Hi all. This article is a global overview of iOS 11. In it, I will go through all the innovations of the operating system regarding iOS 10. There are a decent number of them, so get ready for a lot of text and screenshots. But I tried to be concise.

The App Store has completely changed: from the icon to the functionality and ideology. Firstly, a section with news appeared: “Today”. This section publishes "Game of the Day" and "Apps of the Day" (formerly "Editor's Choice"). Also, articles-collections and articles-interviews with developers will be published right there. For the last Apple separate respect. The App Store clearly lacked such humanity.

Secondly, there are separate sections for games and programs. This should have been done a long time ago. Each category contains its own tops and selections made by Apple moderators. For example, Zombie games or outdoor programs…

Thirdly, the entire store has undergone a redesign. The App Store has become visually strongly reminiscent of Apple Music in all elements. Bold font in headings.

From the new cool one, I liked that the description now indicates the current place of the application in its category.

I also note that the video from the applications starts automatically. This is not very good for those who have limited traffic. This can be disabled in the settings:

Settings->iTunes Store & App Store->Video autoplay.

Command centre

The appearance of the control center has completely changed. Now all elements again, as in iOS 9 and before, are placed on one screen. Added a button to turn on / off the cellular network: Cook heard our prayers.

If you click on any icon and hold for a second, an additional options window opens. The funny thing is that it works on all devices, even where there is no 3D Touch, although it visually resembles this function.

Additional options are very useful. For example, a flashlight can be set to one of four brightness levels, and a clock can be set to a timer ...

This is how it looks on the iPad Air (note that the device does not have 3D Touch):

Moreover, you can remove some options from the Control Center and add new ones.

Settings->Control Center->Configure email. management.

For example, you can add quick access to a voice recorder. But the most interesting is the “Screen Recorder” option, which allows you to record video directly from the screen of your iDevice.

The video is saved in the Photos app. Previously, this was only possible with the help of a jailbreak and tweaks from Cydia.

The iPhone now has a Do Not Disturb Driver While Driving option. If it is enabled, then notifications will not come if the phone determines that a car is being moved.

Calculator

The icon has changed. The design of the application has changed. Now all the buttons are round, and the button with the number “0” represents an oval.

The Calculator app has not yet been added to the iPad. Therefore, use third-party applications.

Standard Application Files

It appears automatically in the system, therefore it is built into the firmware. Files is an attempt to make a built-in file manager. In terms of functionality, it doesn’t come close to any Documents , but the change is good.

The application has a couple of sections with the device and iCloud Drive (accordingly, the separate iCloud Drive application has disappeared from iOS). You can also add third-party cloud applications and file managers. For example, in September, Documents, Dropbox, Google Drive, Cloud Mail, etc. are already available in the program.

On the iPad, with its multitasking, the application will become popular, because it is configured for convenient file transfer. But on the iPhone, swiping with your finger also works great.

Photo and video

For photos and videos, iOS 11 has one cool change. True, it will only affect owners of the iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 10.5-inch iPad Pro and 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2017 model). Photos and videos will now take up 1.5-2 times less space. This is done due to the built-in HEIF encoding (for photos) and HEVC (for video). At the same quality, compression of pictures and movies will become more efficient.

Previously, the video recorded by the iPhone/iPad camera was compressed in H.264 format. iOS 11 uses the highly efficient H.265 (or HEVC) video compression codec. Although you can’t tell by the name of the codecs, the difference reaches 100%. That is, files recorded using H.265 are half the size of the same files recorded using H.264.

For example, on iOS 10, one minute of 720p video will take up 60 megabytes. And on iOS 11 it’s already 40. Video in 1080p quality (30 frames per second) on iOS 10 will be 130 megabytes, and on iOS 11 it will be 60 megabytes ...

Three new built-in effects have appeared for Live Photos: looped videos, pendulum and long exposure ... Effects are called by swiping up on the picture.

