The new features of iOS 11

Time really does fly — as if we just welcomed 2017 a few days ago, and lo and behold, the time is already nigh for Apple's first major keynote event for 2017. 

As most iOS users and Apple fans are aware, the special event we are talking about is none other than WWDC '17, the annual developer-centric Apple summit that usually marks the official announcement of the next version of iOS, often gives us a sneak peek at new hardware products in Cupertino's pipeline, and always sparks lots of interest for users and media outlets alike.

                        

This year's WWDC will take place between June 5 and June 9 in the McEbert Convention Center in San Jose, CA, with the official opening keynote scheduled for 10 AM PT. What announcements to expect from this one? Let us summarize everything we know so far.

iOS 11

iOS 11 is powering the breath and butter of Apple's portfolio - the iPhone. While rumors about upcoming features of the software are way harder to come by than hardware leaks, the scene hasn't been tight-lipped for iOS 11.

The most groundbreaking rumored feature of iOS 11? Your iPhone will reportedly default to a free FaceTime audio call when attempting to call other iPhone users, which seems like it could be another successful reiteration of the iMessage formula. Aside from that, there's also gossip for group FaceTime video conversations which will allow up to 5 people discuss the squad's plans for the night.

The Wallet app is also slated for a major overhaul. First of all, it will likely get renamed to Pay and will score peer-to-peer payments, an extension for iMessage that will let you send money to your pals through chat, as well as a... social feed. 

Another minor feature will be a smarter and context-aware low-power battery mode that will automatically kick in if certain conditions are met. There's a pretty big chance this one will be location-aware and will take the unique usage patterns of each user into account before enabling itself.

Siri supercharged

Although it was among the first smart assistants to land on a phone near you, Siri has been a bit neglected in the past few years, which let its competitors make big strides in the field. 

There are certain rumors that Siri is about to get a lot smarter as it will score deep contextual learning abilities and better integrate with iMessage and iCloud.

Apple Music to land a revamp

Apple's own answer to Google Play Music and Spotify has been updated a lot ever since it arrived on the scene less than two years ago, but it seems we could be in for yet another visual overhaul in 2017 as well. 

This year's update will reportedly be focused around video and will put more emphasis on Apple's unique video content, like Carpool Karaoke.

watchOS

iOS is no longer the only mobile software offering Apple has in the pipeline - watchOS is here to power your Apple wearable. We expect Apple to unveil watchOS 4, but sadly, we've heard nothing specific as far as features are concerned. Regardless, we expect the Apple Watch experience to be improved.