----- Original Message -----
From: Dr. Harshit Jaithwar
To: viphone
Sent: Monday, June 08, 2015 9:23 PM
Subject: Apple announces iOS 9, release later this year
Apple has just announced the next version of iOS, unsurprisingly
called iOS 9. With the latest version of its mobile platform, Apple is
focusing on making
it smarter and more powerful, starting with a major upgrade to the
Siri virtual assistant. Siri now has a feature called Proactive that
can offer app suggestions
and more based on context such as time of day or location. It's a lot
like Google Now, Google's version of the virtual assistant, telling
you how far away
your next appointment is based on traffic or starting music when you
plug headphones into your phone. Proactive lets Siri see what apps you
have on your
phone and suggest useful ones based on what you're trying to do. Apple
says that Siri can also look into your inbox to ID incoming calls that
aren't in
your address book. All of this is wrapped into a new user interface
for Spotlight that appears when you swipe down on a home screen in
iOS.
iOS 9 also introduces deep linking within Spotlight searches, letting
you access content within apps whenever you do a system-wide search,
instead of just
opening the app's main page. Spotlight also can do unit conversions
without opening a web search, something that Siri has done for a
while, but now queries
can be typed in addition to spoken. Apple says that all of this new
intelligent processing happens on the phone itself, meaning your data
isn't being sent
to a server in the cloud. It's a different stance than Google or
Microsoft take, which leverage cloud processing to power their virtual
assistants on Android
and Windows Phone.
Apple iOS 9 Proactive
Apple's mobile payments service, Apple Pay, is also getting
significant updates in iOS 9. First, it's launching in the UK, and
will be compatible with
more banks and credit card providers. It is also gaining support for
store credit cards and loyalty cards. And finally, Apple is killing
the Passbook name
in favor of a new app called Wallet, which integrates credit cards,
debit cards, store cards, and loyalty cards in one place.
The basic Notes app that's been included in iOS since the beginning is
getting some new features, such as image insertion, checklists, and
sketches. It's
a lot closer to an Evernote competitor than ever before.
Apple's oft-criticised Maps app is getting some much-requested
upgrades, including support for transit directions. The transit
directions feature supports
trains, buses, subways, and is launching in more than 20 cities,
including New York, San Francisco, Beijing, London, Berlin, and more.
Apple Maps transit directions
New for iOS 9 is an app called News, which, as you might expect from
its name, is a place to get news content from a variety of sources.
Articles are presented
in a mobile-formatted layout that loads quickly and has informative
animations and full-bleed images. Apple has partnered with a number of
news organizations
to provide content for the new app, such as CNN, Time, Wired, ESPN,
Buzzfeed, and yes, The Verge. The app also can display articles from
any web link,
but Apple says the best experience is with those that have been
specifically built for the app, much like Facebook's new Instant
Articles. News is very
similar to Flipboard and a number of other mobile reading apps that
have been in the App Store for years. Apple claims the app will get
smarter the more
its used and will suggest content and articles based on what you
prefer to read. News will be first available in the US, UK, and
Australia.
Apple News in iOS 9
iOS 9 also introduces new power-user features designed specifically
for the iPad. The on-screen keyboard includes shortcuts for cut, copy,
paste, and more,
as well as a new mode that turns the keyboard into a trackpad. Perhaps
the biggest change to the way iOS works is in the new multitasking
mode for the
iPad. iOS 9 now lets you run two apps side-by-side at the same time, a
feature that's been a hallmark in Microsoft's Surface tablets and
Samsung's Galaxy
tablets for a long time. A redesigned task switcher lets you swipe
apps in to the same screen, much like Windows 8, and both apps remain
fully active on
the screen at the same time. Apps can be split 50-50 or 70-30 on the
screen, and the iPad's existing multi-finger touch gestures work in
either side. Videos
can be watched in a picture-in-picture viewer that can be moved around
the screen. Apple says that the split-screen mode will only be
available on the
iPad Air 2 (and presumably new iPads announced later this year), while
picture in picture and the ability to swipe in apps from the side will
come to older
iPads.
iOS 9 multitasking
At a system level, Apple says iOS 9 is more efficient and smaller than
ever. The new software only requires 1.8GB of free space to install,
much less than
the 4.6GB iOS 8 needed. Apple also says iOS 9 has a new "low power
mode" that can squeeze another three hours of battery life out of a
single charge. Details
about how the new low power mode works are scant, but it's likely that
Apple will limit background processes even further than it normally
does when it's
engaged. iOS 9 will also include a new system font, likely based off
of the San Francisco font on the Apple Watch.
iOS 9 also brings upgrades to Apple's HomeKit and CarPlay services,
with more devices and cars gaining support. CarPlay will support apps
from automakers,
ostensibly letting users control car-level things like climate control
and seating positions, and it will also work wirelessly in future
vehicles. Apple
first introduced wireless CarPlay support with iOS 8.3, but there
aren't any vehicles or head units that yet support it.
Apple will first release iOS 9 to
registered developers today,
followed by a public beta in July. It will be available as a final
release this fall and is compatible with devices as old as the iPhone
4S and iPad 2
from 2011.
Sent from my iPhone
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