iOS 11.1 Released: What’s New and Why Should You Upgrade

Apple has released the final version of iOS 11.1 – the first major update to iOS 11. iOS 11.1 brings over 70 new emojis along with several improvements and bug fixes. It also includes important security patches and is said to improve the performance of compatible devices.

iOS 11.1 also brings back the popular 3D Touch multitasking gesture on iPhone 6s and later which was removed without citing a reason. This gesture allows you to ‘force-touch’ the left edge of the screen to reveal multitasking.

Since its release, users have been complaining about iOS 11’s sluggish performance and battery draining issues. Apple released three minor updates to address those issues with iOS 11.0.3 causing more problems than solving them.

Although Apple hasn’t explicitly mentioned improving battery performance in iOS 11.1 changelog, users are expecting to see the issue fixed.

iOS 11.1 Changelog: What’s New?

Emoji

• Over 70 new emoji characters including new food types, animals, mythical creatures, clothing options, more expressive smiley faces, gender-neutral characters and more

Photos

• Resolves an issue that could cause some photos to appear blurry
• Addresses an issue that could cause Live Photo effects to playback slowly
• Fixes an issue that could cause some photos to not display in the People album when restoring from an iCloud Backup
• Fixes an issue that could impact performance when swiping between screenshots

Accessibility

• Improves braille support for Grade 2 input
• Improves VoiceOver access to multi-page PDFs
• Improves VoiceOver rotor actions for announcing incoming notifications
• Improves VoiceOver rotor actions menu when removing an app from the App Switcher
• Fixes an issue for some users where alternative keys would not display when using VoiceOver with Touch Typing
• Fixes an issue where VoiceOver rotor would always return to default action in Mail
• Fixes an issue where VoiceOver rotor would not delete messages

Other improvements and fixes

• Adds back support for accessing the app switcher by pressing on edge of display with 3D Touch
• Fixes an issue that caused cleared Mail notifications to reappear on Lock screen
• Fixes an issue in enterprise environments that prevented data from being moved between managed apps
• Fixes an issue with some 3rd-party GPS accessories that caused inaccuracies in location data
• Resolves an issue where settings for Heart Rate notifications were appearing in Apple Watch app (1st generation)
• Fixes an issue where app icons were not appearing in notifications on Apple Watch

Why Should You Upgrade to iOS 11.1?

The more ‘visible’ reason for upgrading to iOS 11.1 is the addition of new emojis. New emojis introduced in iOS 11.1 includes vampires, zombies, mermaids, breastfeeding, dinosaurs, giraffe, face vomiting, and genie among others.

Whether you care about a couple of dozen new emojis or not, you should hit the update button right away. Apple has fixed a number of security issues in iOS 11.1 – most notably patching the KRACK WPA2 Wi-Fi vulnerability. KRACK or Key Reinstallation Attack is a severe replay attack on the WPA-2 security protocol using which, an attacker in Wi-Fi range may force ‘nonce reuse’ in WPA clients.

An issue with Siri permission that existed in previous iOS versions has been fixed, too. “A person with physical access to an iOS device may be able to use Siri to read notifications of content that is set not to be displayed at the lock screen,” states iOS 11.1 security notes.

There are other security fixes in iOS 11.1, too and for the sake of making your device more secure, you should upgrade it to iOS 11.1 as soon as possible.

Another reason to upgrade your device is the possibility of the mysterious battery drain issue being fixed. Although Apple doesn’t say so, let’s hope iOS 11.1 provides better battery performance per charge.

iOS 11.1 Compatible Devices

• iPhone: iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 5s
• iPad: 12.9-inch iPad Pro (first-generation), 12.9-inch iPad Pro (second-generation), 9.7-inch iPad Pro, 10.5-inch iPad Pro, iPad (fifth-generation), iPad Air 2, iPad Air, iPad mini 4, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 2
• iPod touch: iPod touch (6th generation)