App Store and Control Center get new interface in iOS 11

Apple presented iOS 11 at its developer conference WWDC. In the new iOS version, the App Store and Control Center have received a new interface. Notifications on the lock screen can also be read again after unlocking.

In iOS 11, the biggest change is in the Control Center, the menu that is available with a swipe up from the bottom. That now works with tiles to get everything on one page. With 3D Touch, users can see more controls in the interface.

In addition, the lock screen with notifications remains accessible after unlocking with a swipe down from the home screen, in the notification bar. With a swipe up from there, users can see all the notifications.

In addition, the App Store is getting a new design. For example, a Today tab is added to discover new apps. In addition, Apple separates games and apps into separate tabs and there are new features on the product pages of apps and games. Apple will show in-app purchases separately in the App Store to make them more visible.

Apple Pay is getting an update with payments from one iOS user to another. Users’ money goes into the Apple Pay Cash Card, a wallet from the manufacturer. Users can transfer that money to and from their bank, but also to other users. This makes Apple a competitor for services that let people transfer money to each other, including those from banks themselves.

iPhones are also going to save photos and videos in new file formats. Videos now go in h.265 for better compression. For photos, it is a high efficiency image format, which is based on h.265 and should also take up less space. According to Apple, it remains possible to effortlessly share photos with others.

The photo app has been updated to allow users to loop Live Photos and select a new photo from the video. In iMessage, users can more quickly select stickers from a pack. In Maps, Apple adds maps of shopping centers and airports. There are currently no places in the Benelux.

In iOS 11 there is also an ‘auto mode’. If the iPhone detects that users are driving in a car via bluetooth, WiFi, GPS and sensors, the iPhone suggests activating Do No Disturb While Driving. It blocks notifications. It also sends an automated response via iMessage. If users answer with ‘urgent’, the notification will still go through. Music is getting an API for developers to offer custom playlists in the app, for example. In addition, a function will be added to see what contacts are listening to.

For developers, APIs are coming to leverage Apple’s methods for machine learning through neural networks. For example, developers can use Apple’s facial recognition method on the device itself.

In addition, Apple spoke about augmented reality for the first time. Developers will have access to ARkit. In a test app, Apple showed a method to recognize surfaces and place objects on them. This allows developers to create apps for augmented reality. In a demonstration, Pokémon Go worked with ARkit, among other things.

Developers can install iOS 11 from Monday. A public beta will be released at the end of this month and the final version will come in the fall. The new version is not compatible with the 2012 iPhone 5 and the 2013 iPhone 5c. All iPhones from the iPhone 5s onwards can run version 11.