Apple on Tuesday released the free iOS 11 software update for the supported iPhone, iPad and iPod touch models following an extensive period of testing that began with the initial developer-only release on June 5.

To get the new firmware, head over to our Downloads webpage.

Moving from GM to public release

The iOS 11 public release has the same build number (15A372) as the iOS 11 GM.

People who installed the iOS 11 GM on their iPhone and iPad needn’t do anything because they’ve been running literally the same code as folks who have just upgraded to the commercial iOS 11 release.

To continue receiving iOS 11 betas, keep Apple’s beta configuration profile on your device.

If you’d like to get the subsequent commercial builds when they’re released, delete the profile from your device and then update to the upcoming superseding version (iOS 11.x) when it becomes available.

How to update to iOS 11

The iOS 11 public release is available as an over-the-air update in Settings → General → Software Update on your device or through desktop iTunes. Apple also released a fourth major version of the Apple Watch operating system today, watchOS 4.

iOS 11 marks the most important update to Apple’s mobile operating system in years.

Not only does it bring augmented reality experiences, increase your security and turn your iPad into a productivity powerhouse with drag and drop, an interactive Dock and ARKit, but also makes your iPhone smarter and more powerful with Siri enhancements, a customizable Control Center a redesigned App Store and much more.

I’m jailbroken, should I update?

Be sure to follow our checklist to ensure a hassle-free experience.

If you’re jailbroken and intend to stay jailbroken, it’s probably a good idea to stay away from iOS 11 for the time being because upgrading to it will cost you your jailbreak.

Folks who are not jailbroken and don’t intend to jailbreak in the near future are welcome to upgrade. Keep in mind that iOS 11 does not support 32-bit devices like iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c.

iOS 11 features

Some iOS 11 features may not be available for all countries or all areas. For more information, visit Apple’s iOS Feature Availability webpage. For detailed information on the security content of this update, check out Apple’s support document.

Here are some key iOS 11 highlights:

App Store

All-new App Store designed for discovering great apps and games everyday

New Today tab helps you discover new apps and games with stories, how-to guides and more

New Games tab to find new games and see what’s most popular with top game charts

Dedicated Apps tab with top picks, dedicated app charts and app categories

App pages include more video previews, Editors’ Choice badges, easier access to user ratings and information about In-App Purchases

Siri

New Siri voice is more natural and expressive

Translate English words and phrases into Chinese, French, German, Italian or Spanish (beta)

Siri suggestions based on your usage of Safari, News, Mail and Messages

Works with notes apps to create to-do lists, notes and reminders

Works with banking apps for account transfer and balances

Works with apps that display QR codes

Hindi and Shanghainese dictation

Camera

Portrait mode now supports optical image stabilization, HDR and True Tone flash

Photos and videos will take up half the space with the new HEIF and HEVC image and video formats

Redesigned set of nine filters optimized for natural skin tones

Automatically identify and scan QR codes

Photos

Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure Live Photo effects

Mute, trim, or choose a new key photo for Live Photos

Memory Movies automatically adapt content for portrait and landscape orientation

More than a dozen new memory types including pets, babies, weddings and sporting events

People album is more accurate and stays up to date across devices with iCloud Photo Library

Animated GIF support

Maps

Indoor maps for major airports and shopping centers

Lane guidance and speed limit information with turn-by-turn directions

One-handed zoom with double tap and swipe

Interact with Flyover by moving your device

Do Not Disturb while Driving

Automatically silences alerts while driving and keeps iPhone silent and display off

Optional iMessage auto reply to alert selected contacts that you’re driving

New features designed for iPad

An all new Dock provides quick access to your favorite and recently used apps and can even be shown on top of active apps Dock resizes so you can add all of your favorite apps Recently used and Continuity apps are available on the right

provides quick access to your favorite and recently used apps and can even be shown on top of active apps Enhanced Slide Over and Split View Apps can be easily started in Slide Over and Split View from the Dock Slide Over and background apps now run simultaneously Apps in Slide Over and Split View can now be placed on the left side of the screen

Drag and drop Move text, images and files between apps on iPad Multi-Touch to move multiple items at the same time Spring-loading to move content between apps

Markup Markup works across documents, PDFs, webpages, photos and more Instant markup anything in iOS—just place Apple Pencil on what you want to mark Create a PDF and markup anything that can be printed

Notes Instantly create a new note by tapping on Lock Screen with Apple Pencil Inline drawing available by simply placing Apple Pencil in body of a note Search handwritten text Document scanner autocorrects for skewing and uses image filters to remove shadows Table support to organize and display information Pin important notes to the top of the list

Files All-new Files app to browse, search and organize files Works with iCloud Drive and third-party cloud file providers Recents view for quick access to recently used files across all apps and cloud services Create folders and sort files by name, date, size and tags



QuickType

Flick down on letter keys to enter numbers, symbols and punctuation marks on iPad

One-handed keyboard support on iPhone

New keyboards for Armenian, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, Georgian, Irish, Kannada, Malayalam, Maori, Odia, Swahili and Welsh

English input on the 10-key Pinyin keyboard

English input on the Japanese Romaji keyboard

HomeKit

New accessory types including AirPlay 2 speakers, sprinklers and faucets

Expanded occupancy, time and accessory based triggers

QR code and tap to pair accessory setup support

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality technologies that apps from App Store can use to deliver content on top of real-world scenes for interactive gaming, immersive shopping experiences, industrial design and more

Machine Learning

Core machine learning technologies that apps from App Store can use to deliver intelligent features with machine learning data processed on device for high performance and user privacy

Other features & improvements

Control Center redesign brings all controls on one page

Control Center custom controls including accessibility, guided access, magnifier, text size, screen recording and Wallet

Apple Music now helps you discover music with friends. Create a profile so friends can listen to playlists you’ve shared and see the music you listen to most

Apple News now includes Top Stories picked just for you, recommendations from Siri, the best videos of the day in Today View and great stories selected by our editors in the new Spotlight tab

Automatic Setup signs you in to iCloud, Keychain, iTunes, App Store, iMessage and FaceTime with your Apple ID

Automatic Setup restores device settings including language, region, network, keyboard preferences, places you frequently visit, how you talk to Siri, Home and Health data

Easily share access to your Wi-Fi networks

Storage optimization notifications and free up space in Settings for apps like Photos, Messages and more

Emergency SOS calls emergency services based on your current location and automatically notifies emergency contacts, shares your location and displays your Medical ID

FaceTime lets you capture Live Photos from the other person’s Mac or iPhone camera

Easily check Flight status in Spotlight and Safari

Definitions, conversions and math support in Safari

Russian and English bilingual dictionary

Portuguese and English bilingual dictionary

Arabic system font support

Accessibility

VoiceOver descriptions support for images

VoiceOver tables and lists support in PDFs

Type to Siri support for basic search queries

Spoken and braille caption support for videos

Dynamic Type increases text and app UI to larger sizes

Redesigned Invert Colors make media content easier to view

Highlight Colors improvements in Speak Selection and Speak Screen

Switch Control typing can scan and type whole words at a time

iOS 11 provides other features as well (official changelogs omit minor enhancements).

As an example, it brings native FLAC playback to iPhone 7, iPhone 8 and iPhone X although the official release notes don’t make any mention of FLAC support.

To help you get the most out of iOS 11, stay tuned to iDownloadBlog as we’ll be talking a lot more about the many new iOS 11 features and sharing useful tips and tricks in the coming weeks and months.

Are you excited for iOS 11?

Are you excited to make the upgrade? What are your favorite new features of iOS 11, and why? Will you be upgrading to iOS 11 today or in the coming days?

Share in the comments below!