iOS 9 preview
first impressions of iOS 9
iOS 9, the next version of Apple's software operating system for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch,
was unveiled at WWDC 2015. Our iOS 9 preview runs the rule over iOS 9's new features
and design changes from iOS 8, helps you decide whether you should update your iPad or
iPhone to iOS 9 (and whether you can update on your Apple device), and considers the ways
in which iOS 9 will change the way we interact with our Apple devices.
iOS 9 preview: Visual design & interface
Most of the time, the look of iOS evolves at a glacial pace: there has been just one really
radical visual overhaul in the past eight versions. (This was the controversial redesign
of iOS 7 that annoyed quite a lot of users, although most of us have grown used to it by now.)
iOS 8 (left) and iOS 7: very similar visual designs
We therefore expected iOS 9 to look pretty much the same as iOS 8, which in turn looked
pretty much like iOS 7. Users spend such a large amount of time interacting with their
smartphone's interface that major change is upsetting.
Sure enough, the interface is largely the same - with just a few small but significant
differences.
Let's start with the system font, which has been changed throughout iOS from Helvetica to a
custom typeface called San Francisco.
Again, iOS 8 is on the left. iOS 9 gives the text more room to breathe - it's a more modern
look, in our view. But it's a tiny change in comparison with iOS 7's scorched-earth redesign.
iOS 8 on the left vs iOS 9 on the right
iOS 9 new features: Proactive
iOS 9 new features: Multitasking
iOS 9's multitasking feature, at its most basic, essentially lets you view two apps at once, side
by side. One occupies about a third of the screen, sliced vertically off the righthand side. This
is called Slide Over.
iOS 9 new features: News
iOS 9 new features: Public-transport directions, and other changes
to Maps
iOS 9 new features: Notes
Next up is Notes, that most neglected and basic of preinstalled
productivity apps - yet, thanks to the updates in iOS 9, Apple
may yet convince you to use Notes for more than just shopping lists.
iOS 9 new features: Keyboard enhancements
Let's begin with those shortcut buttons. In most apps, the system keyboard offers one-tap cut,
copy and paste; in other apps you also get formatting options, attachments and similar. It's a
handy use of what was effectively dead space either side of the QuickType suggestion box
(although these are squeezed in slightly).
The second change affects the Shift key, which now avoids confusion by changing the look of
every letter key when toggled on and off. (In previous versions, users complained that they
weren't sure if Shift was on or not, since it just toggled between the colour of the other letter
keys and the colour of the special keys.)
One last change to the keyboard: tap and hold anywhere on the screen with two fingers at the
same time, and the keys will grey out - you've now got control of a 'cursor' for highlighting
text:
iOS 9 new features: Battery life enhancements
The last item on our list of new features in iOS 9 is by no means an afterthought. It concerns
battery life, which is something that every iPhone user has worried about at one time or
another.
iOS 9, Apple says, is more streamlined and power-efficient than iOS 8 - so much more
streamlined and efficient, in fact, that an iPhone 6 running iOS 9 will have an extra hour of
battery life. That's an impressive and pleasing boost, although we'll obviously need to test this
out once the final build is released. Although we must admit that even when using the
un-optimised iOS 9 beta on an iPhone 6 Plus, we experienced better all-round battery life than
when using iOS 8.
And the power-efficiency fun doesn't stop there. If you want to extend your battery life still
further, you can trigger a new Lower Power Mode, which Apple says is good for an extra three
hours away from the plug. It also makes the power indicator turn orange.
iOS 9 preview: Speed & performance
Will your iPad or iPhone get slower if you update to iOS 9? It may do. But we are optimistic
that it won't.
Each year, as a general rule, iOS gets a little more difficult to run: a bit more demanding on the
processing power of the iDevice it's installed on. (This isn't an immutable law of computing,
by the way: many operating systems get more processor-efficient as time passes. But it's held
true for iOS for several years.) Apple is supposed to warn us about this by stipulating that only
devices of sufficient power to run the thing are allowed to do so. But year after year, people
who run the least powerful of the listed 'upgrade-capable' iPads and iPhones find that they get
slower.
