Apple just presented the upcoming iOS 9 operating system at the Worldwide Developers Conference 2015, and we can’t wait to see it in action. Apple’s focus was not towards bringing new features, but rather improving existing ones and making its operating system the well-polished high-quality software we all came to expect and love.
The updated features make it easier and more intuitive for the casual user to get things done, but they’re even more useful for the business user. Here are 12 of the most interesting updates iOS 9 brings to the table.
1. CarPlay Goes Wireless
If you use your iPhone as your trusted car companion during your daily commute, you will be happy to hear that the CarPlay features in iOS 9 just got wireless support.
Say goodbye to the extra task of having to plug in a cable into your phone every time you get in your car.
2. Mass Transit in Maps
Apple didn’t overlook those that use mass transit as a means to get around either, so now the Maps app includes directions that incorporate public transportation options.
While this is currently only available in certain locations, the service is expected to expand to cover as many regions as possible.
3. Nearby Feature in Maps
The Maps app got another upgrade – the nearby feature, which shows nearby businesses, allowing you to easily find a point of interests in the immediate vicinity of your location. Great feature to find a place to grab a quick bite to eat between two business meetings.The feature also indicates which places accept Apple Pay.
4. Wallet App
Since we’ve mentioned Apple Pay, it’s worth mentioning that Apple also changed another payment instrument, namely the Passbook app. The revamped version is now known as Wallet, and includes some new features, improved usability, and better integration with Apple Pay.
This is no coincidence either – Apple estimates that the number of businesses that currently accept Apple Pay is in the ballpark of 1 million, with more expected to join the bandwagon soon, as well as the service expanding to the UK in July.
5. Spotlight Got Better
Spotlight, the core searching feature of iOS just got a major upgrade in iOS 9, and can now integrate with third party apps to bring you more information than ever before. It looks like Apple is ready to give Google a good run for its money.
6. Siri Can Plan Ahead
Spolight might have gotten better, but it’s Siri that takes the literal spotlight, as Apple’s beloved virtual assistant just got a whole lot better. Aside from all the cool stuff it could already do, Siri can now learn your preferences and patterns, and make suggestions about pretty much anything.
7. Here and Now – Also an Option
Not only can Siri plan ahead, but it can also know what’s happening here and now. Well, not here and now per say, but in a certain context. The iOS 9 version of Siri will come with contextual assistance, so if you’re browsing a webpage and say “Bookmark this”, Siri will know exactly what you mean.
Do we need to emphasis how useful this feature will be to the businessman that’s always on the move?
8. Improved Notes App
When you need a little more than just a simple Siri-driven reminder, you can now use the enhanced Notes app, which is not fairly similar to Evernote or Microsoft’s OneNote. Notes can include photos, text, audio and even hand-written text or drawings.
9. Apple News
When you’re always on the move, staying up to date with what’s happening around the world can be quite difficult, that’s why Apple created Apple News. Apple News is basically a news aggregator that can fetch content from all the major publications and deliver it directly into one handy app.
The major advantage Apple News has over other news aggregator or RSS feed apps is comes with its own smart algorithms that will learn your habits and curate contents to your needs, and also presents everything into one streamlined design.
10. Multitasking for the iPad
If there was a feature that Apple lacked for too long, that is true multitasking. With iOS 9, iPad users will finally be able to split the screen and do multiple things simultaneously, which will turn out to be a great productivity booster.
11. Better Battery Life
Since Apple devices are getting slimmer, and their batteries are implicitly smaller, Apple needed to find some ways to maximize any drop of battery juice available, and it did so by making some tweaks under the hood and changing how backgrounds apps work, adjusting some networking options, and thus managed to achieve a better battery life.
12. Smaller Updates
One of the biggest problems of iOS 8 was that it was absolutely huge. Apple addressed this, and made iOS 9 only 1.3 GB – significantly smaller than iOS 8 and its 4.58 GB.