Also in iOS 10 there were 8 built-in filters for photos, and now there are 9. The names of all filters have been changed. Old filters have been improved. As Apple itself says, with them, skin color will look more natural ...

The standard iOS camera now has the ability to scan QR codes. If you need to disable the option, then:

Settings->Camera->Scan QR code.

Siri

Siri has changed visually...

And… wised up again. Now she can improve her voice, making it more realistic. Some advanced machine technology is used. Siri also learned to translate in any direction between six languages:

• English
• Chinese
• Spanish
• French
• Italian
• German

It is promised that there will be many more languages ​​in the future. And in general, during the June conference, it was said that Siri will almost know about what you just want. Your own predictor of the future.

Now, if you don't want (or can't) communicate with Siri by voice, you can switch to text typing.

Settings->General->Accessibility->Siri->Text input for Siri.

Dock and multitasking on iPad

The iPad now has a Mac OS Dock. The panel contains the most popular applications that the user launches. The panel is accessible from anywhere. It is not yet clear whether it will work on all iPad models. But on a rather old iPad Air, everything works fine.

The Dock contains 13 icons (or folders). 3 more appear there automatically. These are the most launched applications. This panel can be called up by swiping up from the bottom from any application.

Please note that now the icons in the Dock are without names, both on the iPad and on the iPhone:

The multitasking bar on the iPad now needs to be called with two swipes from the bottom up. As you can see, 4 application windows are placed on the screen, which, if possible, reflect what is happening in them. To completely remove the application, you need to swipe up on the program window.

Quick screenshot editor

After taking a screenshot, it hangs in the lower left corner of the screen for a few seconds. If you tap on it, the screen will open in a special editor. Here you can quickly crop the picture or draw / write something on it ... For this, the editor has various tools.

Dark iOS theme

Apple developers are constantly improving accessibility features. These functions are intended mainly for people with disabilities or some problems with hearing, vision, etc. But all users can apply these settings for their tasks.

Thus, the Dark theme appeared in iOS 11.

Settings –> General –> Accessibility –> Keyboard Shortcut.

Here you need to check the box for Smart color inversion. After that, at any time, you can press Home three times and the system will ask whether to enable inversion. Now the option works almost perfectly. That is, for example, desktops are displayed as is, but applications are converted to dark color.

Notes

At some point, Apple paid attention to their notes. And now, from a copy-paste tool in the first iOS, standard Notes has turned into a powerful tool for working with ... drumroll ... notes.

In iOS 11, this app has been improved again. Now, tables have been added to the notes (hello, Excel?) And the ability to scan documents and cut out the necessary fragments from the scans.

The program now has the ability to choose the background of new notes.

Settings->Notes->Lines and cells:

Cards

Maps has been improved again and now Apple Maps is a very worthy alternative in some countries. In large cities (New York, London, etc.) everything looks very detailed ... There are virtual 3D tours.

Added room maps (for example, you can already understand where the restaurant is located in the shopping center). When navigating, the maps show the correct lane.

The provider of the maps is TomTom, which means that maps are useless for Russia.

Free space optimization

Shared iCloud storage for the whole family. We waited - now one family member can buy free space, and the rest use it. But be sure to buy a tariff of 200 gigabytes.

Settings->General->iPad/iPhone Storage. Here are the recommendations. When the device memory is almost full, the system recommends “Download unused programs”. At the same time, program data is saved and, if installed, is picked up by the application.

If you click on the application, then in the description there was an opportunity to download this particular application. The program remains in the settings and the button “Reinstall the program” appears. The desktop icon also remains, but a cloud icon appears next to the application name. When you click on the icon, the application will begin to install again.

Immediately in the settings, the system offers to view “Large attachments”. If you go there, you can see attachments in messages, sorted by size for easy removal and freeing up space.

Minor changes

Many standard applications have changed icons.

The cellular signal strength icon has changed. Now this is a set of sticks of different sizes. And the battery icon received an internal border.

