On Monday, Apple officially announced the iOS 11 alongside a plethora of other software and hardware products at the WWDC event. The iOS 11 beta is now available to developers, but the public version will not arrive until later this year when Apple refreshes the iPhone lineup. The iPhone 8 or iPhone X would run iOS 11 right out of the box. The software will be at the core of the 10th anniversary iPhone, meaning it offers significant clues about the iPhone 8.
The new iOS iteration also promises a variety of new features for existing iPhone models. Check out here whether the iOS 11 update will be compatible with your device. The software brings major improvements to the lock screen, Control Center, App Store, while introducing new features such as augmented reality. Here’s what the iOS 11 tells us about the 10th anniversary iPhone:
iPhone 8 to feature augmented reality
While most technology heavyweights such as Facebook are investing heavily in virtual reality, Apple CEO Tim Cook believes augmented reality (AR) will be a bigger opportunity than VR. At WWDC, Apple unveiled a developer platform called ARKit to let developers build AR offerings for the iPhone 8 and other devices. Apple claims it will be the “largest AR platform in the world,” thanks to its user base of hundreds of millions of iPhone and iPad users.
The iPhone 8 will also have the necessary hardware, including a more powerful camera, to support augmented reality games and applications. AR adds a virtual layer of information and characters on the real world scenes that you can interact with. Pokemon Go is an AR game.
Do not disturb while driving
Distractions while driving put your safety at risk. Apple has added a new Do Not Disturb While Driving mode to iOS 11. When turned on, the feature will mute all the alerts and notifications while keeping the screen dark. It uses Bluetooth or WiFi to detect that you are moving in a car, and will suggest turning on the feature. If you’re not driving, just tap undo.
The feature has an auto-response system that will let people trying to contact you know that you are driving. If the notice is really urgent, the sender just has to reply urgent to get your attention.
iOS 11 offers peer-to-peer payments
Apple has added peer-to-peer payments within the Messages app via Apple Pay. Craig Federighi told the WWDC audience that the money your friends send you will go into a new Apple Pay Cash account. Apple has also integrated Siri with the new payments service. You can pay your friends without having to log into a new service. You just have to authenticate the transaction with your fingerprint.
The money in your Apple Pay Cash account can be used to make purchases in stores, apps, and on the web using Apple Pay. You can also send it to someone or withdraw it to your bank account.
iPhone 8 users to get an improved Maps
The Cupertino company has added detailed mall and airport floor plans to the Maps app. It will also offer a “lane guidance” to tell you which lane to change into when you are driving. The Maps app will also notify you about speed limits.
Siri gets smarter
Siri badly needed a major overhaul to stay relevant as Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa leaped forward. Apple claims that it has made Siri smarter in iOS 11 with artificial intelligence and machine learning. The voice assistant will monitor your behavior to offer you the most relevant information at any given time. The new male and female Siri voices sound more natural.
Siri will be able to translate from English to French, German, Chinese, Spanish, and Italian, which should help international travelers. It will also make iCloud Calendar appointments based on your online activities.
An improved Photos app
The most exciting thing added to the Photos app is a new High-Efficiency Image File Format that significantly reduces the file size of your photos. It means you will be able to keep more photos and videos on your device. The iOS 11 also allows you to trim the Live Photos images and add effects.
Control Center gets a makeover
When the iPhone 8 comes out, users will not have to worry about the Control Center’s three-panel layout. With iOS 11, Apple has put the controls you care about in one place. You can get to the Control Center tools with an upward swipe gesture. Users can access the more granular controls with the help of 3D Touch. The lock screen now offers a unified view of notifications.
Better music experience
The tech giant has finally opened up Apple Music to third-party developers, giving them access to its vast music library. Third-party developers like Shazam and Nike could add music or playlists to the catalog. If you want to play music in multiple rooms in your house, you can now do that through the AirPlay 2 feature in iOS 11. Users can set up surround sound music with the speakers they already have.
The iPhone maker is also trying to make Apple Music more social. Users can now make their playlists public to let their friends find and follow them. You can add songs and listen to shared playlists with your friends.
Other software features
Among other things, Apple has revamped the App Store. There is a new Today view with featured app content. Besides the Today view, the App Store has separate tabs for apps and games. The company also promises to have made one-handed typing easier with easy access to symbols, numbers, and punctuation.
iPhone 8 hardware features revealed by Foxconn insider
The iOS 11 reveals what the iPhone 8 would get on the software side. A few days ago, a Foxconn insider spilled the beans on the 10th anniversary iPhone’s hardware features and specs in a Reddit thread. The Reddit user referred to the device as iPhone X rather than iPhone 8. He claimed that the test units of iPhone 8 had the fingerprint scanner integrated into the display, but its yield rates and performance was “not good.” However, Apple will not relocate the fingerprint sensor to the rear panel, said the Foxconn insider.
The handset will have 3GB RAM and waterproofing feature, but no USB Type-C port. The rear panel will be made out of a “composite glass” material rather than aluminum to facilitate wireless charging. The dual camera system on iPhone 8 will be arranged vertically, not horizontally. The vertical arrangement would facilitate augmented reality features.
The Foxconn insider added that the iPhone 8 would offer retina scanning and facial detection via front-facing camera modules. He confirmed past rumors that the iPhone 8 release has indeed been delayed due to technical difficulties. The 10th anniversary iPhone may not hit the store shelves until October at the earliest, claims KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
The anniversary edition iPhone is going to be more expensive than its predecessors. Goldman Sachs analyst Simona Jankowski claims the iPhone 8 will be launched in 128GB and 256GB storage options priced at $999 and $1099, respectively. But UBS analyst Steven Milunovich says the base model will have a more reasonable price tag of $870, though the most expensive variant may cost $1070.
