also typing to Siri instead of talking.

Siri can translate into any language you want instantly – and let Siri pronounce it for you. It can also detect text in an image and read it out loud.

New photo filters

People not using filters are so rare nowadays that filters are becoming a must

New live photo

This means you can screenshot while a video is playing or during a video call. Take a Live Photo by pressing the white button in the bottom left of the screen.

You can add file managers

This feature boosts your iPhone to make it more practical like using a computer. Users can now use file managers such as iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive.

Safe driving with the new mode

This Do Not Disturb mode While Driving prevents any distraction while on the road by blocking text message alerts and social media notifications. It detects your speed and movement using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and blank out the screen. You’ll still be able to send automated messages such as “I’m driving” or “Call you back”. If you’re not driving but are riding a vehicle, you can dismiss the mode.

Clear your storage more quickly

Storage space is more organized and helps you free up space smartly. It displays which content uses up the most space in your device. It offers you to delete unused apps, review large attachments in one space, and automatically delete old conversations, among others.

Easier Wi-Fi connection

No longer do you need to ask others to spell out the password for the Wi-Fi. Only one person needs to connect to the Wi-Fi and a box will appear to share with contacts via Bluetooth

Better typing using one hand

For large screens like the iPhone Plus, typing can be straining. The new iOS introduced one-hand typing so the keyboard appears on one side of the screen to be able to type with your thumb.

Maps can be used more often indoors

Indoor navigation has been a trend anticipated for quite some time now. The Apple’s Maps can now be visited more often since it offers indoor maps for large venues such as airports, malls, and maybe even campuses.

Stop annoying pop-up notifications that ask you to review an app.

This is a constant bother for many people. You can block them by going to Settings à iTunes & App Store à tap the switch for In-app Ratings and Reviews.

The iPad screen can be split so you can drag and drop files between apps.

Scan QR codes

iPhone now has QR support and allows you to scan a QR code using the camera and a notification will appear.

The following devices are compatible with iOS 11:

iPhone 7

iPhone 7 Plus

iPhone 6s

iPhone 6s Plus

iPhone 6

iPhone 6 Plus

iPhone SE

iPhone 5s

iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2017)

iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2015)

iPad Pro 10.5-inch

iPad Pro 9.7-inch

iPad Air 2

iPad Air

iPad 5th Generation

iPad 4th gen

iPad mini 4

iPad mini 3

iPad mini 2

iPod Touch 6th gen