Changed titles in some applications. Now they look like they should - in bold. For example, the word "Settings" in the relevant applications.

A new unlock effect, in which the screen with the password goes somewhere up ...

In Messages, there is now a sticker bar at the bottom that enlarges when tapped. Apparently this is a hint to use stickers more often ...

The design of the sticker store has also been changed, new effects have appeared:

The conference announced the transfer of Apple Pay from person to person via iMessage. Haven't tested it so I don't know how it works.

If you hold your finger on the keyboard on the language switch icon, you can select one-handed typing from the menu. The keyboard will move slightly for speed typing. This feature is convenient for plus versions of the iPhone.

Keyboard in iOS 11 on iPad received an additional ability to quickly access numbers, characters, etc. If you tap on the button, then the main icon is printed, and if you swipe down, then the icon that is drawn on the key in a pale color.

In settings, there's a new Emergency SOS option on iPhone for quick access to relevant information stored in the Health app.

Removed from the settings of iOS 11 items related to the integration of social networks into the system - Twitter, Facebook, Vimeo, etc. Apparently, the contracts have come to an end.

There is a cool ability to drag and drop multiple icons on desktops. This allows you to quickly clean up. The algorithm is simple:

• Hold the icon and wait until the deletion crosses appear on all icons.
• Drag the icon to the side until the cross disappears on it.
• Click on all the icons you want to transfer. They will stick to the first icon and the sticker will show how many apps you are transferring.
• Release in the right place of any screen or folder. The icons will spread out on their own.

Settings->Accounts and passwords->Passwords for programs and sites. A new item in the settings that allows you to view the contents of the keychain.

Settings->Notifications->Show banners. A new option that allows you to make banners either temporary (as before) or permanent. Persistent banners will hang on the screen until you force them to close or respond to them. For a messaging program, this is very important.

The player has been updated in Safari. I will not say that it has become worse or better, but from experience it is still more buggy than the previous one. Well, it was clearly not done for the convenience of users. For example, the scrollbar should be full screen, not 60%...

A photo can be turned into a custom watch face if you own an Apple Watch of any series.

Settings->General->Turn off. The device can be turned off directly from the settings.

32-bit applications stopped working completely. The developers were aware and whoever wanted to, he updated or will update them in the next three months.

Answers on questions

When will iOS 11 be released?

The iOS 11 developer beta is here! It can be installed by anyone according to my instructions. The final version of iOS 11 will be released very soon. The update, as always, is free.

Can iOS 11 be rolled back to iOS 10, 9, 8, etc.?

Rollback will be possible to the latest final version of iOS 10! Rollback will be impossible only after the release of the final version of iOS 11 plus 1-2 weeks.

What devices will iOS 11 support?

Almost the same ones that supported iOS 10 (from iPhone 5s, iPad Air, iPad Mini 2, iPod 6Gen and newer). Updated iPad Pro will be added to them.

The iPad 4 and iPhone 5 turned out to be unhooked. They will remain on the latest version of iOS 10.

Note: the label says iPad 5th generation. So Apple called the iPad 9.7, which recently came out.

According to the first impressions, iOS 11 is still the same iOS 10 with various useful or not very changes. After the update, you must wait at least half an hour - the system may slow down for the first few minutes. Then it starts to work much faster.

Apple unveiled a new generation of the iOS 9 mobile platform at its WWDC developer conference in San Francisco. In this version of the system, the Siri voice assistant received a new interface and, according to Apple, is now 40% faster. Siri has learned to predict the user's desires and, for example, will automatically launch the player when the owner of the smartphone goes for a run in the morning, or analyze incoming mail and find potentially likely calendar appointments there. In addition, Siri has learned how to search for various content in app stores, and search results now include data from third-party applications and can take into account the user's location. So, Siri will understand requests like "Show me the photos taken last August" or "Remind me to pick up coffee from the roof of my car."

