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AS FAR AS announcements go, iOS 9 was less about making radical changes and more about refining what was already there.
Considering the numerous problems iOS 8 had when it arrived, it’s an understandable move from the company and from first glance, it looks like it was the right decision.
Now there are a few things about iOS 9 that suggest this update will be a lot smoother for iPhone and iPad users. Here are the biggest reasons why you will want to download it.
The lifespan of older iPhones and iPads has been extended
If you own an iPhone 4s or an iPad 2, you would have expected these phones to no longer be compatible with iOS 9 as per tradition with previous updates.
The good news is the same devices that were compatible with iOS 8 can upgrade to iOS 9, extending the lifespan of many older devices.
Siri and Spotlight could end up becoming very useful
The reason behind that subheading is Proactive, a Google Now-like personal assistant that offers contextual information through the data on your phone. For example, if you regularly listen to music through your headphones at a certain time in the day, Proactive will take a note of this and begin to suggest it.
The other feature will see apps deep-linked in spotlight, allowing you to search through them in the one place. The key behind this is context and by getting these apps to work together, alongside the AI Proactive uses, it could end up becoming a second home screen for users.
Privacy and security are enhanced further
Something Apple emphasised throughout the iOS 9 presentation was how much it values privacy and security. For one, two-factor authentication is finally an option to iCloud preventing anyone from breaking into its cloud service, while any device with TouchID will be required to upgrade from a four-digit to a six-digit passcode.
Stronger end-to-end encryption will be used when you’re syncing files while a new set of security extensions will prevent unauthorised access to secure files. The latter will be bad news for those who like to jailbreak their iPhones, but the payoff is a core that is unlikely to be compromised.
The other message Apple wanted to get out is it doesn’t collect data on you. Instead, it will be anonymous and is something that was mentioned regularly during the Proactive demo.
You’re going to be more productive on your iPad
Split-screen mode is now a thing for the iPad as you’re able to keep two apps on display simultaneously, one is open while the other is on standby. The other feature is Picture-In-Picture which allows you to keep a video playing in the corner of your screen while you use another app.
The final feature is SplitView which allows you to operate both apps at the same time, instead of switching back and forth. This feature is only available on the iPad Air 2, but it hints more toward a pro version of an iPad being released sometime in the future.
You will (likely) be able to fit more apps into less space
For one, the update to iOS 9 is a lot smaller than before – 4.6GB to 1.3GB – but the other interesting feature is something called App Thinning. Effectively it’s a method which will make app downloads more dynamic and better suit your device.
For example, instead of just having one main version to download, an iPhone 4S may download different files compared to an iPhone 6 Plus.
The other feature is ‘on-demand resources’ which means entire features can be left out of an app until the user wants to use them.
When they do, it will download from the App Store. Alternatively, it will remove certain features when they’re no longer needed and disk space is low.
In the best case scenario, that will mean apps will take up less space and reduce the amount of data needed to update, and that’s great news for those with only 8GB or 16GB devices.
You can squeeze out more life from your battery
In general, iOS 9 will add an extra hour of battery life during normal usage, but a low power mode, while not the most original idea in the world, will reduce the iPhone performance and activity so it can squeeze out another three hours of battery life, according to Apple.
While there’s a single switch to activate it, it will also provide details on the most taxing apps on your phone. Again, it’s not revolutionary but at the very least, it addresses the battery issues that plague most iPhones.
So when can you get it?
iOS 9 will be officially released in autumn to coincide with the release of the next iPhone model. If you want to get it earlier, a public beta version will arrive next month and you can sign up for it here.
