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iOS 9

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For similar names, see OS9 (disambiguation).

iOS 9
Version of the iOS operating system
iOS 9.1 running on an iPhone 6S with typical pre-loaded apps
DeveloperApple Inc.
Source modelClosed, with open source components
Initial releaseSeptember 16, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-09-16)
Latest release9.2 (13C75) / December 8, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-12-08)
PlatformsiPhone 4S
iPhone 5
iPhone 5C
iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
iPhone 6 Plus
iPhone 6S
iPhone 6S Plus
iPod Touch (5th generation)
iPod Touch (6th generation)
iPad 2
iPad (3rd generation)
iPad (4th generation)
iPad Air
iPad Air 2
iPad Mini (1st generation)
iPad Mini 2
iPad Mini 3
iPad Mini 4
iPad Pro
Kernel typeHybrid (XNU)
LicenseProprietary EULA except for open-source components
Preceded byiOS 8
Official websiteOfficial website
Support status
Supported

iOS 9 is the ninth release of the iOS mobile operating system designed by Apple Inc which is the successor to iOS 8. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference 2015 on June 8, 2015, and was released on September 16, 2015. iOS 9 focuses less on new features and more on under-the-hood optimizations, as well as battery improvements.[1] On September 21, 2015, Apple announced that iOS 9 had been installed on more than 50% of active iOS devices, making it the fastest adoption rate for a new operating system and significantly faster than that of its predecessor.[2][3] As of December 14, 2015, iOS 9 has been installed on 71% of compatible Apple devices.[4]

History

Main article: iOS version history § iOS 9

iOS 9 debuted at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference on June 8, 2015, with iOS 9.0 beta 1 being made available to registered developers straight after the keynote, and a public beta made available to members of Apple's Beta Software Program in July.[5][6] iOS 9 was released publicly on September 16, 2015.[7][8][9]

iOS 9.0.1 was released on September 23, 2015, as the first update to iOS 9. It fixed a major bug that caused the "Slide to Upgrade" screen to freeze when updating from earlier versions of iOS.[10][11]

iOS 9.0.2 was released on September 30, 2015, to fix a major lock screen bypass issue.[12][13]

iOS 9.1 was released on October 21, 2015.[14] It includes support for the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil and the 4th generation Apple TV.

iOS 9.2 was released on December 8, 2015, with new features including adding Arabic language support for Siri and introducing iPhone support for the USB Camera Adapter, which lets you transfer photos from a camera to an iDevice without syncing to a computer first.[15]

Features

iOS 9 includes many enhancements to stock applications and integrates intelligence throughout the OS, especially on iPad, as well as improving stability, speed and battery life.

Keyboard

On iPad, a two-finger drag on the keyboard moves the cursor freely like a traditional trackpad making positioning the cursor and selecting text easier. On the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, a force press on the keyboard also allows the user to move the cursor like a trackpad. A shortcut bar has been added including cut, copy, paste, undo and redo.

When shift is inactive, lowercase letters are displayed,[16] instead of the all-caps representation on all previous iOS versions, although this can be disabled.

News

Main article: News (application)

iOS 9 includes a new News app (replacing the Newsstand app) which displays news from sources such as The New York Times, CNN, Wired, and ESPN to bring one unified experience in the way users read, experience, and discover news.[17] Publishers use the Apple News Format to create rich, dynamic articles for iOS users, using diverse typography, layout and full width imagery. The app has been compared to the popular app Flipboard, which also aggregates news in addition to social media posts.[17] It has been discovered that the News application will also have support for RSS feeds from Safari.[18]

Originally, News was only available in the US only, but as of the iOS 9.1 release, the app also arrived in the UK and Australia.[19]

Notes

The built-in Notes app has received a number of enhancements, including the ability to draw sketches with a number of different tools, including a ruler for straight lines. Images can also be added, and links to websites and Map locations get a more prominent, visual appearance when added to notes. Attachments including images, links, locations, documents and audio across all notes can be viewed in a single view from the notes list. Advanced formatting options including checked, bulleted, dashed and numbered lists can be added. The iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad (3rd generation), iPad Mini (1st generation), and iPod Touch (5th generation) do not support the Sketch feature of the Notes application.[20]

Notes now sync using iCloud Drive, as opposed to the less secure IMAP system that Apple has used in past iterations of iOS. When a library has been updated to the new Notes format, devices that still use IMAP will no longer be able to view the upgraded notes. The new Notes format also syncs to any Mac on the same iCloud account running OS X 10.11 or higher.[21]