Apple also said that it is opening up a toolkit for third-party developers, and now they can fully connect to search in iOS. The company promises complete confidentiality of data - they are not associated with the owner's Apple ID or any Apple service, and are not transferred to third parties.

Another innovation in iOS 9 is the new personalized Proactive Assistant service. It processes information from many different sources, including Siri, Contacts, Calendar, Passbook, Maps, and third-party apps, to offer the user the information they need. Proactive is intended to replace the Spotlight search function, and can be accessed by swiping the start screen to the right. The service will provide iPhone and iPad owners with the necessary and useful information based on their habits and personal preferences. For example, if a user checks email or Facebook at 9 am, the assistant will automatically show icons of the corresponding programs at that time. If a person calls a colleague at work every Thursday at 17:00, then on the Proactive page by that time the hint “Call a colleague” will appear. At lunchtime, it will show which cafes or restaurants are located near the place where the person is.

Pre-installed applications have been updated, including Notes and Maps, as well as a new News application. Notes received support for text formatting, creating lists, adding photos and handwriting. Public transport routes have been launched in the Maps app. iOS 9 uses multiple modes of transport when calculating a route, if this will reduce travel time. In addition, Apple Maps will show where cafes, shops and ATMs are located in malls, as well as gates at airports. So far, the recommendations will be valid only for ten cities, including Berlin, Chicago, London, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington, etc.

As for News, it will collect articles from various sources. The operation of the application is similar to popular news aggregators, when the user can select topics and publications of interest to him and receive content in a specially adapted layout that will be convenient for reading and viewing pictures. The articles will include photos, image galleries, videos and animations. Users can "like" certain materials and add interesting content to bookmarks. It is important to note that searching and adding content is possible not only in general categories or publications, but also in more personalized searches. For example, you can find all the articles about the Swift programming language, subscribe to them and receive information about this topic from various publications in the future. Apple announced News for the US, Australia, and the UK only.

Among the features of the updated Mail application is email scanning. This is necessary to identify contacts when calling from unknown numbers, iOS 9 will try to find such numbers in the mail signature. The Apple Pay service, as previously reported, has become international - in July, the UK will also be connected to "apple" payments. In addition, the Pay features have been expanded - the service now supports bonus cards. Apple Pay has secured the support of new banks and partners. The company announced that next month the service will launch in England, where it will be possible to use it not only to pay for purchases in stores, but also on buses and the subway. The conference also featured an updated version of the payment app for iOS 9, which will support a variety of loyalty programs. In addition, the current Passbook app will be renamed Wallet.

There is a lot of emphasis on improvements for the iPad, among the most important are easier task switching and split screen for different applications. The screen is split into two parts in a ratio of 50 to 50 or 70 to 30. To quickly select another program from the multitasking side menu, just double-tap the Home button. Multi-window mode will make it easier to interact with multiple tasks. For example, the user will be able to keep two Safari tabs or a Pages document in front of his eyes, transfer content (text, video, photos) between programs, etc. Both applications work simultaneously.

Tablets will also be able to work in picture-in-picture mode. For example, if a user, while watching a video, wants to check their mail or write a letter, then when they open the email client, the video will continue to play in a small window in the upper right corner of the screen. The new option works on iPad Air, Air 2, mini 2 and mini 3, however full multitasking functionality is only available on iPad Air 2 due to 2GB of RAM. Developers will be given the tools to create applications that support the new multitasking mode.

Apple engineers did not forget about the iOS keyboard, on which the labels "Paste", "Cut", "Copy" and others appeared. If you place two fingers on the keyboard, it turns into a touchpad, which is especially useful for moving the cursor.

In iOS 9, a low power mode will appear, which will help the iPhone stretch an additional three hours. Another important announcement for owners of devices with 16 GB of internal memory is that the updated operating system will weigh 1.8 GB instead of the current 4.6 GB.

