iOS 9 Available As Free Update On September 16

On Wednesday, September 9, Apple® announced iOS 9, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, will be available on Wednesday, September 16 as a free update for iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch® users. iOS 9 makes iOS devices more intelligent and proactive with powerful search and improved Siri® features, all while protecting users’ privacy.

The way you interact with iPad gets even better with iOS 9, thanks to new multitasking features that let users view and interact with two apps at once, side by side. With Picture-in-Picture, users can play video while browsing the web, composing email or using other apps. Built-in apps become more powerful with a redesigned Notes app offering new ways to capture ideas, detailed transit information in Maps, and an all-new News app for the best news reading experience on any mobile device.

“iOS 9 is packed with intelligence that makes every experience with iPhone and iPad even more powerful — Siri can do more than ever and new proactive assistance helps you get more done before you ask, all while protecting users’ privacy,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “With iOS 9 we focused on strengthening the foundation of iOS with a deep focus on quality, and with the help of more than one million users who participated in our first ever public beta program, we’re excited to release the best version of iOS yet.”

Read the complete story >> HERE.

Credit: apple.com

5 Great iPad Productivity Features In iOS 9

Apple’s iOS 9 is still in beta, but the final release date is closing in. Here are five great features to look forward to if you happen to be an iPad user.

Slide

iOS 9 lets you look at two apps at once using Slide Over. The second app appears beside your current app within a sidebar to the right of your screen. This feature should help you when researching or writing an email while working on something else. You activate Slide Over by placing your finger toward the center right of your display, tap and hold and swipe to the left. Available apps will then appear in the sidebar and you can tap the one you wish to use. To change the second app just tap the original app to end the session and then activate Slide Over again to choose a new app.

Split

Slide Over seems useful, but Split View in iOS 9 is more powerful. It lets you run two apps in one window, though the feature only works with iPad Air 2 models and later. You access it in a very similar fashion to Slide Over:

Launch an app

Now tap on finger in the center right area of the display and swipe left to open Slide Over.

Choose the second app.

When the app opens in the sidebar, tap on the vertical line in the middle of the sidebar and drag this to the left.

The second app will now become active in the main screen.

You can define how much space each app should have available by dragging the line between the two, or swipe that line right back to the right to return to single app view.

PiP

When you’re working in another app and a Facetime video call comes in, you will be able to take that call within a smaller window while remaining in the other app. This applies to other forms of video playback and shows up as an icon (two opposite facing arrows pointing NE and SW) at the lower left of the screen when available, just pinch in or out to make the inline picture larger or smaller. This isn’t just a consumer-focused enhancement -- it promises to be an excellent research tool when taking notes during a Webinar, for example.

Folders

As previously reported, iOS 9 introduces a 4-x-4 icon grid in folders on iPad, translating into the ability to stash up to 105 apps inside each folder.

Keyboard

iOS 9’s QuickType keyboard is far more versatile. Among other features it will now show lowercase letters so you know when Caps Lock is active. The new shortcut bar offers useful tools like cut, copy, and paste and clipboard functions. Brand new camera and attachments controls also feature in the release. Improved touch support means you will be able to move the text cursor quickly around the screen using two fingers. You can also use external keyboard shortcuts

Compatibility

iOS 9 is the most backward compatible OS release yet. For iPad users it should be compatible with iPad 2 models and younger and all iPad mini models. Not all features will work on all models.

Availability

Apple offers iOS 9 beta to the public via its public beta testing scheme, though please don’t use your main device as a beta testing unit – things go wrong during beta testing and this is why such testing exists. iOS 9 beta is currently at version 5 and introduces some new tweaks that may interest iPad users, including slightly tweaked keyboard icons for Delete, Shift and Dictation.

