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Unfortunately, it only took one attempt for me to realize that this feature is flawed. Audio and video are out of sync. If you wish to use this feature for creating instructional videos, you will need to resynchronize the audio track with an editing tool. If you were hoping to use this feature to capture video for offline viewing, this flaw complicates matters. I’m sure Apple will fix these defects soon. This feature is still quite useful for YouTubers and vloggers who create instructional videos. It’s also great if you need to show a friend, family member or colleague how to do something on an iPhone.
Track Flights on your iPhone
Flight tracking apps help busy travelers stay informed about departures. With iOS 11, Safari offers built-in flight tracking capabilities. Just type the flight number directly into the address bar. You’ll see current information about your flight presented in a concise user interface.
Type Siri Requests
iOS 11 enables users to type Siri requests and edit voice requests. This is convenient if you’re in a noisy environment or have a sensitive request that you’d like to keep private. I’m not thrilled about this feature, as it is just a band-aid for imperfect speech recognition. If you have to type something, you might as well just use Google Search instead of Siri.
Editing Siri requests is enabled by default and is available with every request. Simply tap on Tap to Edit and use the keyboard to edit your request. If you prefer to type Siri requests instead of speaking them, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Siri and turn on Type to Siri. This displays a keyboard instead of a voice prompt when activating Siri.
Siri Translation
Siri continues to improve over time. With iOS 11, Siri can now translate from English to Spanish, French, Mandarin, Italian or German. Siri can even speak the translation for you. You may want to keep your third-party translation app installed. Siri doesn’t offer as many languages as most third-party translation apps. It also can’t translate in both directions.
I’ve had pretty good results with SayHi Translate. It’s an old app, but it still offers superior translation capabilities. For occasional usage, Siri works well enough for most people. Siri’s translation proficiency will expand and improve over time.
Use Your iPhone as an Alarm Clock
As more people adopt smartphones and tablets, the traditional alarm clock has gradually become obsolete. The Bedtime feature in iOS 11 provides one of the smartest alarm clocks available.
After completing the initial setup process, Bedtime will send you a Notification when it’s time to go to bed. You are awakened gradually by a variety of musical alarms. The alarm can be easily adjusted, retaining your ideal amount of sleep time. You won’t need to do those calculations in your head anymore. Bedtime users can even track sleep time with HealthKit. The Bedtime feature is available within the Clock app. next page →