It was also announced the release of the Swift 2 programming language, which Apple decided to make an open source project. It will be possible to use the new features of Swift 2 towards the end of the year.

The new iOS 9 can be installed on iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, iPhone 4s, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad mini and iPod touch 5G. You can download iOS 9 beta 1 now. The final version of iOS 9 will be available for download in the fall.

Apple, based on iOS 9, introduced a feature that repeats many times the screen, which has the name "Split View". The "Split View" option means split view windows. With this mode, the iPad screen can be divided into several windows and you can use two different applications at the same time. You can set this split window option on iPad Pro, iPad Mini 4, and iPad Air 2 models.

This feature is very useful on the iPad, as it allows you to split the screen and copy data from one application to another. In addition, you can simultaneously be in the browser and work in some other applications.

To be able to work on two screens at once, you need to activate this option. It's not difficult to do this on the iPad. It is enough to follow a certain sequence of actions.

First, rotate the iPad, placing it in a horizontal position. Next, launch the split screen app you usually use and swipe from right to left along with the frame of the tablet body. After the multitasking bar appears with the image of the "Split View" multi-window modes, the secondary application will be launched on the left.

It remains to select the application for the right side of the display. However, please note that all programs may not support this mode. Although multiple applications can be opened, only the top window will be active. This mode is called "Split Over". In this case, the window separator is set manually. This application is used on tablets with the iOS 9 operating system and the latest models.

If you touch the icon that separates the windows, or drag the tab to the left, the "Split View" function will automatically turn on, allowing you to work in different open windows.

Using "Split View" in Safari

Many people ask how to open two or more windows on the Safari browser. To use this feature, you need to install the Siderafi application for iPad mini 4 or iPad Pro, iPad Air 2. This application is activated through the “Split View” mode, which is very useful, because it allows you to set the dividing strip so that conditionally divide the screen into two parts. However, only one split screen window will still be active.

Next, try turning on the "Split View" mode to run a dual application in one window of the Safari search engine, and turn on the "Send to Sidefari" function in the other window . Unfortunately, the "Safari View Controller" option cannot cooperate with the search bar due to precautionary measures. In principle, the developers promise to expand the capabilities of the "Safari View Controller" function. , so keychain options and autocomplete features should be live soon.

How to change windows on the screen

Using the Split View window mode, you can set the size of windowed applications to be the same or different, depending on your needs. To set the window size wider than the other, you can shrink the first window and expand the second window or, vice versa, remove it. To do this, you need to establish which application will be the main one for you, and which one will be secondary. If necessary, you can change the purpose of window programs or their proportions.

Multitasking with Picture on iPad

Tablets with iOS 9 (iPad Mini 2, iPad Air, iPad Pro and others) among all their important features have the "Picture" option, which allows you to open the application and watch videos at the same time. Therefore, in the FaceTime program, instead of a regular video, you can use a video call.

To do this, while watching a video in the movie app or making a FaceTime call, you need to activate the Home button. This will resize the video and leave half the screen free for other activities on the iPad.

Then you can launch another application, and move the video window to any place, changing its size along the way. When it becomes necessary to return to the previous screen format, just click on the image from the video, and activate the “Full screen” command at the bottom of the screen.

What to do when the iPad does not support the "Split View" function.

If you have an older iOS tablet and can't use Split View, there's a Slide Over option for that. It works like this: each time a new panel will be superimposed on the right on the old image in slide mode. When you finish working with the active application, you will close it, and the previous window will open in front of you and become active.

Where is this mode used? This "Slide Over" mode is useful for messaging and texting apps on iPads. With the option " slide over » The screen is split in half and one of the open windows is active and the other is passive.

So in the new generations of tablets with iOS 9, a lot of different options have appeared that can not only work with the help of context, but will also be competitive even with Google applications. The new split-screen feature for iOS 9 tablets not only helps you position and resize the OSD menu, but also gives you the ability to perform multiple actions on your iPad from different apps at the same time.

