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.

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.

Tagged with iOS 11