iPhone and iPad owners can now download iOS 11, a major update that brings with it augmented reality (AR) apps, Siri improvements and a completely overhauled App Store.
iOS 11 was first announced at this year’s WWDC and has been in the hands of those on Apple’s beta programme for some months now.
Chief among the update’s features is support for ARKit apps, which means which means that augmented reality-based software will soon start cropping up in the App Store.
iOS 11 also delivers a much-needed update to Siri. Not only has Apple given the digital assistant new ‘natural and expressive’ male and female voices, but Siri has also been upgraded to use ‘on-device learning’ to become more contextual. This means that if somebody messages to ask where you are, for example, Siri is now clever enough to serve up your location.
Native translation is also coming to Siri in iOS 11, which will support English to Chinese, French, German, Italian and Spanish at launch.
At the unveiling of iOS 11, Apple also boasted that iOS 11 would support peer-to-peer (P2P) payments through a new iMessage app, with transactions authenticated using Touch ID, or presumably Face ID on the iPhone X. However, the firm admitted this week that this feature won’t be available until later in the year.
The biggest changes are coming to iPad users, though, with Apple introducing a new dock that can be accessed even when you’re in an app, a Drag and Drop tool and wider support for the Apple Pencil.
Apple iOS 11 is around 1.89GB in size, bad news for those of you who own a 16GB device. It’s compatible with the iPhone 5s and above, the iPad 5th generation (2017); Mini 2, 3 and 4; all Air models and all Pro Models along with the 6th-generation iPod Touch.