Made available to iPad users. Owners of "apple" tablets will be able to interact with applications using multitasking gestures, which replaced the "Home" button, which, as you know, is absent in the latest iPhone models.

In contact with

With the release of the iPhone X in September 2017, the Cupertinos implemented a new system of gestures in iOS 11 that performs the basic functions of the Home button, such as returning to the home screen or opening the app switcher. However, the new functionality was only available to iPhone X owners, and device models with a Home button worked the old fashioned way. With the release of iOS 12, all users of the flagship iPhone and iPad, with or without a button, will be able to use multitasking gestures.

Especially for iPad users with the release of iOS 12, a number of multitasking gestures have become available, which can be performed with one finger. These include:

• Unlocking the device;
• Return to the home screen;
• Opening Control Center and Notification Center;
• Dock panel activation;
• Opening the multitasking panel;
• Scroll through recently used apps.

How to use multitasking gestures on iPad running iOS 12

Everyone knows that pressing the Home button sends you to the home screen, no matter what part of iOS the user is in. Preparing to abandon this button in future versions of the tablet, Apple has provided a special gesture to return to the home screen.

How to unlock iPad with iOS 12

Instead of pressing the Home button, you can now swipe up from the bottom of the screen.

To close an app you are using and return to the home screen, swipe from the bottom of the screen to the top until the app shrinks, closes and you are on the home screen.

In iOS 11, Control Center appears as an app on the right side of the multitasking bar.

Thankfully, in iOS 12, the app switcher and Control Center are separated, just like on the iPhone.

To open Control Center on iPad with iOS 12, swipe down from the top right corner of the screen. To close it, tap anywhere on the screen outside of Control Center.

Open Notification Center on iPad with iOS 12 with a gesture

In iOS 11, iPad users can open Notification Center by swiping down from the top of the screen. Since the top right corner of iOS 12 is Control Center, you can access the Action Center by swiping down from the top left corner or the middle of the top edge of the screen. A similar gesture is also present on the iPhone X, iPhone XS/XS Max, and iPhone XR.

In iOS 11, swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen to bring up the dock when an app is open. In iOS 12, this gesture is responsible for returning to the home screen, and to call the dock panel, the swipe must be no higher than a certain point (see screenshot below).

At first, you will be confused and open the home screen instead of the dock. At times like these, remind yourself that iPhone owners don't have access to the dock at all.

In iOS 12 (as in iOS 11), the Dock is accessible from any screen and lets you open and switch apps with a simple swipe. In addition, the rightmost section is automatic and iOS decides what is displayed in it. For example, it could be . If you plug in your headphones, your favorite podcast may appear in the panel, or if a compatible app is open on your Phone or Mac, it will appear.

If desired, the latter function can be disabled in the application "Settings" → "Basic" → « Multitasking and Dock» → "Recent and Suggested Programs".

To open the multitasking bar in iOS 11, you need to swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen with one finger. In iOS 12, you need to swipe up and then stop.

As mentioned above, the Control Center in the multitasking bar is now missing.

On the multitasking bar, swipe right to search for and open the app you want. In addition, iOS 12 allows you to open the multitasking panel the old fashioned way by double-tapping the Home button.

The process for force quitting apps on iPad with the release of iOS 12 will not change (using a swipe up, this gesture can also be used to force quit an app), but iPhone X, iPhone XS / XS Max and iPhone XR users will no longer need to press and hold icons to close applications.

It is important to remember that all the icons of old applications on the multitasking bar are just shortcuts that do not use any resources. Users often remove such icons. In reality, everything is not so - only recently used applications are kept in working mode. If iOS runs out of resources, the OS automatically disables background processes.

Return to the last used application

To quickly return to the last used app, on the home screen, swipe briefly from the bottom of the screen, then quickly swipe to the right. The gesture only works on the home screen, not in an open app (see video at the end of the article).