Maps

Main article: Apple Maps

Apple Maps adds support for transit directions in Baltimore, Berlin, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York City, Paris, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Shanghai, Toronto, and Washington D.C., along with several other cities in China at launch, which will expand as Apple maps out more cities.[22] The Maps app now also makes recommendations to points of interest, restaurants, etc. based on what time of day it is or the users' interests. Map also display place cards for landmarks, cities and text taken from Wikipedia.[23] Apple has claimed that information collected by iOS this way will not be shared with the company or third parties. There will also be an icon in the details view of a retailer to indicate that they support Apple Pay. The transit feature is not available on the iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad Mini (1st generation), and iPod Touch (5th generation).

Multitasking

iOS 9 also adds a number of features to the iPad to improve productivity. These include Slide Over, Split View, and Picture in Picture, for enhanced multitasking, similar to the experience found on OS X El Capitan. Slide Over allows the user to pull in a second app with a swipe from the right edge of the display. This app takes up the width of 33% of the screen size, and disables interactivity within the full screen app, which takes up 66% of the display, allowing users to perform quick tasks and then dismiss the app again. If the user taps on the handle next to the Slide Over window, or extends it further towards the left of the screen, the user enters Split View, which allows users to interact with two apps simultaneously side-by-side in a 50%/50% split. Users can switch to another app in either Slide Over mode or Split-Screen view by pulling down on the handle on top of either app and selecting another app from the list to replace the existing one. The Split-Screen Multitasking feature will only be available to iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4 users at launch. It will also be available on the iPad Pro. However, the Slide Over and Picture in Picture feature will be available on the iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 2 and higher, and the iPad Pro.[17][24] The iPad 2, 3rd generation, 4th generation, and Mini (1st Generation) will not receive any of these multitasking updates.[25]

When banner notifications are tapped, causing another app to open, a back button at the top-left corner of the screen has been added, bringing the user back to the previous app.

The app switcher is redesigned, with app previews stacked on each other that are swiped through in a carousel effect. It also removes the recent contacts section.

Proactivity

Intelligence is one of the main features in iOS 9, consisting of the newly integrated Siri and Search (previously known as Spotlight), as well as "proactivity" throughout the operating system. iOS is now more aware of contextual information (such as time and location), and proactively provides the user with what they may need in advance to save them time and effort. For example, the Search screen displays suggested apps, nearby points of interest from Maps and current news stories, based on time of day and location. When typing, Search has also been improved to display instant answers in an at-a-glance, widget-like format, similar to that provided in the Siri interface. Search can display current weather, sports scores, news, and more. The Search screen with proactive suggestions can be accessed by swiping to the left of the first home screen, as with the old Spotlight in iPhone OS 3 to 6. The new Search screen is not available on the iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad (3rd generation), iPad Mini (1st generation), and iPod Touch (5th generation).[26] However, the Search field and Siri button can also be accessed by swiping down on any page of the home screen (as in iOS 7/8), but doesn't show any suggestions. The intelligence also extends into apps. For instance, in Mail, events can be automatically added to Calendar if details are found in the message content, and likely additional recipients are suggested during message composition. Siri is also aware of what is currently onscreen when it is engaged by holding down the home button. For example, if a user is shopping for something in Safari, the user can say, "Remind me about 'this' when I get home", and Siri will set a reminder with a geofence and attached link of the current page. The user can also ask Siri "Show me photos I took last June" and Siri will direct into the photos app, similar to the new Spotlight in OS X 10.11 El Capitan.[27]

Wallet

Main article: Wallet (application)

The Passbook application was renamed Wallet in iOS 9 and includes many new changes such as support for store loyalty cards, gift cards, Discover Credit/Debit Card support, and Apple Pay in the UK.[28]

3D Touch

3D Touch, which is only available on the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus, is deeply incorporated into iOS 9. Quick Actions that can only be triggered with 3D Touch were added to the home menu. iOS 9 has actions known as Peek and Pop, which lets the user preview all kinds of content and act on it without having to actually open it. For example, with a light press the user can Peek at each email in the inbox, then when the user wants to open the email, they would press a little deeper to Pop into it. If someone sends the user a link to a website, the user can Peek at it without leaving the screen he/she's on. Whenever the user is sent a link, or finds one while browsing, they would press the link lightly and the top of the page appears just as it would in Safari, and once the user lets go, he/she ends up in the original location. If the user wants to open the full page in Safari, they would press the link a little more deeply to Pop into it.[29]

