Apple's iOS 11 adds macOS-like features for better productivity

Apple continues to make the iPhone and iPad better, more productive tools for work, mainly by implementing features that bring iDevices a step or two closer to their desktop counterparts. That ongoing effort continues with iOS 11, which arrived as a public beta on Monday.

In the 10 years since the first iPhone arrived, the evolution of what is now called iOS shows that Apple's goal was to keep its mobile operating system separate and distinct from Mac OS X (now called macOS). But with iOS 11, unveiled earlier this month at WWDC and due out in final form this fall, a few features found on the Mac have made their way to the iPhone and iPad.

There are dozens of changes in iOS 11, and this year the iPad stands to benefit more than the iPhone. Given that Apple's tablet sales have been declining for several years -- though still selling at better than ten million units per quarter -- it's good that Apple focused on the iPad. The hardware is fresh -- the 12.9-in. iPad Pro has just been updated and there's a new 10.5-in. model -- and with iOS 11, the software adds even more desktop flair.

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