Credit: computerworld.com

Apple Previews iOS 9

Apple® today unveiled iOS 9, giving a preview of new iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch® software that will be available this fall. In this upcoming release, iOS devices become more intelligent and proactive with powerful search and improved Siri® features — all without compromising users’ privacy. New multitasking features designed specifically for iPad allow you to work with two apps simultaneously, side-by-side or with the new Picture-in-Picture feature, to keep watching a video while browsing the web, composing email or using any other app. Built-in apps become more powerful in iOS 9 with detailed transit information in Maps*, a redesigned Notes app with new ways to capture ideas, and an all-new News app for the best news reading experience on any mobile device.

“iOS 9 is packed with more intelligence throughout, and delivers big updates to the apps customers use most — Maps supports public transit, a redesigned Notes app provides great new ways to capture ideas, and a beautiful News app delivers content that’s personalized to your interests,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “With our new iPad features, users can take advantage of the power of iPad, working in two apps at the same time with Split View, Slide Over or Picture-in-Picture.”

Intelligence

Siri features an all-new design in iOS 9, contextual reminders and new ways to search photos ......

New iPad Features

With a simple swipe, the new Slide Over feature lets you simultaneously work in a second app ......

Built-In Apps

In iOS 9, Maps adds support for metropolitan transit systems and schedules, and subway station ......

Foundation

iOS 9 makes the foundation of iOS even stronger with refinements including battery optimization ......

Availability

iOS 9 will be available this fall as a free software update for iPhone 4s and later, iPod touch 5th generation, iPad 2 and later, iPad mini and later. Features are subject to change.

Read the complete story ...... HERE.

iOS 9 Coming This Year, What Can We Expect?

The next major version of Apple's mobile operating system, iOS 9, is already in the works at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino. There are few concrete details on iOS 9 yet, but rumors suggest the update may focus more on optimization and stability improvements rather than major design changes and new features.

Expect some changes, however. Siri improvements, a new San Francisco font, a HomeKit "Home" app, iPad split-screen multitasking, and transit directions may be added in iOS 9. With iOS 7, Apple introduced a major design overhaul, and with iOS 8, the company debuted features like Continuity, Apple Pay, and new app abilities like extensions and widgets.

It may seem like Apple will have a hard time marketing an iOS 9 update that doesn't come with the flashy additions we got in iOS 7 and iOS 8, but a new version of iOS that fine tunes what Apple introduced in previous iOS updates will likely be very popular with people who have suffered from bugs in iOS 8.

Since iOS 8's release, some of Apple's user base has been unhappy with the update, vocally criticizing the company for pushing out new features without resolving lingering bugs. iOS 8 has suffered from an above average number of bugs since its September introduction, causing issues like slow Wi-Fi, battery drain, screen rotation problems, Bluetooth connectivity failures, and more.

One of the major optimizations that might be in store for iOS 9 is a reduction in the amount of space the operating system takes up. iOS 8 saw slow adoption rates for the first few months following its release, possibly because of the sheer size of the operating system. iOS 8 requires more than 2GB of free space to install, which can difficult to clear up on devices limited to 8GB or 16GB of storage.

According to rumors, iOS 9 will be compatible with devices using Apple's A5 processor and it may even offer improved performance on these devices compared to iOS 8. iOS devices with an A5 chip include the iPhone 4s, the original iPad mini, the iPad 2, and the fifth-generation iPod touch.

Apple may also convert many IMAP-based applications like Notes, Reminders, and Calendar to its own iCloud Drive system, improving communication in these apps between devices and increasing security. A "Trusted Wi-Fi" feature may allow Macs and iOS devices to connect to trusted wireless routers with no additional security measures, while non-trusted routers would have a heavily encrypted wireless connection.

The much-anticipated split-screen multitasking feature may also be included with iOS 9, allowing iPad users to open two apps at once or two versions of the same app. This would let a user open two side-by-side Safari windows or two Pages documents on their iPads, for example.

The upcoming WWDC will likely see the debut of HomeKit, Apple's home automation platform. A dedicated "Home" app within iOS 9 may accompany the launch, giving HomeKit users a central location to add new HomeKit-compatible devices, group devices by room, and control them.

Read the complete story >> HERE.

Credit: macrumors.com