Battery, performance and security improvements

iOS 9 also includes many under-the-hood improvements such as improved performance with its Metal API, up to an hour more of battery life, improved security using advanced encryption and new 6-digit passcodes for Touch ID-enabled devices (increased from 4).[30][31] Devices without Touch ID will also be able to use 4-digit passcodes, but it will not be the default option when adding a passcode to the device. A new Low Power Mode has been added, which is said to increase battery life by up to three hours. This feature is only available on iPhone.[26] iOS 9 also introduces a new two-factor authentication system for better security within iCloud Drive.[32][33] iOS 9 fixes a security issue within previous iOS versions where a hacker could bypass Apple's certificate security protocols allowing the "attacker to issue a malware payload via a directory traversal attack" which allows the hacker to "remotely alter configuration files to ensure the exploit still works even if an incoming AirDrop file is rejected by a user".[34][35] With the release of iOS 9, the Safari web browser allows for third-party integration; as of September 2015, the most popular third-party Safari extensions are ad- and content-blocking applications.[36][37] Also, new iCloud Drive app can be enabled from the iCloud settings.[38]

Supported devices

With this release, Apple did not drop support for any iOS devices, with all devices supporting iOS 8 also able to run iOS 9.[39] Supported devices on this release include the iPhone 4S onwards, iPod Touch (5th generation) onwards, the iPad 2 onwards, and the iPad Mini (1st generation) onwards, making iOS 9 have the most supported devices than any other iOS release, with 20 devices. The iPad 2 is also the first iOS device to support six major releases of iOS, supporting iOS 4 to 9. This is the greatest amount of major iOS releases a single iOS device has supported, surpassing the iPhone 4S which supports five major releases (iOS 5 to 9), and iPod Touch (5th generation) supporting four major releases (iOS 6 to 9). However, iOS 9 has limited support on the iPad 2, iPhone 4S, the iPad Mini (1st generation), and the iPod Touch (5th generation).

Supported devices:

Reception

The reception of iOS 9 has been generally positive with critics praising all the under-the-hood improvements Apple made as welcome changes especially since iOS 9's predecessor, iOS 8, was known for having bugs and being unstable at times.[40] Reviewers have also praised iOS 9 for including many improvements in user experience such as the new Intelligence improvements. However, many journalists noted that Apple picked up many of the ideas for iOS 9 from other platforms. The Intelligence improvements were seen as borrowed from Google, who introduced the idea of Google Now and Now On Tap which perform many of the same functions as Proactive in iOS 9. Improvements to the iPad experience such as split-screen multitasking were seen in other tablets such as the Microsoft Surface or the Samsung Galaxy line of tablets.[41] Keyboard improvements such as scrolling with a two-finger gesture and upper/lower case keyboard were noted by critics as having been taken from jailbreak tweaks as well (SwipeSelection[42] and ShowCase,[43] respectively).

There has been criticism, however, of the operating system's new way of handling apps, called "App Thinning", in which apps downloaded on a specific device will only download files that are required to run on that device and not contain any files required to run on other iOS devices. While this is beneficial for individuals who may have devices with lower storage capacity, the apps downloaded do not transfer back to iTunes when connected, as they have previously. This may mean that a user has to download the same app multiple times for each of their devices - a problem especially for those with limited data allowances from their internet service providers. [44][45]

