We twiddled our toes, paced up and down eagerly, wore out the carpet, drove our friends and families up the wall with predictions and speculations … all while waiting for the iOS 9 to be released.
Our obsession finally paid off yesterday as we obediently updated our operating system the minute iOS 9 was launched. And then we spent the best part of the night taking it for a test drive.
The verdict? We are absolutely loving it so far. It’s not a radical design change from the previous version, but there are some great under the hood upgrades. Here are some of the features we are enjoying the most.
Back Button
You are on Twitter and you click on a link that takes you to YouTube video. How do you come back to Twitter? Probably by using the app switcher. Not any more, though. The back button in iOS 9 lets you do that with just one tap. Simple and easy. Now, why didn’t they think of that before?
Selfie Folder
Selfie lovers rejoice! Now all those beautiful mugshots you clicked using the front camera will automatically get stored into the Selfie folder. What’s more, any screenshots taken by simultaneously pressing the home and power button go straight to the Screenshots folder.
Low Power Mode
Battery on the verge of dying? No problem. The low power mode in iOS 9 gives you the extra minutes you need by reducing features like automatic downloads, background app refresh, and mail fetch. However, all other functionalities (Wifi, bluetooth, GPS, etc) work just fine. What’s more, the low power mode is smart enough to ask users to activate it when battery drops to 20%. Also, it automatically turns off when the battery is at 80%. Incredible!
Smarter Siri
Siri is more updated and intuitive now, able to respond to even complicated commands with utmost accuracy. So, if you say, “Show me photos from my Hawaii trip last year”, incredibly, it will! It can even understand contextual suggestions. If you get a message from a friend about Sunday brunch, you can tell Siri, “Remind me about this later”. It will understand what you mean by “this”.
Multitasking on iPad
iPad users are in for a pleasant surprise. Three brand new features are going to make working on it so very comfortable.
- Split-view (our favourite) lets you run two apps side by side in a 50-50 or 70-30 ratio.
- With the slide over function, you can bring up a second app without having to close the app you’re currently working on. All you have to do is swipe down from the top of the screen or swipe over from the side.
- Have to reply to an email, but don’t want to stop watching your movie? Picture-in-picture will scale down a video in size, so you can push it to one corner and keep watching it while you compose an urgent email to your boss.
QuickType for iPads
Want to copy a large chunk of text content that is displayed on the screen? All you need to do is place two fingers on the keyboard and it gets converted into a trackpad. The tools on the Quick Type Bar then assist you with the editing of the text with a single tap.
New App Switcher
The new app switcher is perhaps the most visible change in UI and UX in iOS 9. From a purely functional perspective, is the new app switcher more efficient? Our team stands divided on that. But we have to admit, it looks way cooler than its ancient version.
Auto Capslock on keyboard
Gone are the days when you needed to check the colour of the Shift key to figure out if the caps lock was on or not. In iOS 9, the entire keyboard changes from lower to upper case when you hit the shift key.
Setting search
If you’ve lost yourself one too many times in your iPhone or iPad’s settings, this new feature is a blessing for you. Instead of trying to figure your way around the labyrinth of options, all you have to do is type whatever you’re looking for in the search bar in settings, and all relevant matches will pop up in front of you. Thank you, Apple, thank you!
The San Francisco Font
The newly incorporated and extremely sophisticated looking San Francisco Font will be used in native apps, Spotlight search, and Settings. Users can also make it their default font while reading iBooks since it is really easy to read.
We’ve reached the end of our list, but realize that there’s still so much we could go ga-ga over in the iOS 9. What’s your experience been like after the latest update? What do you love most about the iOS 9? Tell us in the comments below and let’s all sing praises together!
I can’t believe that you think San Francisco is a readable font. It is a nightmare for reading body copy in part because it is sans serif. I only shudder to think of the eye strain from trying to read a book set in it.
Hey Matthew. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. We totally understand your point of view. The new San Francisco font is a classic case of divided opinions. We have heard some people praising it while some despise new look. Our team is among the appreciators but at the same time we recognise the argument against it. To each his own!