A week after the reveal of the iPhone 6s at Apple's September 2015 event, the company has come out with their latest version of their iOS platform: the iOS 9. While some could argue that it isn't hugely different from past generations of the software (or that in the wake of the iOS 8 debacle, it's resorted back to earlier models to use as inspiration for its structural makeup), it definitely has some notable and noteworthy additions.
Though the home screen layout of iOS 9 remains intact, the new San Francisco font is also an aesthetic addition. Its muted, understated debut was technically at Apple's September event, as displayed during their Apple Watch portion of the program.
According to Apple, the iOS 9 is "easy to update" and purportedly has an extremely user-friendly interface (the connotation being more so than past iterations of the mobile operating system). The aesthetic and general layout is, as mentioned before, essentially the same but with one big difference: the app switcher operates on a design similar to flipping through a Rolodex, rather than a swiping model it helped to popularize for apps worldwide.
Besides the usual rigmarole of home screen apps, Apple has added a new one for the iOS 9: News, which makes it easier to streamline a user's favorite news sources and stories. The app is also designed to retain publication layout for iPhone and iPad, making the reading experience in its entirety a little more pleasing to the eye. In terms of picking your sources to begin with, Apple proffers an aggregate of leading news source, available to peruse in a gridded icon format. And as for news publishers themselves? iOS 9 apparently makes formatting stories for mobile and iPad viewability a lot more simple with "custom typography and rich multimedia."
The main hallmark of the update is Siri, who's vastly improved, with better voice recognition and a wider range of knowledge. So while this means that Siri's unintentionally hilarious response error goes out with the bathwater along with more general communicative errors, it also means that anyone can feel free to ask Siri what zero divided by zero is as many times as you want without disruption.
Users can also ask Siri to locate photos and videos within the context of a specific time period or location and to remind you when to do certain tasks, like a personal concierge desk. Fittingly, she'll also suggest searches and apps to recommend, even before you ask; essentially, turning into the closest thing you can get to having a real-life personal assistant without spending the benjamins to hire one.
Apple also insist that the new iOS platform touts better overall performance quality, a longer battery life (which, to be fair, is only one hour), and streams updates in smaller increments, which lessens the amount of free space needed to update in the first place. And for those who are pretty big on privacy, Apple has made some significant changes to their password upkeep: instead of a four digit code for phone access, iPhone users will need to have an input a six digit password, and go through two-step authentication process (which means the usual verification code via text or some likeminded mode) when trying to login through another device, all brought to you by iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan.
As for iPad users, your productivity rate can now presumably shoot through the roof, with a plethora of new multitasking features -- not surprising, given the recent focus on the iPad Pro. The latest multitasking amenities available to the tablet through iOS 9 include a split screen feature, a "slide over" component that lets users keep two apps open at once on the same screen (appropriately and obviously named Slide Over, of course), and for those who like watching Netflix while working on their latest spreadsheet, a feature that lets users keep video apps like FaceTime running while returning to the home screen.
In short? iOS 9, you're looking pretty good.