When iOS 7 launched, iPhone 4 users were pleased to hear that they could install the new
update, and less pleased when their smartphones slowed down overnight. For iOS 8 it was the
iPhone 4s that suffered, despite Apple saying it was powerful enough to cope.
So the first thing we would say about iOS 9 performance is this: if you've got a relatively old
iPad or iPhone - specifically, if it's at the older end of the list of iOS 9-compatible devices (in
the next section) - then be cautious about upgrading. We would strongly suggest holding back
for a few days at least, to see if early upgraders find that their iPhone 4s (or whatever) is
coping with the new OS.
But here's a second and more positive point. Apple claims this year will be different: that iOS
9 is streamlined and efficient and actually easier to run than iOS 8. The list of compatible
devices, as you'll see in a moment, is the same as the list for iOS 8; if you're running iOS 8
without any problems, then iOS 9 should be fine, and it could even run fractionally quicker.
As we discussed in the new features section, Apple boasts that iOS 9 is so power-efficient that
it will increase battery life of updated devices; it also says the install file will be something like
a third of the size of the install file for iOS 8. It also boasts a feature that’ll delete apps to
make space for future software updates, then re-install them once the device has updated. All
of this points to a streamlined and relatively undemanding OS, and we're therefore optimistic
about iOS 9 performance.
Check back after the official launch of iOS 9 (in September) to see how it gets on in our speed
tests.
Which iPads & iPhones will be able to install and run iOS 9?
This bring us nicely to the next key question: which iPads, iPhones and iPods will be allowed
to install and run iOS 9? And, more importantly, which ones will be able to run it without
suffering noticeable slow-down?
This answer is simple: iOS 9 can run on all the devices that could run iOS 8. Good news for
everyone!
Here's that list of iOS 9-compatible devices, then:
දාගත්ත එකෙක් ඉන්නව නම් දාපල්ලකෝ ScreenShots ටිකක්....
විස්තර ටිකක් කියපන් හොදද නැද්ද කියල
first impressions of iOS 9
iOS 9, the next version of Apple's software operating system for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch,
was unveiled at WWDC 2015. Our iOS 9 preview runs the rule over iOS 9's new features
and design changes from iOS 8, helps you decide whether you should update your iPad or
iPhone to iOS 9 (and whether you can update on your Apple device), and considers the ways
in which iOS 9 will change the way we interact with our Apple devices.
iOS 9 preview: Visual design & interface
Most of the time, the look of iOS evolves at a glacial pace: there has been just one really
radical visual overhaul in the past eight versions. (This was the controversial redesign
of iOS 7 that annoyed quite a lot of users, although most of us have grown used to it by now.)
iOS 8 (left) and iOS 7: very similar visual designs
We therefore expected iOS 9 to look pretty much the same as iOS 8, which in turn looked
pretty much like iOS 7. Users spend such a large amount of time interacting with their
smartphone's interface that major change is upsetting.
Sure enough, the interface is largely the same - with just a few small but significant
differences.
Let's start with the system font, which has been changed throughout iOS from Helvetica to a
custom typeface called San Francisco.
Again, iOS 8 is on the left. iOS 9 gives the text more room to breathe - it's a more modern
look, in our view. But it's a tiny change in comparison with iOS 7's scorched-earth redesign.
iOS 8 on the left vs iOS 9 on the right
iOS 9 new features: Proactive
iOS 9 new features: Multitasking
iOS 9's multitasking feature, at its most basic, essentially lets you view two apps at once, side
by side. One occupies about a third of the screen, sliced vertically off the righthand side. This
is called Slide Over.
iOS 9 new features: News
iOS 9 new features: Public-transport directions, and other changes
to Maps
iOS 9 new features: Notes
Next up is Notes, that most neglected and basic of preinstalled
productivity apps - yet, thanks to the updates in iOS 9, Apple
may yet convince you to use Notes for more than just shopping lists.
iOS 9 new features: Keyboard enhancements
Let's begin with those shortcut buttons. In most apps, the system keyboard offers one-tap cut,
copy and paste; in other apps you also get formatting options, attachments and similar. It's a
handy use of what was effectively dead space either side of the QuickType suggestion box
(although these are squeezed in slightly).
