Apple has announced iOS 11 at WWDC; and it comes with a massive amount of new features. The most important is likely to be P2P payments for Apply Pay; although it also introduces a new machine-learning developed voice for Siri. This includes a new male voice for the AI assistant.
Being able to transfer cash between people in Apple Pay has long been expected, and Apple is finally making it happen. It’s also integrating the new feature with iMessage, making it much easier to send money to contacts. This fund transfer sends the money to an Apple Pay cash card, from which the owner can later use for purchases or move to a bank account.
Apple Pay in iMessage will also be contextually aware, and will appear in the event that a message indicates that the receiver owes someone money. It’s somewhat helpful, but might be a horrible reminder of some sort of debt.
Siri is also getting an update with a slightly modified voice. The usual female voice sounds different, using machine learning to create new inflections in speech. Those who want a change of pace can also switch it over to a male voice.
The AI assistant can also now do live translations based on speech. The list of languages is rather limited at the moment, but Apple is planning to expand the list.
Siri is also being integrated into more functions on iOS 11. Catching up to the Google Assistant and Cortana by adding contextually aware calendar appointments and reminders. These are also synced across all devices with Siri enabled.
Some smaller improvements and tweaks shown include a redesigned camera app that allows for better image compression. A new Control Center is being implemented and uses 3D Touch to squeeze the entire settings page into a single screen.
A new safety feature called ‘Do Not Disturb While Driving’ blocks notifications while in a car. It literally blanks out the display and displays a reminder in the event someone tries to check messages; it can auto respond with “I’m driving” messages.
iOS 11 is also introducing a redesigned App Store. It’s mostly cosmetic improvements and re-arranging things to account for modern UI. The main page of the new App Store will feature a tab called Today, which just shows the app of the day. Games will also receive a separate tab, as will other useful apps.
The new operating system is being released as a developer beta from today, with the full release coming later in the fall.