References

  1. ^ "Top Features why iOS 9 is the smartest version".
  2. ^ Cunningham, Andrew (September 21, 2015). "Apple: iOS 9 on more than half of all devices, fastest adoption rate ever". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  3. ^ "Apple: Latest iPhone, iPad software surpasses 50 percent adoption - CNET". CNET. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  4. ^ "App Store - Support - Apple Developer". Apple Inc. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  5. ^ Griffin, Andrew (June 8, 2015). "iOS 9 beta: users can sign up for beta program to get new iPhone operating system in July". The Independent. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  6. ^ Curtis, Sophie (June 9, 2015). "iOS 9: what we've learnt from WWDC 2015". The Telegraph. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  7. ^ "iOS 9 Available as a Free Update for iPhone, iPad & iPod touch Users September 16". www.apple.com (Press release). Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  8. ^ "iOS 9 will be released on September 16th". The Verge. Vox Media.
  9. ^ "iOS 9 to be released Sept. 16". CNET. CBS Interactive.
  10. ^ Manish Singh (September 24, 2015). "iOS 9.0.1 Update Brings Fix for 'Slide to Upgrade' and Other Bugs".
  11. ^ Juli Clover (September 23, 2015). "Apple Releases iOS 9.0.1 With Multiple Bug Fixes".
  12. ^ Zack Whittaker (October 1, 2015). "New iOS 9.0.2 update fixes iPhone lock screen bypass flaw".
  13. ^ Evan Selleck (September 30, 2015). "iOS 9.0.2 fixes the lock screen security flaw that could access Photos and Contacts without passcode".
  14. ^ "Apple Releases iOS 9.1 With New Emoji, Live Photos Improvements". www.macrumors.com. October 21, 2015.
  15. ^ Zac Hall (December 8, 2015). "Apple releases iOS 9.2 with Arabic Siri, iPhone SD Card Reader support, Apple Music fixes, more".
  16. ^ "Here's how Apple finally fixed the shift key in iOS 9". 9to5Mac.
  17. ^ a b c Seifert, Dan (June 8, 2015). "Apple announces iOS 9, release later this year". The Verge. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  18. ^ Clover, Juli (July 8, 2015). "iOS 9 Beta 3 Tidbits: 4x4 Folders on iPad, Screenshot and Selfie Folders, News App, and More". Mac Rumors. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  19. ^ Clover, Juli (October 21, 2015). "Apple Releases iOS 9.1 With New Emoji, Live Photos Improvements". Mac Rumours. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  20. ^ Hughes, Neil. "Inside iOS 9: Apple's Notes app is greatly enhanced with drawings, lists, pictures, links & more". Apple Insider. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  21. ^ Caldwell, Serenity (September 17, 2015). "How to view your iOS 9 Notes on your OS X Yosemite Mac | iMore". iMore. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  22. ^ Tabini, Marco. "Apple Maps in iOS 9 adds public transit, local business search". Macworld. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  23. ^ "iOS 9.0.1". apple.com.
  24. ^ Weinberger, Matt. "The Apple iPad is your next work computer". Business Insider. Business Insider. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  25. ^ Beasley, Mike (June 8, 2015). "Apple announces split-screen multitasking for iPad in iOS 9". 9to5mac.com. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  26. ^ a b Cunningham, Andrew (September 16, 2015). "iOS 9, thoroughly reviewed | Ars Technica". Ars Technica. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  27. ^ Goldman, David (June 9, 2015). "9 things you'll love about iOS 9". CNN.com. CNN. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  28. ^ "iOS 9 - What's New". Apple.
  29. ^ "What is 3D Touch?". CNET. CBS Interactive.
  30. ^ Lee, Tyler. "iOS 9 Introduces New Security Improvements". ubergizmo. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  31. ^ "Apple just relieved a big security headache for work iPhones | ZDNet". ZDNet. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  32. ^ Munson, Lee (June 10, 2015). "iOS 9 enhances two factor authentication, introduces 6-digit passcodes". naked security. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  33. ^ "Why you'll want to install that new iPhone operating system ASAP: Protection from hackers". CNET. CBS Interactive.
  34. ^ "Apple iOS 9 fixes serious AirDrop vulnerability". CNET. CBS Interactive.
  35. ^ "Apple AirDrop flaw leaves users vulnerable to exploit | ZDNet". ZDNet. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  36. ^ "Ad blockers top Apple charts as iOS 9 debuts". CNET. CBS Interactive.
  37. ^ Miller, Matthew. "Ad blockers help some and hurt others: Top Apple iOS app pulled for being too blunt". ZDNet.
  38. ^ Nield, David (September 17, 2015). "23 Things You Can Do in iOS 9 That You Couldn't Do in iOS 8". Gizmodo. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  39. ^ "iOS 9 will run on all iOS 8-compatible devices - CNET" June 8, 2015
  40. ^ "iOS 9 gets a big boost from under the hood refinements". iPad Insight.
  41. ^ "7 'New' Features Apple Just Stole From Microsoft, Google, and Itself". yahoo.com. June 9, 2015.
  42. ^ "SwipeSelection: Jailbreak Tweak to Make iPad Text Editing Concept a Reality". iPhone Hacks - #1 iPhone, iPad, iOS Blog.
  43. ^ "New Cydia Tweak: ShowCase Tweak for iOS Keyboard Makes Typing A Lot Easier - Unlock iPhone 4, unlock iPhone 3GS, jailbreak iPhone - how to with ziPhone.org". ziphone.org.
  44. ^ "iTunes 12.3 Not Copying Purchased Content from iOS Devices". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  45. ^ "iTunes won't transfer purchases from iPhone/iPad". apple.com.
  • iOS – official site
Preceded by iOS 9
September 2015 		Incumbent
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