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iOS 9 Features

Apple has finally released iOS ix unto the earth. While some aspects have stirred up controversy, the overall response has been mostly positive. Information technology runs on the vast majority of Apple tree'due south existing mobile devices, the performance is solid, and the upgrade procedure is relatively painless. At showtime glance, information technology'south not drastically unlike from iOS viii, but a scattering of strategic changes volition brand your iPhone and iPad significantly easier to employ.

iOS 9 contains far besides many changes to mention in a unmarried commodity, simply later on using it extensively on my primary devices, I've settled on seven major improvements and additions that are worth bringing to your attending. At present, let's leap in, and explore what exactly iOS ix has to offer.

Content Blockers

Content Blockers

Regardless of the ethical and business aspects of blocking ads, the introduction of content blocking extensions for Safari in iOS 9 is a good affair. Giving the cease user more control over what content is being loaded, and how they're being tracked, is an incredibly smart motion for Apple equally a visitor focused on the user experience.

Go along in mind, this isn't all nearly removing ads. In fact, Marco Arment'due south $two.99 Peace content blocker is actually using the Ghostery database to detect and block trackers. And if reading annotate sections makes you lot sick to your stomach, you tin can but toggle them off completely.

While this addition is definitely controversial, the implications for improved mobile privacy are too massive to ignore. Good on Apple tree for prioritizing its customers over advertisers.

Battery Savings

Battery improvements

This fourth dimension around, Apple tree is focusing heavily on improving battery life. The built-in apps and core technologies have been optimized to depict less power, so you lot should see a longer bombardment life on your existing devices after yous make the jump to iOS 9. Information technology'due south certainly not going to double your bombardment life, only Apple estimates that you'll be able to squeeze in an extra hr of use between charges.

Even better, Apple tree also introduced a new low power mode that will assistance you conserve battery power until you can find an outlet. Head to Settings > Bombardment, and toggle on the "Low Ability Mode" switch. Groundwork activities like mail fetching and notifications volition cease, fancy habitation screen animations will exist turned off, and the CPU clock speed volition actually dynamically driblet. It's not something yous'll desire to employ everyday, merely information technology will likely come in handy during emergencies.

Siri Improvement

Siri and search improvements

Since its introduction in 2011, Siri has steadily connected to amend. This twelvemonth, the big changes are based effectually context awareness. When you reference what's on your screen, Siri volition actually know what you're talking about. Demand a reminder about a certain email? Just tell Siri "Remind me to read this email when I go dwelling house." It volition set up a reminder, and when you return home, a notification will pop upwardly with a link to that specific message.

Want to show your co-workers some photos from your family unit reunion? You tin tell Siri "Show me photos taken in Pennsylvania" or "Show me photos taken on September 13th." Same goes for e-mail also. Need to find your receipt? Tell Siri "Evidence me emails from Amazon in the last calendar week." Ameliorate notwithstanding, simple conversions are at present handled locally instead of using the Wolfram Alpha API, so results will come up in faster than ever.

Prefer to search with your thumbs instead of your phonation? iOS ix has that covered too. Swipe to the right on your home screen, and yous'll be greeted with a fully functional search bar, contact and app recommendations, and defended search buttons for nearby locations (restaurants, gas stations, et cetera).

Bread crumb

Bread nibble trail

iOS has long immune for one app to launch a unlike app with custom URL handlers, merely getting back to where you started has been something of a hassle. If your Twitter app kicked yous to Safari to load a page, yous'd have to double-tap the dwelling push button, swipe, and relaunch the original app.

With iOS 9, you'll now run into a modest string of text in the upper left-hand corner. Give information technology a tap, and it will instantly bring you lot back to the app you lot were using before. Combine this with iOS nine'due south improved method of loading spider web pages inside apps, and you'll see that Apple is slowly moving towards merging dedicated apps and the open web into a unmarried seamless feel.

App Slimming

App slimming

"Fatty binaries" are a legitimately neat concept. Instead of having developers compile and upload different versions of their apps for each device, all of the different avails tin can be arranged up in a unmarried app that works on all supported devices. Unfortunately, that also means that as more platforms are supported, the larger the size requirements grow. And since Apple refuses to finish shipping devices with a mere 16GB of storage, massive apps are a serious issue for consumers.

Thankfully, iOS 9 now supports a suite of features dubbed "app thinning." Only the assets needed to run the app on your device are stored locally, and the cruft is excised. If you're running on a non-retina device similar the iPad 2 or showtime iPad Mini, you should see some significant savings here.

And since developers tin now choose to dynamically download or delete specific resource inside the app, you lot won't ever need to have a complete installation when you're but using a modest subset of what an app offers. It volition likely have some time to see widespread adoption of this functionality, but it has a lot of space-saving potential for games or multifaceted apps like Garageband.

Keyboard

iPad keyboard improvements

If you do a lot of typing on your iPad, you lot're in for some big improvements. Selecting text is significantly easier to pull off, the shortcut bar on top on the software keyboard allows for easy editing, and support for shortcuts on Bluetooth keyboards is even better. Now you have no excuse non to write that novel you've been kicking effectually in your head.

Multitasking

Side-past-side multitasking

On newer iPads, various forms of side-by-side multitasking are now possible. Split view — effectively two iPad apps running next to each other — is available on the iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, and iPad Mini 4. Slide over — a characteristic much similar the Xbox 1's snap way — works with the iPad Pro, the original iPad Air (and above), and the iPad Mini 2 (and above). And as a squeamish little bonus, pic-in-picture way allows yous to keep watching videos as you browse. Older models don't become any of those benefits, but that's not particularly surprising. Frankly, I'thousand just amazed that the iPad ii is beingness supported at all.

An update to remember

Taken every bit a whole, iOS 9 serves to brand the iPhone and iPad fundamentally better devices. Usability is conspicuously withal Cupertino's number one business organization, and this is hands-down the all-time Bone information technology's e'er shipped. Still, in that location'south still plenty of room for comeback by the fourth dimension iOS x rolls around next twelvemonth. Let'southward just promise that Apple fixes watchOS 2 in the meantime.