iOS 11.1 Features & Fixes: 6 Things You’ll Love & 2 You Might Not

Apple’s got a new iOS 11 upgrade in the pipeline and the iOS 11.1 update is shaping up to be an exciting release for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

The iOS 11 update Apple released in mid-September was just the beginning. The company’s already rolled out two new versions of iOS 11 and its also confirmed the first milestone iOS 11 update in iOS 11.1.

Milestone iOS updates are special because they typically bring more than bug fixes and security patches. iOS 11.0.1 and iOS 11.0.2, while useful, didn’t come with any new features or tweaks to the operating system.

The iOS 11.1 update will likely include bug fixes for lingering iOS 11 problems and security patches, but it will also have some exciting new features on board. Apple’s already confirmed a couple exciting features and we expect iOS 11.1 to deliver several more.

Apple hasn’t confirmed an iOS 11.1 release date just yet, but it looks like the milestone upgrade could arrive sometime in late October. Those uninterested in waiting for iOS 11.1 and it changes can try the update right now via the iOS 11.1 beta though the pre-release version of iOS 11.1 is plagued with bugs and problems.

There’s also no way to get back to anything older than iOS 11.0.1 once you make the move to iOS 11.1 beta. Apple’s no longer signing off on iOS 11.0 or iOS 10.

Now that the second iOS 11.1 beta is here we want to take you through a few things that have us genuinely excited about the iOS 11.1 release. There are also a couple of disappointments looming and we’ll tell you about those as well.

New Emoji

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Apple's confirmed plans to release new emoji characters inside the iOS 11.1 update and they're now available to iOS 11.1 beta users.  Unicode 10.0 and iOS 11.1 will bring 56 new emoji characters to the iOS 11 keyboard. The list includes a zombie, a genie, an elf, an exploding head, a mage, a coconut, a sandwich, and a vampire. It also includes woman with headscarf, bearded person, breastfeeding, person in lotus position, sandwich, and the love-you gesture. Many old emoji characters have been redesigned as well.  If you love sending emoji characters to your friends and family, iOS 11.1 is an update to keep an eye on as we push through October.  Now is also the time to tell your friends and family about iOS 11.1. Remember, if someone isn't running iOS 11.1, they won't be able to see the new characters. This goes for the iOS 11.1 beta as well.

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