Apple spent a lot of time demoing iOS 11 at the WWDC 2017 keynote, but in the interest of time, they were only able to show off some of the top features rather than everything that’s new.

In this piece, we’ll outline a number of new features that Apple didn’t get a chance to show you at the keynote.

Improvements for Siri

One of the first things Apple took the stage for at the event was Siri, the voice assistant the powers our mobile devices. iOS 11 brings a host of new features for Siri, including:

Two new voices – male and female

A more fluent-speaking voice

Type your queries to Siri instead of talk

Improved jokes and personal expression

Several new music-related commands

Language translation

Improvements for the keyboard

Because typing on iPhones has always been a bit of a pain point, Apple is making typing faster and easier with these keyboard improvements:

One-handed typing on iPhone [video]

Swipe up on keyboard keys to input numbers, symbols, and punctuation

Password auto-fill for apps

Enhanced switch control typing

Improvements for the Messages app

Apple has been changing the way you use the Messages app since iOS 10, and now things are about to get even better in iOS 11 with the following new features:

Messages on iCloud

Redesigned app drawer

Business chat preview

Share URLs with 3D Touch

Invite family to use iMessage

Send money via iMessage

Two new fullscreen effects: “Echo” and “Spotlight” [video]

Improvements for the Photos app

With photography being one of the main interests behind the iPhone’s incredible camera, it’s only obvious Apple would add new features to the Photos app to compliment your beautiful shots. The new stuff includes:

Live Photo loops

Live Photo bounce

Live Photo long exposure

Animated GIF support

Improvements for the App Store

The App Store is being completely redesigned in iOS 11 to bring things up to speed with the modern world we live in. Andrew goes hands-on with everything that’s new in the video below:

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Improvements for the Maps app

Although navigation had a bit of a bumpy start on iOS at first, Apple has been ironing out the kinks and bringing its Maps app up to par with Google maps. Here’s what you can expect from the Maps app in iOS 11:

Indoor maps for large malls

Lane change guidance

Indicate current speed limit

Illustrate entrances to landmarks in China

Zoom with one hand

Traffic camera alerts in China

Improvements for Safari

Safari is the main web browser on your iPhone and iPad, and now you can expect even more useful features out of it, including:

Siri can suggest articles based on your browsing activity

Switch tabs with a 3D Touch gesture

View flight statuses

Find word definitions in Safari

Convert metrics in Safari

Do math in Safari

Safe browsing in China

Improvements for iCloud

Since a lot of your data gets pushed from your iOS device(s) to iCloud, Apple is keeping iCloud up to date with new features as well. You can expect the following new features in iOS 11:

Improvements for the Notes app



Apple spent a lot of time refining the Notes app in iOS 11, so you can expect all of the following great features to follow:

Use Apple Pencil on iPad Lock screen to instantly open Notes

Inline drawing – text wraps around drawn images

Document scanning

Pin notes of importance

Insert tables in notes

Improvements for the Mail app

Since almost everyone gets emails, it’s also worth noting what comes new in Apple’s stock email client:

Add inline drawings to your emails

Top Hits during email searches

Improvements for the News app

Apple’s News app is a great place to see all your curated news lists. The following new features are being brought to the app in iOS 11:

Siri suggests News topics based on your interests

View a daily section of the best news-based videos

Personalized Top Stories feature

News videos now appear in the Today page

New Spotlight tab

Improvements for the Camera app

Apple is also bringing a slew of new features to the Camera app in iOS 11, such as:

New photo filters that bring out skin tones and more

New compression technology reduces photograph file size

Enhancements to Live Photos

Storage management

Tidbits

Improvements for the Podcasts app

The Podcasts app has been completely redesigned in iOS 11. Andrew goes hands-on with the redesigned app in the video below:

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Improvements for Spotlight

When you want to find something on your iPhone in a jiff, you use Spotlight. iOS 11 brings a number of improvements to Spotlight, including:

View airplane and airport information

Improvements for Apple Pay

With Apple Pay increasing in popularity, Apple is expanding on the feature with more flexibility for its users. Among the new features related to Apple Pay are:

Person-to-person money sharing

Apple Pay Cash card securely stores received money for spending

Transfer Apple Pay Cash to bank account or spend it online/in stores

Stronger security

Apple is beefing up the security of its operating system to keep you and your family safe. Among the changes coming in iOS 11 are:

SMS fraud protection

Enterprise network security features

Wi-Fi password sharing

New Accessibility features



To make the iPhone usable for everyone, Apple has enhanced the Accessibility features in iOS 11, including:

