iOS 11? More like iOS HEAVEN. I'm sorry, please still read this. Very little chance that there's worse jokes in the actual post.
The dust has settled from Apple's announcement two weeks ago and last week saw the release of iOS 11. This was one of their more significant upgrades so I thought I'd run down some of the changes and features I've encountered so far. Keep in mind there are TONS of new feature; these are just a few I'm highlighting. For even more tricks and tips, click over to our friends at BloomTimes here.
STORAGE MANAGEMENT
I'm not proud of this, but I'm willing to confess in this blog because we're in the trust tree. Up until I upgraded to the iPhone 8, I was constantly getting the low storage alert. This was mostly because I like to have a lot of music stored on my phone, but I'm also pretty bad at deleting old items. With iOS 11, the iPhone Storage menu is now populated by recommendations of how to save you space including deleting large attachments and automatically deleting seldom used apps. Nothing that groundbreaking here, just nice to have all of your choices in one place.
QR CODES
Apparently now all you need to scan QR codes is to take a picture with your camera. Honestly I thought QR codes were dead - or at least an endangered species. Who uses these? It's 2017. Stop trying to make QR codes a thing. Well if you find someone that loves QR codes, tell them about this feature and they'll be excited I guess!
SCREEN RECORDING
This feature is particularly interesting for us in the IT field. Now you can record the actions on your own screen and send that video to others. This will be great for technical walk throughs for clients and/or older family members when they inevitably ask you to fix their phone.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Good news for travelers or aviation enthusiasts in general! iOS 11 automatically grabs flight information from your email or calendar and stores that information in Safari and Spotlight. Checking your flight status has never been easier.
CONTROL CENTER CUSTOMIZATION
With iOS 11 you can choose what tools are displayed on your control center screen. Personally, I like that I can add Notes easily so that when I get inspiration for the next GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL, I can quickly jot it down. (Grocery lists. I use it for grocery lists.)
Obviously there are more features, these are just a few that stood out to me. Apple just released a minor bug update so there are clearly still some kinks to work out. Overall though, I think it's an improvement with the focus on customization.