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why anybody picks iPhone over any android phone I’ll never know
Why anyone cares so much about phones I’ll never know.
having an android saves me 1000s of euros a year , that’s why I love it
Better security. The amount of people that have problems with their android phones is incredible. iPhones are much more user friendly
Stephen, the reasons are largely personal preferences. My main reason is security. Most iPhones have the latest and most secure operating system because it is automatically made available to them. Equally more iPhone users update to the latest model phone meaning they they are on the latest various of IOS. Most Androids do not have the most up to date version of Android because the the software is more fragmented between operators and hence more varied. Nor do Android users update their phones as frequently. Androids are far less secure and far more easily hacked. This is because the operating system was originally designed to be more open. These flaws were known at the time and have come back to haunt Android. IOS was designed as a “closed” system and is inherently more secure unless you jailbreak your phone. More and more companies are moving away from Android phones because of their security vulnerabilities.
I use an iPhone because it’s the nicest looking phone on the market. That’s pretty much it.
your talking through your hoop John. No companies are moving away from android due to securitiy vulnerabilities . android has 78% market share, they are the top dog. end off.
Stephen,
Please explain how having an android saves you thousands each year.
Thank you.
apps that cost a few quid I get for free, I download 100s maybe 1000s of albums movies tv shows all via my phone , I stream live tv ppv sporting events from my phone for free , what people pay upc for I get for free ,so I say if I had to pay for it, it would easily be in the 1000s. the internet at your full exposure, Apple doesn’t like that
Shane the market share of Android is irrelevant. I wasn’t making a point about market share. I am not a smart phone fanboy. Nor am I an Apple or Android fanboy. I was making a point about security. If you don’t believe Android is inherently less secure than IOS then do some research because it is and this is widely recognised. Most phone viruses target Android models because of the inherent security vulnerabilities and because most users don’t update or can’t update and hence security vulnerabilities remain unpatched. And yes more and more large corporates who actually have ICT departments are moving away from Android.
Finally if you want to talk market share then let’s talk about really matters. Apple sells products on price. They sell very very well. They have largely cornered the premium market and are massively profitable. As a business model this beats the pursuit of market share for its own sake hands down. Any clown can pursue market share by dropping price.
The fact that there are an amazing array of different Android phones out there, produced by many different manufacturers and sporting different versions of Android is neither here nor there but is a large part of the security problem that I mentioned. Other than that I like many Android models especially Samsung but my preference from a security and design standpoint is Apple. Others will have different preferences. Thank God of competition!
Stephen you know that ripping movies and music is the same as swiping a dvd/cd from a shelf in a shop. Just so we’re clear here you prefer android cause it allows you to take stuff for free that has a cost to the designer/producer/artist who created it
Apple should make their iOS available for older devices. I believe Google do so for earlier Nexus phones with Android.
iOS 9 will be available fir devices as far back as the 4s which was released at the end of 2011
Also there is no feature called ‘proactive’
What they said is that siri will become more proactive
If you own an iPhone 4s or an iPad 2, you would have expected these phones to no longer be compatible with iOS 9 as per tradition with previous updates.
The good news is the same devices that were compatible with iOS 8 can upgrade to iOS 9, extending the lifespan of many older devices.
The last upgrade nearly killed my iPad 2 altogether. It certainly slowed it down a lot. I think I might wait til iOS 9.1.
Apple should really stop copying android features. it’s getting laughable now. I have multiscreen since I first got the note 2 which was nearly 3 years ago. Google now too haha this us funny.
How often do you find yourself using split screen. What two apps would you have open together?
Why should they stop copying Android? Both rip each other off, Android just got granular security control and a few other things with Release M and iOS is getting some stuff that Android has had.
They both rip each other off. Android are now copying the iPhones folder structure. One of the earliest Samsung Galaxy phones was basically a replica of an iPhone
A lot actually. if I am using Chrome to find where somewhere like a business is I just tab the directions and the maps open in split screen. or if I’m copying stuff for twitter. I find it usefull
Microsoft call these updates UPDATES. Apple calls them a new OS version and announces it like they are doing you a favour. Nice one Apple.
More looking forward to when they figure how to to jailbreak 8.3. Wish I never upgraded!
I don’t upgrade for at least a month after the release as I got caught with that one previously.
Unfortunately I think it just updates automatically after a while.
‘This is why you should be looking forward to iOS 9′s arrival’ Because we’re sheep?
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