Tech review: iOS 9 boasts better battery life and increases productivity

While much attention has been paid to the launch of the new iPhones 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, those who plan on sticking with their current devices will also get to experience something new as Apple rolls out iOS 9 for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

While the update makes a few subtle changes to the look of your iPhone, including the new San Francisco font, and a few icon updates, the real focus is on increased productivity on your iOS devices. Expect better power consumption, better security and yes, even better battery life.

Should you update? That’s always the big question, right? Read on to some of the new features iOS 9 has to offer to help you decide.

Faster install

Downloading and installing updates on Apple devices has always raised debate. You may remember last year iPhone users flocking to social media to complain about the size of iOS 8. It was a whopping 4.58 GB! Fear not, iOS 9 is a much tighter package, coming in at 1.3 GB. Smaller yes, but still full of useful features.

Higher security

One of the first things you’ll notice once the update is complete is the four-digit pin is gone, replaced with a six-digit pin. I know, I know, you’ve been using the same four-digit pin for years and now you have to change it. A pain yes, but consider this; a six-digit pin has more than a million possible numerical combinations while your old four-digit pin had only 10,000. This simple change enhances security on the device. NOTE: You do not have to use the six-digit pin option. There is an option to continue to use four-digits along with custom alphanumeric code as well.

iOS9 passcode

Besides the updated pin, Apple has also introduced two-step authentication in iOS 9. When you enter an Apple ID password on a new device, Apple will send out a code to other trusted iOS devices you own. Once the code is entered you’re good to go. This is only done the first time you enter your Apple ID. Two-factor authentication is not turned on by default. This must be enabled in settings.

Improved search

Apple has increased the usefulness of search in iOS 9. Rather than bringing up a generic spotlight search window, the improved Search now offers proactive suggestions on what you may be looking for.

iOS 9 search

If you swipe right from the main home screen, you’ll bring up the new search page. Here you will see a list of relevant people, suggested apps and local news headlines. The contacts and apps that appear are all based on usage and how frequently you launch certain apps or communicate with certain individuals.

Time of day is also taken into consideration. I found the apps I use to purchase coffee (yes, I have multiple coffee apps) would show up in the morning, but would be replaced with other apps later in the day.

Of course at the top of the page you will still have the option of typing in key words, and it’s here where you will find a significant change.

For example, conversions can now be done on the fly. Typing in $4 in the search bar now brings up real-time currency conversion. The same goes for temperatures. Typing in four degrees automatically shows you the conversion to Celsius (Yes the feature favours imperial). Try this in iOS 8 and you’ll simply get the option to do a web search.

Sports fanatics will love the improved search. When I typed in Blue Jays, search brought up a card which showed the score from the most recent Jays game. The Jays won of course! Try this on iOS 8 and you’ll simply get a list of suggested websites.

iOS 9 Blue Jays search

A smarter Siri

As Siri gets older … she (or he) continues to get wiser. Apple is clearly investing a lot into the personal assistant, giving her (or him) even more power in the latest iOS update.

Siri looks a bit different this time around. Gone is the double beep when you hold down the Home button to summon Siri. In iOS 9 Siri remains silent, until she answers your inquiry. The plain white sound wave bar has also been replaced with the colourful sound wave bars found on the Apple Watch.

Siri’s new look isn’t as important as her new skills. Probably her biggest upgrade is the ability to understand more complex language. You’ve always been able to ask Siri to do things like asking what the weather is like outside, but now those questions and demands can be quite a bit more specific.

Take your photos for example. I asked Siri using iOS 8 to “show me photos I took last year.” She brought up the main photo page. I asked Siri to do the same using iOS 9 and Siri brought up my photos from the year 2014.

You can get even more complicated than that. You can ask for more specific images by asking things like “show me photos I took in Barcelona”. As long as the photos as geo-tagged they will appear within a few seconds.

iOS 9 photos

Proactive assistance

The more you use your iPhone, the more productive the operating system becomes, at time predicting what you want to do before you even do it.

For example, if you’re at the gym and you plug your headphones into the headphone jack, your iPhone overtime will learn to launch your Music controls once your headphones are plugged in. Apple says it can even go as far as launching the music you most frequently listen to at that specific time of day. It appears I haven’t used the operating system long enough for this to happen just yet .

