iOS 11 Feature Focus: Screenshots

iOS 11 Feature Focus: Screenshots

While iOS has long offered the ability to snap a screenshot at any time, iOS 11 adds quick editing capabilities too.

The act of taking a screenshot remains unchanged: Just press and hold on the Power and Home buttons simultaneously. As before, the screen will flash and you’ll hear a camera shutter sound.

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But in iOS 11, you will see something new: A thumbnail preview of the screenshot appears in the lower left corner of the screen.

You can dismiss this thumbnail preview immediately by swiping it to the left. Or, you can simply wait: It will disappear on its own after a few seconds.

But this thumbnail preview also provides access to a new screenshot editor that lets you perform various actions on the shot and then share it with others, all from a single place.

As you can see, there are various pen and eraser tools, plus a lasso for free-hand selection and a color selector.

And if you tap on the “+” icon, you’ll see other tools—Text, Signature, Magnifier, and four shapes—appear in a pop-up menu.

If you make a mistake as you edit, you can use the Undo and Redo tools at the top. And of course, you can use the system Share utility to share your creation via any compatible apps or AirDrop, or perform other system functions like Print, Copy, or Save to Files.

 

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Conversation 17 comments

  • rameshthanikodi

    02 October, 2017 - 10:49 am

    <p>It's kinda ironic but Xiaomi first did this, in MIUI (their Android skin), and Apple's implementation is almost exactly the same. You hear alot from Apple fans when someone copies an iOS feature, but clearly it isn't a two-way street.</p>

    • PincasX

      02 October, 2017 - 8:17 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#186482"><em>In reply to FalseAgent:</em></a></blockquote><p>Wouldn’t it make sense that at least some fans of Android or iOS wouldn’t not know when their favored OS copies something on account of they don’t use the origin OS?</p>

  • Delmont

    02 October, 2017 - 11:35 am

    <p>I really like this new ability. Good article!</p>

  • Chris_Kez

    Premium Member
    02 October, 2017 - 11:53 am

    <p>This could be a nice little productivity boost, especially on the larger screen Plus and X models. I could also imagine taking advantage of this on the iPad Pro where the additional screen space and the Pencil could really let you provide a lot of commentary on a image, feedback on a slide, etc.</p>

  • madthinus

    Premium Member
    02 October, 2017 - 12:25 pm

    <p>How are you going to take a screenshot with an iPhone X?</p>

    • fishnet37222

      Premium Member
      02 October, 2017 - 3:07 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#186518"><em>In reply to madthinus:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>You'll use the volume up button instead of the home button.</p>

      • MutualCore

        02 October, 2017 - 3:17 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#186571"><em>In reply to fishnet37222:</em></a></blockquote><p>So yet another combination of things to learn.</p>

        • Delmont

          02 October, 2017 - 4:15 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#186580"><em>In reply to MutualCore:</em></a></blockquote><p>Then don't buy the X. It's that simple troll.</p>

  • timwakeling

    02 October, 2017 - 12:49 pm

    <p>Nice – so you can easily crop screenshots now by the look of those handles, so that people can crop off the top and bottom bits of the screen that add nothing to the shot except to humblebrag about the fact they use an iPhone. ;)</p>

  • SDreamer

    02 October, 2017 - 1:01 pm

    <p>You forget the most important feature. When you hit done, it asks if you want to save or delete it. This will prevent your camera roll from being over flowing with screenshots.</p>

  • aelo1010

    02 October, 2017 - 2:17 pm

    <p><br></p><p>This is the kind of non-article that this site doesn't need. What's next? How to press the power button on the iPhone? Give me a break. </p>

    • Jeffery Commaroto

      04 October, 2017 - 6:49 am

      <blockquote><a href="#186544"><em>In reply to aelo1010:</em></a></blockquote><p>You could always offer more constructive feedback, “I would like it if you wrote more about…. Do more articles like…”</p><p><br></p><p>I personally prefer the thinking pieces from Paul about how individual developments like this may be leading to something larger or how this compares to other solutions he has used and why it is better or worse/a sign of things to comes.</p><p><br></p><p>At the same time having this article here doesn’t detract from the other content. I just skimmed it, said “Good to know” and moved on with my life. It had value just not what I come here looking for. So more of this type of content wouldn’t entice me to keep my subscription. More of the other types of articles would.</p>

  • zybch

    02 October, 2017 - 9:06 pm

    <p>And of course, iOS11 breaks facebook messenger lol.</p>

  • MutualCore

    03 October, 2017 - 12:43 am

    <p>I can see Paul is already prepping for his shift to full-time Apple blogger.</p>

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