Automatic device setup

Smart Invert colors

Streamlined family setup

PDF accessibility

Spoken/braille captions for video

Redesigned inverted colors mode

Expansion of braille editing

WebRTC support

VoiceOver descriptions for images

Use a 3D Touch gesture for Lookup

Volume slide no longer covers fullscreen videos

New miscellaneous features on iPad

Apple went above and beyond for iPad users with iOS 11 by adding a bevy of new features for all of Apple’s tablets:

New HomeKit features

With HomeKit products being all the rage these days, Apple is expanding upon its HomeKit features in iOS with the following upgrades:

Set up occupancy and duration triggers for HomeKit accessories

Tap to set up HomeKit devices

Better international language support

With iPhone being a worldly-popular device, Apple is making it more accessible for all of the different forms of communication found around the world. Among what’s new are:

English input for Japanese Romaji keyboard

Kannada, Malayalam, and Oida keyboards

English on 10-key Pinyin keyboard

Portuguese/English bilingual dictionary

Russian/English bilingual dictionary

Hindi dictation

Arabic system font

Improvements to Apple Music

As Apple Music continues to gain traction in the Music industry, Apple continues to add new features, like:

Create user accounts to connect with others

View other users’ most-played music and playlists

Support for Apple’s HomePod

AirPlay 2 for improved music controls

Redesigned Control Center interface

Apple has completely re-thought the Control Center interface to look more modular and has added all new toggles and shortcuts, as well as a way to customize what does and doesn’t appear there.

Andrew goes hands-on with the new Control Center in the video below.

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Native screen recording

We’ve been able to record our screens with QuickTime on our Mac for a while now, but for the first time, you can now do it right from the device itself thanks to a new button in Control Center.

Emergency SOS mode

Apple Watch users are familiar with SOS mode, which helps you get in contact with emergency personnel and emergency contacts when things go wrong. Apple has brought this useful feature to the iPhone in iOS 11.

Better Lock screen notifications

Apple is redesigning the way you get to notifications on the Lock screen in iOS 11 by letting you easily filter between recent and missed notifications. All you have to do is drag down from the top of the screen like a cover sheet.

Do Not Disturb while driving

Apple is taking a stance against texting while driving by empowering users to use special Do Not Disturb features while driving. These features will automatically keep your phone from receiving notifications when you’re moving at a driving speed and will notify anyone who tries to contact you that you’re busy driving automatically. The feature is optional; but recommended.

Better Wi-Fi and cellular information

Apple is giving users more detailed information about their Wi-Fi and cellular usage statistics. New features include:

Updated Status Bar cellular signal indicator

More advanced Wi-Fi analytics

Carrier-based cellular data usage

Display phone number caller ID as Apple ID in China

Snap Live Photos during FaceTime

You can now capture Live Photos during a FaceTime call. Both you and the person you’re communicating with will receive a notification when you snap a photo and it gets saved to the Photos app.

Scan QR codes

It’s been a long time since the introduction of QR codes, but Apple is finally adding native support for QR-code scanning in iOS 11.

More screenshot and Markup features

When you take a screenshot on your device, iOS 11 will present you with many more options laid before you, such as Markup editing and sharing tools. Since we take screenshots to, more or less, show someone how to do something, this will be incredibly useful.

Annotate PDF files in iBooks

If you’re reading PDF files with the iBooks app, iOS 11 will allow you to annotate those files to your heart’s content.

Move multiple app icons at once

You used to have to put your iPhone into ‘jiggle’ mode to edit and move apps on the Home screen, but with iOS 11, you don’t even have to do that. Moreover, you can move multiple apps at one given time by selecting them during the moving process.

Apple enables NFC for third-party apps

We thought it might never happen, but Apple has opened NFC chip access for third-party developers who want to make apps to support Near Field Communication. This opens the door to new features like NFC-enabled tags or opening NFC-based doors, etc.

Redesigned Calulator app

Apple has also redesigned the Calculator app in iOS 11 with a more classic look. This includes a new app icon, as well as circular calculator buttons.

Wrapping up

There are many other features hidden in iOS 11, but as you can see, even the preliminary list of features is quite impressive to say the very least. iOS 11 will launch alongside macOS High Sierra and watchOS 4 this Fall as a free upgrade for all users. To see if iOS 11 is compatible with your device, we recommend reading our compatibility list.

Since there are so many features baked into iOS 11, it’s probably likely that we missed a few. If we’ve missed anything major, please feel welcomed to leave a comment below to discuss any new features you find most interesting.

Are you excited to install iOS 11 this Fall? Share in the comments below!