One of my favourite new “proactive” features has to be the ability to add new contacts from within an email. If you receive an email from someone who may not be in your contacts, iOS 9 will give you the option to automatically create that contact in your phone. It will even fill out, names, email and phone numbers. On top of that, if you receive an email and the contact info appears to be different, iOS 9 will give you the option to update the contact info with the press of a button. I have used this on numerous occasions over the past week, turning it into a feature I absolutely love!

More Productive Apps

Users will also notice iOS 9 brings with it enhanced productivity within certain native apps which come pre-installed on their phone.

Note for example it finally adds the ability to add photos and website links to documents. The app also lets users doodle on the notes with their finger.

iOS 9 map

Apple Maps also sees some changes for those living in major cities. Apple has now added a transit tab to make finding transit routes easier. It’s important to note this new feature only works in Toronto. I attempted to find transit listings in Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver with no luck. The app simply states transit info is not available. Of course you can expect this to change over time.

Apple Wallet

If you’re looking for Passbook, you won’t find it in iOS 9. Apple has replaced the app with the new Apple Wallet.

Don’t fear, Wallet acts a lot like Passbook. All of your boarding passes and loyalty cards remain within the app. If you live in the United States however you get additional features such as the ability to store credit cards and a shortcut to Apple Pay. Sadly the Apple Pay service still remains absent in Canada at the time of this writing.

iOS 9 coffee apps

Battery Life

One of the biggest concerns when updating an iOS is the effect on battery life. Apple claims to have increased the efficiency of many apps and processes to improve battery life, and along with that comes a new feature.

Apple has introduced a low-power mode in the settings which minimizes power consumption when you’re low on juice. Mail Fetch, background app refresh, automatic downloads, and even some visual effects are temporarily disabled while in this mode. Apple claims you will as much as an hour of extra usage before having to recharge your iPhone while using this mode.

iOS 9 battery life

You’ll also find a new battery option under settings. Inside this setting you can see which apps have used the most battery power over the past 24 hours or past two days. I found this feature (which has been available on Android devices for some time now) quite handy, especially on days when I thought my battery may be draining a bit quicker than usual.

Easier Updates

I love the idea behind this feature. If you’ve ever updated your iPhone in the past you know there is an entire process which you must endure. First you must download the update, wait for it to ‘unpack’ then install it. It takes time. Apple is now promising future updates will not only be more compact, but easier to install.

Going forward, iOS devices will handles updates in a different manner. Updates will be streamed right to the device, without the need for unpacking, taking up less space on your phone. You will also be able to decide when the update is applied, whether that’s at at time when you’ve left your iPhone at home, or while you sleep.

iOS 9 on the iPad

While iOS 9 adds quite a few new features on the iPhone, iPad users will also benefit from some unique features.

True multi-tasking has arrived! The new split view will allow you to run two apps side by side on the screen. Just how handy this feature is cannot be understated.

If you want to take multi-tasking to the next level there’s picture-in-picture. While playing a video you can press the home button and you video will reduce in size but still be visible. This allows you to continue watching your video or FaceTime call while using other apps.

The bottom line

iOS 9 has a lot to offer. Unlike iOS 8 which came with a huge graphical overhaul, iOS 9 isn’t focusing on looks, rather increased functionality. Apps have new useful features, Siri is smarter and can do much more, and security sees a significant boost.

As with any update users will see a slight learning curve, but it’s fairly subtle this time. Once you realize certain changes have taken place (such as the replacement of PassBook with Wallet) you quickly begin to get the hang of it.

If there is one feature missing, it’s complete control. Apps such as Find my iPhone and Find Friends can’t be deleted from the home screen, meaning you’ll have to find a folder to bury them in if you don’t use them on a regular basis. The inability to delete specific apps remains a bone of contention for some iOS users.

iOS 9 is a solid update, even more so then when iOS 8 was released. If you ask Siri if you should update your iOS device, she will say “I can’t tell you what to do”. But after playing around with the latest update I feel confident in saying you should drive right in.

NOTE: Some of the biggest features in iOS 9 such as 3D Touch, and Live Photos are only available on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, and are not available for testing at this time. Look for an update once those devices launch.

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