View recently opened apps

iOS 11 introduced the Home button indicator for the first time. It is a line at the bottom of the iPhone X display that allows you to scroll through open applications with a swipe. To instantly switch between apps on iPad, swipe up from the bottom of the screen, then quickly swipe right or left. You can also drag your finger along the bottom of the display, as if you want to draw an arch. A similar gesture is provided in the iPhone without the Home button (see video at the end of the article).

Other multitasking gestures

Before you can use the multitasking gestures we've described on iPad, make sure you enable them. To do this, go to "Settings" → "Basic" → "Multitasking and the Dock". In this section, you can enable the basic iPad multitasking gestures that have not changed since iOS 11:

Multitasking gestures with 4 or 5 fingers

You can switch between programs by swiping the screen with four or five fingers - the current application will move to the right, and the previous program will appear on the left. You can return to the previous app by swiping left. Thus, by swiping right or left, you can switch between two or more applications. Notably, this gesture also works during the drag and drop process, so you can “grab” the desired element, use the gesture to switch to another application and move the object. This gesture works even in mode. In this case, the previous application will open on top of the current program. To use the functionality, you need to activate it in the application "Settings" → "Basic" → "Multitasking and the Dock" → "Gestures".

Return to home screen

A five-finger pinch action will minimize the app and open the home screen.

Enable picture-in-picture mode

In order to activate the picture-in-picture mode, you need to open the home screen while watching a video (in Settings along the path "Basic" → "Multitasking and the Dock" option must be enabled Continuous video overlay);

Open the multitasking bar with the Home button

The classic double-click on the Home button opens the multitasking bar.

Slide Over or Split View Modes

The new iOS 12 still supports all previous iPad multitasking modes, including "Slide Over", split view And "Picture-in-Picture", as well as their combinations (the option "Allow multiple apps" along the way Settings → General → Multitasking & Dock).

The Slide Over and Split View functions allow the user to work simultaneously in two applications. You can find a detailed description of how to work in Slide Over mode.

If your tablet model allows, you can open up to four applications at the same time. For example, you can open the Safari browser and email client in mode split view, top in mode "Slide Over" open a third app while still watching a video in picture-in-picture mode.

Displaying Recent and Suggested Programs in the Dock

To activate the display of recent and suggested programs in the Dock panel on the iPad, you must activate the corresponding option along the path "Settings" → "Basic" → "Multitasking and the Dock".

To enable or disable background updates for a particular application, go to "Settings" → "Basic" → "Content Update" and move the slider to the appropriate side for each desired application.

Multitasking on iPad with an external keyboard

The iPad has a toggle similar to the one used on the Mac. The call of the switch on the iPad is carried out using a key combination Tab + ⌘Cmd on the connected keyboard. The program looks like a Dock, but it's really just a list of icons for recently used apps, sorted by date.

You can view the list by pressing and holding the ⌘Cmd + Tab key, you must release the button to launch the application. Help on control key combinations can be called up using the combination ⌘Cmd + the key located under the ESC button. The ⌘Cmd button must be held down.

More on the new iPad gestures in iOS 12

iOS 11 has dramatically improved tablet productivity with drag-and-drop functionality, docking, and new multitasking modes. In contrast, the main purpose of iOS 12 is to make the interaction with all new mobile gadgets from Apple homogeneous. Now, no matter what device you're using (iPhone X and future smartphones, and all tablets), multitasking gestures work the same way:

• Swipe up - close the application and return to the home screen;
• Slow swipe up in an open application - open the dock;
• Swipe up and pause - open the app switcher;
• Swipe down from the top right corner - open the Control Center;
• Swipe down from the top left corner or the middle of the top edge - open the Notification Center;
• Horizontal swipe in the form of an arch - view open applications.

The new multitasking gestures, carried over from the iPhone without the Home button to the iPad, not only make interaction with different Apple devices more uniform, but also shed light on the design of future tablet models. Apparently, Apple plans to remove the home button and make the iPad more like the iPhone X - with a notch at the top and a solid edge-to-edge display.

