For those who haven’t upgraded to iOS 9 yet, here are 9 reasons to tap that update button now, unless you are waiting for jailbreak.
1. Wi-Fi Assist
Wi-Fi assist, as the name suggests, provides you assistance if the Wi-Fi network you are connected to is not broadcasting a seamless internet connection or is acting slow. The option switches you to a 3G/LTE connection so that you can browse the web without any interruption. The feature is enabled by default as soon as you upgrade to iOS 9. But many users who are on a limited internet data pack might not be ready to take the risk of switching to mobile network automatically. So if you would like to turn off the service, the toggle switch is located under Mobile Data settings.
2. Search in Settings
Talking about locating different options in the iOS settings menu, things have changed now. After the new iOS 9 update, one no longer needs to to dive into the settings menu to get to a particular option. You can now search through these options.
After you open the iOS settings, just slide up and you will see a search bar. Now all you need to do is look up for a setting and open it directly. You also get the path to the particular option as an added info.
3. View All Selfies and Screenshot in Album
This is a new feature that I personally am in love with. After you update to iOS 9, two new folders are added to the Albums namely Selfies and Screenshots. As the name suggests, the Screenshots and Selfies folders keep the respective photos for you to access them easily. For users like me who take a lot of screenshots, it’s easier to track and delete them. The selfie folder doesn’t recognize any faces, but stores anything that’s shot from the front facing camera. Nice trick Apple, simple yet innovative.
4. Low Power Mode
Most of the Android phones have the option of a low power mode which reduces the screen brightness and turn off all the radios. But in iOS 9, the low power mode extends battery life, not by cutting you off from the world, but by disabling unnecessary background apps, services and animations that drain your battery. The phone gives you the option to enable the option when the battery drops down to 20%. You can force enable the option from the Battery settings if you have already planned ahead. The option automatically turns off once the battery is adequately charged. The battery icon turns orange while the Low Power Mode is turned on just so that you are aware.
5. Multiple Select Photos
Another nice addition to photo management options in iOS 9. Previously in iOS 8, whenever you had to select multiple photos, selecting it though moments was the only straightforward option. But now you can select them by dragging your finger over them. Much like the Google Photos.
Mark one photo using the select option and then simply select and drag your finger over other photos. Like using the mouse on your computer.
6. The Case Changed for Keyboard
A much awaited change in iOS 9 is the case changing the keyboard. You now know if you have the caps on or off while typing on iOS, unlike the all upper case keyboard you had in the previous version. But if you want to bring back the old keyboard, turn off the Show Lowercase Keys settings from Accessibility –> Keyboard settings.
7. Better Spotlight Search
The Spotlight search in the iOS 9 is powered by Siri suggestions and therefore don’t get surprised when you find something even before you searched for it. The search result also include the apps that are installed on your phone if they are updated. Ability to search for contacts and then call or message them directly is also a nice addition.
8. Per App Battery Use
We already saw how Low Power Mode helps you to extend the battery juice by disabling unnecessary services. To make things even better, you also get a monitoring dashboard which shows you the apps which are draining most of the battery. The data refreshes as your battery depletes after a full charge so that you can uninstall apps which are causing a lot of battery drain.
9. Back to an App
On iOS 9, if you switch from one app to another, let’s say you click a link on Google Search to open it in Safari, you will see a button on the top-left edge to go back to the previous app. Previously, one would have to double-press the Home button and pull up the app switcher to go back to previous app. However the button eases the effort. The downside is, the back button hides your network connectivity icons and there is no way to turn that off. Moving from Android to iPhone? Then here’s what you should refer to before jumping head-on on your own.
That’s Not All.
There are many other nifty improvements that have been packed in iOS 9. Feel free to share your thoughts about the new OS and what would you like to see in the upcoming iOS 9.1 release. The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
