Another year, another operating system update from Apple.

On the Saturday before Apple’s long awaited launch of their iPhone 8, a Golden Master build of iOS 11 was released. Never before had this happened.

Although those who began digging around found a few cool features, now that Apple has released iOS 11 to the public we have a more official breakdown of what it entails.

First off, it’s listed as 1,9GB in size. That’s a lot if your iPhone is only packing 16 / 32 gigs, but it must be worth it, right?

Well, let’s see – here are a few changes that you might find pleasantly surprising:

Taking a screenshot just got fun

Once you have pressed the home and lock button to take a screenshot, it creates a window in the bottom left of the page. You can then edit and doodle on screenshots before saving them.

Fun times.

Siri will help you translate

On the fly, Siri will translate most foreign languages for you.

No need for that arb scanner app

Finally! When creating a note, press the plus button and select scan documents. You can manually edit the area, turn them black and white and add signatures.

Record your onscreen activities

Activated via the new control centre, you can record what happens on your screen and it’s saved to Photos. Once activated, it will take three seconds before it begins – perfect for showing mom how to do something!

YOU CAN SAVE GIFs!

Yes, yes, yes! Apple is allowing you to enter into the commentary world with GIFs, saved to your photo roll for quick access.

Apple Maps Is Maturing

Apple Maps is learning some new tricks. The team is slowly adding maps of malls and airports. You can now search for the nearest restaurant or navigate through different floors.

QR Codes are making a comeback

QR are pretty handy, except when you need another program to use them. Now, when you point the iPhone camera at a QR code, iOS is smart enough to detect that it’s a QR code and read it. Boom boom pow – does this mean the return of WeChat?

Add effects to your live photos 

You can make your live photos loop, bounce and create a long exposure effect by dragging upward on the screen when looking at them.

WiFi connectivity just got friendlier 

Chances are you’ve been to a friend’s place and didn’t join the Wi-Fi network because the password was too complicated. Well, now iOS 11 will prompt you when another iPhone is in range, giving you the chance to share that awkwardly long password.

Pretty cool, hey? Business Tech has a full breakdown of every update – check that out here.

In a world where everything is getting smarter one upgrade at a time, there’s no telling what will happen next.

And of course the iPhone 8, iPhone 8s and iPhone X are all coming to SA soon, so keep an eye on Digicape for those dates.

[source: mybroadband&telegraph&techcrunch]