A little over a month ago, Apple released iOS 11 to the public. With complaints about the new update draining battery life, I’m here to set the record straight. Its flaws are outweighed by its improvements.

There are plenty of changes with the iOS 11 software, but I’m going to mention only a few which I have noticed while I’ve used the updated version.

Let’s start with what I’m most excited about: Siri. It sounds incredible! Its voice is more natural, and it sounds like I’m talking to a legitimate human being rather than a system inside of my phone.

And get this: the phone can translate. In the past, Siri could only translate a single word into another language, and even then, Siri found that information from the internet rather than producing it itself. Now she can translate English phrases into French, German, Italian, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.

I know this isn’t a comprehensive list of every language in the world, but I’m positive more will be downloaded into Siri’s system later. For the time being, Siri’s current offerings are great. I know Spanish and some French, and from what I can tell, Siri translates nouns and verbs and everything in between accurately in context. It has the three languages offered to Lafayette students, so what more can they ask for?

The only downside to this feature is that words can’t be translated back into English, but it’s still fun to change English sentences into the other languages.

The Notes app is also more detailed. Now like Microsoft Word or Google Docs, the Notes app can do bold, italics, underlines, and strikethroughs. My favorite feature is the bullet points for writing lists because when I use notes, I normally make to-do lists.

On Notes, I also like that it can scan documents. If I need to email homework questions to a teacher with my work, this is a great tool. The “scan” can be changed into black and white too, so it looks like a photocopied document. Below the text, you have the option of adding photos or sketches (the sketches are handy for doodling just like on real paper).

Possibly the most beneficial upgrade for teenage and adult drivers is the Do Not Disturb While Driving feature where the phone detects when its user may be driving and turns on automatically. That way, if you get a Snap or text message, it won’t be a potential distraction while driving.

Now, of course, this feature doesn’t have to be used automatically; it can be turned off or set to manual activation. Plus, if you want to get texts again, the phone makes you click a button to confirm you’re not driving. That’s pretty nifty!

Other than the “Night Shift” feature moving out of the control panel (I like to turn it on manually), I really like what iOS 11 has to offer. I don’t even have an iPhone 8, but the new features work well on the older iPhone models.

If you haven’t downloaded the new software or are waiting until all of the bugs are worked out of it, I don’t think you should wait any longer. I’m impressed with iOS 11’s changes and I bet you will be too.