The second change affects the Shift key, which now avoids confusion by changing the look of
every letter key when toggled on and off. (In previous versions, users complained that they
weren't sure if Shift was on or not, since it just toggled between the colour of the other letter
keys and the colour of the special keys.)
One last change to the keyboard: tap and hold anywhere on the screen with two fingers at the
same time, and the keys will grey out - you've now got control of a 'cursor' for highlighting
text:
iOS 9 new features: Battery life enhancements
The last item on our list of new features in iOS 9 is by no means an afterthought. It concerns
battery life, which is something that every iPhone user has worried about at one time or
another.
iOS 9, Apple says, is more streamlined and power-efficient than iOS 8 - so much more
streamlined and efficient, in fact, that an iPhone 6 running iOS 9 will have an extra hour of
battery life. That's an impressive and pleasing boost, although we'll obviously need to test this
out once the final build is released. Although we must admit that even when using the
un-optimised iOS 9 beta on an iPhone 6 Plus, we experienced better all-round battery life than
when using iOS 8.
And the power-efficiency fun doesn't stop there. If you want to extend your battery life still
further, you can trigger a new Lower Power Mode, which Apple says is good for an extra three
hours away from the plug. It also makes the power indicator turn orange.
iOS 9 preview: Speed & performance
Will your iPad or iPhone get slower if you update to iOS 9? It may do. But we are optimistic
that it won't.
Each year, as a general rule, iOS gets a little more difficult to run: a bit more demanding on the
processing power of the iDevice it's installed on. (This isn't an immutable law of computing,
by the way: many operating systems get more processor-efficient as time passes. But it's held
true for iOS for several years.) Apple is supposed to warn us about this by stipulating that only
devices of sufficient power to run the thing are allowed to do so. But year after year, people
who run the least powerful of the listed 'upgrade-capable' iPads and iPhones find that they get
slower.
When iOS 7 launched, iPhone 4 users were pleased to hear that they could install the new
update, and less pleased when their smartphones slowed down overnight. For iOS 8 it was the
iPhone 4s that suffered, despite Apple saying it was powerful enough to cope.
So the first thing we would say about iOS 9 performance is this: if you've got a relatively old
iPad or iPhone - specifically, if it's at the older end of the list of iOS 9-compatible devices (in
the next section) - then be cautious about upgrading. We would strongly suggest holding back
for a few days at least, to see if early upgraders find that their iPhone 4s (or whatever) is
coping with the new OS.
But here's a second and more positive point. Apple claims this year will be different: that iOS
9 is streamlined and efficient and actually easier to run than iOS 8. The list of compatible
devices, as you'll see in a moment, is the same as the list for iOS 8; if you're running iOS 8
without any problems, then iOS 9 should be fine, and it could even run fractionally quicker.
As we discussed in the new features section, Apple boasts that iOS 9 is so power-efficient that
it will increase battery life of updated devices; it also says the install file will be something like
a third of the size of the install file for iOS 8. It also boasts a feature that’ll delete apps to
make space for future software updates, then re-install them once the device has updated. All
of this points to a streamlined and relatively undemanding OS, and we're therefore optimistic
about iOS 9 performance.
Check back after the official launch of iOS 9 (in September) to see how it gets on in our speed
tests.
Which iPads & iPhones will be able to install and run iOS 9?
This bring us nicely to the next key question: which iPads, iPhones and iPods will be allowed
to install and run iOS 9? And, more importantly, which ones will be able to run it without
suffering noticeable slow-down?
This answer is simple: iOS 9 can run on all the devices that could run iOS 8. Good news for
everyone!
Here's that list of iOS 9-compatible devices, then:
- iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad Air 3*, iPad Pro*
- iPad mini 1, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4*
- iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 7 series*
- iPod touch (fifth and sixth generation)
දාගත්ත එකෙක් ඉන්නව නම් දාපල්ලකෝ ScreenShots ටිකක්....
විස්තර ටිකක් කියපන් හොදද නැද්ද කියල
