Apple announces iOS 11 and... we hope you like Siri
The wait for iOS 11 is finally over.
Apple just introduced the next version of iOS during the opening keynote at WWDC in San Jose. The update, which won't be available until later this year, brings a much more powerful Siri, updated Messages app, revamped Apple Pay with person-to-person payments, redesigned App Store, and so much more.
Building on last year's Siri update, which added support for third-party apps, Apple's digital assistant will work with a much wider selection of apps starting with iOS 11.
"Siri understands context, your interests, and how you use your device,” said Craig Federighi. "What Siri learns about you on device is kept synced across all of your devices and kept completely private, readable on all of your devices."
The first thing you'll notice is Siri's voice will sound better. Apple says it's applying deep learning to make her sound more natural. Apple demoed a new male voice.
Siri's also smarter. It can learn your interests and recommend stories tailored just for you in Apple News.
Additionally, Apple's beta testing a new Siri translation feature capable of translating between English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. More languages will be added later according to Apple.
Apple showed off an updated Messages app that stores all of your messages -- all end-to-end encrypted -- in iCloud so that when you delete messages off one device, it deletes off all others signed into iCloud. Storing messages in iCloud also frees up storage on your device.
There's an update to Apple Pay that should upset Venmo and PayPal. Similar to Venmo, you can make person-to-person payments through iMessage, which are authenticated with Touch ID.
There are some improvements to the Camera and Live Photos as well. You can trim a specific section on a Live Photo and there are various new camera features including improved low-light performance and optical image stabilization and a neat "long exposure" effect mode.
There’s a major redesign to Control Center. As always, you swipe up, but things look a little different. Shortcut settings are split into smaller units; you can slide up on the volume and brightness controls and tap and 3D touch on units to get more information.
Lock screen notifications also get an upgrade. Instead of seeing a jumble of notifications on the lock screen, they'll collapse away and you can swipe up to see them all:
Apple Maps now has detailed indoor floor plans for malls and airports:
Indoor floor plans will be supported at all of these airports:
Furthermore, the new version of Maps has lane guidance to help you avoid missing an exit while you're driving.
For CarPlay, a new "Do Not Disturb While Driving" mode automatically disables notifications when it detects you're driving to help you keep your eyes on the road. Yeah, the screen turns black (no joke):
HomeKit lets you configure speakers within the Home app using the new AirPlay 2 protocol to build out a multi-room audio setup.
These companies have announced support for AirPlay 2, and there will be a new API for devs to build support into their own speakers:
Apple Music's got 27 million paid subscribers. New on iOS 11 is a "Friends Are Listening To" feature that shows -- you guessed it -- what your buddies are listening to.
A new MusicKit will let developers plug their own apps and tap into all of Apple Music's features.
With the App Store at 9 years old and over 180 million apps downloaded, Apple's redesigning the store. It starts with the new Today, Games, and Apps tabs:
Apps are presented in "cards" and when tapped they expand to display a lengthier description. There are also "how to" cards to teach users about how to use an app (i.e. tips for using VSCO). There's a new "App of the Day" that features a picked app.
On iPad, there's an expanded dock that's reminiscent of the one on macOS, improved split-view multitasking, drag-and-drop support, and a new app switcher that shows thumbnails in a grid (instead of giant cards).
There's also a new Files app that shows all of your files stored on iOS, even ones located within different apps. Moreover, you can move files between apps within the Files app. Hot dang!
There's also a new markup feature that works with Apple Pencil. For example, when you create a screenshot, a thumbnail will appear in the lower left corner and you can quickly tap that to start marking it up.
More impressive is searchable handwritten text and inline drawing:
Additionally, the Notes app has a document scanner that takes a photo of an image and then automatically corrects its perspective. RIP OfficeLens.
Apple also introduced new versions for its other platforms, including watchOS 4, macOS High Sierra, and new improvements to tvOS.
iOS 11 is available now to developers via the developer preview starting today and the official release will come in the fall for everyone else. It's available for iPhone 5S and newer, iPad Air and newer, iPad mini 2 and newer, and all iPad Pros.
Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.