In the video below, you can see the new iOS 12 gestures in action:

You can use any of the above methods to switch between apps. If you've never used them before, choose one and try it out for a few days until it works automatically, then try the second method, and so on. All methods are interactive and you can experiment with them to your heart's content.

Since the popularization of smartphones, users have faced the problem of low autonomy of mobile devices. Large touch displays, powerful processors, power-hungry apps all contribute to battery drain to varying degrees. "Experts" advise to manually close these same applications to improve performance and increase battery life. In fact, this is one of the myths that has existed since the first versions of iOS.

Many iPhone users tend to unload previously launched applications from memory. Of course, multitasking works fine, but why take up extra megabytes of RAM? Moreover, there are rumors that several simultaneously running programs adversely affect charging. In fact, this has the exact opposite effect on the system. The paradox is that unloading applications from memory only contributes to the accelerated discharge of the battery.

Myths and reality

To begin with, it is worth understanding that the implementation of multitasking in iOS is at a very high level. No matter what the haters say, the “OS” works great even after running a couple of dozen applications. Sounds like praise, but Apple programmers eat their bread for a reason. All developers are subject to the same requirements for creating software.

It's a common myth that forcing apps to close will save battery. By not allowing the system to manage all the processes on its own, you are making a mistake. The fact is that the very action of calling the multitasking mode and unloading programs from memory consumes much more energy than their “working in the background”.

Perhaps most will not believe and think that it is a mistake to use the terms "background applications" and "energy efficiency" in the same sentence. We assure you that reservations and other errors in terminology are excluded. Multitasking is launched by double-clicking on the Home button. And the complete closure of programs is carried out by swiping the window up (valid for iOS 9).

The reality is that as soon as you exit the application, once “tapping” on the “Home” key, its work stops: the application stops accessing the processor, and the memory it occupied is freed up over time. Of course, there are exceptions when the system does not stop the program from running in the background. For example, sending an email, playing music, or automatically downloading updates. Nevertheless, even such "wastefulness" on the part of the "OS" is economical in relation to the battery of the device.

When you manually close an application, the operating system must unload the task from memory, which consumes battery power. When you reload the same application, the system again needs to load it into RAM, which will also result in energy costs. Thus, forcibly closing applications, you consume battery power twice. Being in the RAM of the device, it does not affect its autonomy in any way.

How multitasking works in iOS

In total, applications in iOS have five types of states:

• Out of Service - The application has been terminated or has not been started.
• Inactive - the application is active but does not receive events (for example, the user has locked the screen).
• Active - the normal state of the application in use mode.
• Background - the application is hidden, but it is executing code.
• Suspended - the application is in memory but is not executing code.

Active and inactive for this topic are uninteresting. Most people get confused when an app goes from being active to being in the background, then to being paused, and then to being inactive.
When you press the Home button, the program switches from active to background. Most apps go into pause after a few seconds. The first technical nuance is that the suspended application remains in the device's memory. This is so that it can continue working faster if you decide to return to it. However, it does not use processor resources and battery.

It can be assumed that if the software is in memory, then it must be removed from there to free up resources. In reality, iOS does this on its own. If you have a paused application and you run resource-intensive software, such as a complex 3D game, iOS unloads the suspended program from memory and moves it to the Idle state. In other words, it will be completely removed from RAM and started from scratch the next time it is started.

conclusions

The main rule of iOS multitasking is as follows: the multitasking bar is just a list of recently used applications, no matter what state they are in. The operating system unloads tasks on its own - when necessary.

In what cases should you close applications and free up device RAM? The answer is simple - in theory never. It is extremely rare that situations occur that should force you to restart the program. Unless it hangs or does not work correctly. It's probably hard to believe, but iOS itself does a great job of distributing the load on the processor and battery. Apple products are a technique that you just need to use without creating unnecessary difficulties for yourself.