We are getting an overwhelming response for a post we uploaded recently – 10 coolest iOS 9 features. Most people seem to share our enthusiasm about Apple’s new mobile operating system, which is great! But what if we told you that the iOS you’re loving is an incomplete experience? That’s right! There are some key facets of iOS 9 that aren’t accessible in India.
Here is the list of what all of us are missing out on.
News app
If you remember, Apple had spent a substantial time highlighting the News app during the iOS 9 launch at WWDC in June. This pre-installed app is a news aggregator like Flipboard. The early reviews are mixed but the performance is expected to steadily improve as Apple adds more news feeds and fine tunes the algorithm to learn individual preferences. Currently, News app is available only in the US and there’s no telling when it will come to India, if at all.
Spotlight Suggestions
You must have noticed the new spotlight screen on the left of your Home screen. While the Siri suggestions for contacts and apps are nice (which, by the way, keep changing according to how you use the phone), the screen is meant to showcase many more details. Spotlight suggestions are designed to include nearby places, news etc. but these functionalities are not available in India … yet.
Siri
Our friend Siri is said to have become a lot more intelligent in iOS 9. You can enjoy the improvements in its accuracy and play around with some new commands, but, unfortunately, Indian Siri still doesn’t give restaurant or movie informations and reviews. In many countries, Siri also makes restaurant reservations for you. That would be so cool!
Apple Pay
The only Apple Pay related change we can see is the rebranding of Passbook app to Wallet. In iOS 9, Apple Pay has become smarter and even shows map listing of vendors who accept Apple Pay. Let’s just hope Apple quickly ties up with Indian banks and we are finally able to start using one of the flagship features of our iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
Maps
Yes yes, we know that Apple Maps is crappy anyway. We are also aware that Google maps is by far the best option, especially in India. Still, we can’t stop wondering about the whole list of Apple Maps features we are missing out on, including Directions, Turn-by-Turn Navigation, Flyover, 3D Buildings in Navigation, Traffic, Business Reviews and Photos, Transit, Nearby, and Maps in Apple CarPlay. These sound way too cool to be ignored.
iTunes Store
Apple didn’t make any improvements in iTunes Store in iOS 9 but we still have it in the list. Why? Well, how else are we going to vent our frustration about missing TV shows and books on the Indian iTunes Store? It’s just not fair. C’mon Apple, if we watch the movies, we’ll watch the shows as well!
So now you know that the iOS 9 you love is not the full package. It’s still a damn good update and we are getting 95% of the fun. The purpose of telling you all this is keep you informed. Don’t hate us for bursting your bubble!
Just change ur region from uk to us for news app
Sir I what news please help how to get
when can we expect the direction feature in Apple maps to work in India.
Sree Apple hasn’t given any timeline for Apple Maps update in India. However, they just announced a new 4000 member team in India that will work on Apple Maps, so hopefully the directions feature will come sooner rather than later. Till the time, Google Maps is the best option in India.