There’s a new version of iOS in town, and it’s all about refining the foundation Apple has been laying down over the past few years. And while there wasn’t a big redesign, or even widgets, this still might be the most exciting iOS yet.
What users do get is faster performance, improved security and longer battery life. Small enhancements that make a difference day after day. But also bigger improvements, like a more intelligent Siri, and proactive, which provides suggestions based on the apps you commonly use throughout the day. It’s Google Now-ish, if not quite so nearly magical.
It’s clear Apple is not just committed to making iOS easier to use, but something that’s smarter. That’s highlighted by a new search screen, where you’ll find pre-populated suggestions for contacts, apps, nearby places and more. It’s not quite as helpful as what you’d find in the Google camp— you won’t see weather, or sports scores, or directions — but it’s a step in the right direction for Apple. (I’m not sure why Today somehow combined with this smarter search.)
Apple says that Siri is also more intelligent overall. When you type in the search field, for example, you’ll get instant results for things like sports scores, weather, conversions, stocks and more. That’s not exactly proactive, because you have to actually query Siri to search for these answers, but it’s still a powerful tool if you need information quick.
That’s not the only big feature coming to iOS 9. Over in the iPad camp, there are new multitasking features, including Slide Over, Split View and Picture in Picture—all features we’ve seen in competing ecosystems before. But Apple’s vision is clearly set on a more powerful tablet down the road, paving the way for an eventual iPad Pro announcement.
With Slide Over, you can open a second app without leaving the one you’re in; Split View on the iPad Air will let you have two active apps open at the same time; with Picture in Picture, you FaceTime or watch a video while working inside of another app. So, for example, you can FaceTime with a friend while working on an email. Again, not groundbreaking for the tablet community, but big features for iPad users.
Other big iOS 9 features include the death of Passbook in favor of a more concise Wallet, transit directions inside of Maps, a much more powerful Notes app, and a Low Power mode, which promises to extend your device’s battery even further.
Apple also introduced a Flipboard-Like application called News, which is exactly what you think it is. News has been designed to aggregate all the news you want to read in a beautiful mobile app, with an emphasis on presentation and imagery. It’s pretty much Flipboard, but by a different name. I’m not sure why something like this isn’t available now, but, hey, it’s coming at some point.
There are a lot of other features coming to iOS 9 this fall, including six-digit passcodes, a faster and more responsive experience, and a smaller footprint; the iOS 9 update is just 1.3GB, whereas the iOS 8 update was nearly 5 GB.
Check out the video above to see iOS 9 in action, and if you want to try the update out yourself, Apple said it’ll open up a public beta next month.

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