Apple’s iOS 9 beta version was officially released to the public on July 9, but the only users who can download the mobile operating system were those who signed up earlier and were initially approved by the company.
The purpose of the operating system upgrade was to boost the functionality of both the iPhone and iPad products.
Although the final version will likely be released around the fall of this year, Apple decided to introduce its latest OS after showcasing it to the public last month during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WDC) 2015.
The release of the beta version to the public is a milestone for Apple as it is the first time that the company has decided to allow non-developers to have an early access to a major update of its operating system. Previously, Apple only released a minor update for iOS 8 to the public.
Nevertheless, not all people would want to risk their devices for the new mobile operating system. Some would still want to wait until all bugs have been fixed by the developers. According to C/Net, although it is very tempting to try the iOS 9, it is important to be cautious because the undetected bugs in the beta version might cause trouble to the iPhone or iPad devices. If that happens, the user might lose some sensitive data or his device might become inefficient.
C/Net further advised the public to let the developers work on the bugs first and let them create more useful apps out of the new operating system before upgrading the iPhone and iPad devices to iOS 9.
Introducing mini modifications
The iPhone and iPad devices would become more useful because of the mini modifications that the iOS 9 would bring. The changes also made Apple’s mobile operating system closer to the best features currently being used in both Windows and Android tablets and smartphones.
After playing around with iOS 9, C/Net said they liked what they have seen so far. Some of the important aspects that the operating system improved were the battery life, Notes application, public transit information, default news application, Siri, Spotlight, application switcher, and the Apple keyboard.
In order to address the issue of having a battery life that will exceed 24 hours, iOS 9 provided a Low Power Mode that supposedly add three more hours to the device’s battery life as claimed by Apple. Another feature that was improved is the Notes app, which can now do more things using the latest OS as it can now add images, do formatting to notes, and make checklists faster.
When Apple Maps was released for the first time, there were no means to have public transit information. However, with iOS 9, transit directions became available and Apple also added some extra tools that will be useful when an information is needed while on a journey.
Using the latest OS, Apple decided to have its own news application where it will let the user pick the categories which interest them. The app will feed the users with the stories that they chose. Siri also became smarter with the iOS 9. Now, Siri can deliver in seconds the answers to questions relating to times and locations.
On the other hand, Spotlight can now provide the user instant information in the home screen like stories from news, nearby locations, recent apps that the user accessed, and even the common contacts. In addition, the app switcher has a new layout that will help the user find open applications faster and it can easily be seen once the user double press the Home button.
One of the most welcomed change in the latest operating system was the new version of the Apple keyboard. Although, it might sound like a trivial matter, but the previous iOS 8 made the old keyboard visually confusing and the user could not easily tell whether he or she hit the shift key or not. Now, the Apple keyboard clearly shows the letters in lowercase when the shift key is off and it will show the capitalized version when the user hit shift.
Aside from the cited mini modifications, the iPad has its own set of upgrades that can only be experienced once the user takes on the iOS 9.