iOS 9, thoroughly reviewed

Apple gives the iPad a lot of love as iOS goes back into spit-and-polish mode.

Read the whole story

 

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So . . . When can we start the "Here's what I want in iOS10" thread?

 

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jonah[/url]":2gbshc1m]

SPCagigas[/url]":2gbshc1m]So . . . When can we start the "Here's what I want in iOS10" thread?

That doesn't already exist?

The last one I saw was about iOS9. . .
With that said, I want...
+ Do-not-disturb to be smarter or more configurable: Let me specify which apps have to comply with DND settings. Also, let me set DND for individual meetings (or all meetings) from the Calendar app, or individual contacts (not just everyone, no one, or Favorites); if I can define a unique ring tone or vibe pattern to a contact, I should be able define specific DND settings for them as wel.
+ Synchronized notifications: If I respond to a notification in one place (either the lock screen, notification shade, or within the app) the notification should clear from everywhere.
+ Changeable default apps: Yes, I know this is never going to happen, but I can keep hoping.
+ Greater flexibility from Siri: Can't set new default apps, but can we at least say "Hey, Siri! Play Spotify playlist groove" or "Hey, Siri, navigate to Dad's house with Waze"?

 

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jonah[/url]":2a7kq5wm]What does "Hey Siri, it's me" do?

It plays "Winners Take All" by Quiet Riot.

 

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simonm_1[/url]":38r5g3m0]

xaqattax[/url]":38r5g3m0]Didn't see the ability to make Google Maps default again, too bad. I prefer the iPhone over Android, but Apple Maps seems to be happy with mediocrity at best.

Apple Maps has come a huge way since its premature and problematic introduction. It's not only safe to dump Google maps now but I think Apple has overtaken it in many areas. Whatever they're doing in the Maps team it seems to be working.

Just the other day I was looking for the name of a tiny laneway and Apple Maps had it but Google didn't.

More public transport is needed but consider that what Apple are doing is way over and above Google including mapping all the entrances and exits to subways and their associated walkways and platform areas. This no doubt takes time but I'm sure it's worth it.

I'll give it a try, but my expectations for Apple Maps remain low. . . I've never even once had Apple Maps give me a better route or more accurate directions than Google Maps in the last year.

 

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OptimusP83[/url]":17wq5njd]Haven't finished the article yet, but HOW IN GODS NAME has it taken this long for Chronological notification sorting to come to iOS? One of my biggest annoyances (and the reason I rarely use the notification screen) is the fact that they're ordered by app. When you get a new notification but neglect to activate the notification screen properly, you have to dig through tons of useless notifications. Its worse if you didn't quite catch what app the notification was from.

I'm getting annoyed just typing this. Thanks, Obama.

Notifications are all kinds of borked up on iOS still. If I have notifications for 10 email messages, and I open the Mail app and read them all, why doesn't the notification list clear itself up?

 

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SraCet[/url]":2uz9qger]I'm sad to see Apple cave in re: keyboard letters changing case.

It's distracting and annoying when all the letters on the keyboard change case simultaneously every few seconds.

Apple's continued insistence on their all-caps keyboard was a sign to me that the company still "got it" when it came to making nice UI.

At least this behavior is a user-configurable setting.

I disagree. Their continued insistence on the all-caps keyboard was a clear case of form over function -- which we've been told over and over is anathema to Jonny Ives.

 

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jwbaker[/url]":2ca4zem4]I think you'd have to be taking a very uncritical look at Apple Maps to compare it favorably to Google Maps, even with the improvements Apple have made. Sure they have a few fancy stunts like accurate subway station maps, which only brings them even with Google Maps who have had for years inch-by-inch maps of airports and rail stations. Compare Google with Apple Maps of SFO airport or Zurich Hauptbanhof. No contest.

The new features aren't even really as advertised. They say they have transit information for San Francisco but they don't have any departure times from the main Transbay bus terminal. In fact it doesn't even say that they don't know, it says "There are no upcoming departures."

Spoiler

Added the spoiler tag to your image for brevity's sake.

Aside from the new features that are still pretty limited, I did a couple quick trials with Apple Maps navigation vs. Google Maps navigation this morning. Google still does a better job with traffic awareness and routing than Apple Maps. Apple Maps also defaulted to a route with an (expensive!) ferry crossing, and there's no option to exclude toll roads or ferries. . . At least I can get an (indirect, PITA) link from Siri to Google Maps navigation now -- I don't know if that was available in 8.4.1 or prior, though.

 

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Ruud Altenburg[/url]":xhe8i74m]like with Apple Music, I don't see enough improvements that would justify the forced upgrade (to continue synching) to the trainwreck that is iTunes 12.

You know, architecturally, this is one area that Apple really needs to copy from Android: unbundling all the built-in apps from the OS updates. It's ridiculous that launching Apple Music (f'rinstance) required a complete OS update, instead of being able to update (or not...) the Apple Music app all by itself.

 

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revco196[/url]":2hrr7wmp]

TBoneT[/url]":2hrr7wmp]

revco196[/url]":2hrr7wmp]Huh. I thought the low power battery seeing would be accessible through a control panel button. Looks like you have to dive into battery settings to activate and deactivate it every time. That's going to be annoying.

Not only that, I had to manually turn it off. My phone was charging and got back over 20% and Low Power Mode remained activated.

I've since discovered that you can ask Siri to turn battery savings on or off. But I reverted to iOS8 because I hate that the updated app switcher/search page to the left of the home screen. It's a dogs breakfast of mashed up bits and pieces that's too easy to swipe in to. The slightest swipe and you're into it. It should be treated not as a normal page and should require a bit more effort to get to. Maybe a longer swipe. Or even a slight delay. Something like the delay of when you place your cursor near the edge of the screen and the dock pops up on MacOS.

Good point. I only updated to iOS9 a couple of hours ago, and the swipe left thing is bugging the crap outta me. I hate the swipe-left-for-google-now thing on the newer Android launchers as well, but at least I can use a third-party launcher on the droids. . . Your idea to make it somehow a little harder/different to access is a good one.

 

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InlineRanger[/url]":22h4llzs]

SraCet[/url]":22h4llzs]

InlineRanger[/url]":22h4llzs] ... I think it's easier to dismiss multiple apps at the same time on iOS 8. Since the windows are overlaid on iOS 9, you need much more accurate finger placement.
...

I can't think of a reason why you might want to dismiss multiple apps.

There are really only two cases where you would need to close an app manually:
1) The app has gotten itself into a bad state and restarting it might fix whatever bug you've run into.
2) The app registers itself as one of the select few classes of apps that are allowed to run in the background, e.g., a turn-by-turn navigation app, or an audio playback app, etc., and you want it to stop doing whatever it's doing (like audio playback) without futzing with its UI.

Otherwise there's no benefit to manually closing an app.

Scrolling through 20+ open apps to find the one I want isn't a good experience. After awhile, the multitasking window just becomes another set of home screens. Usually, all I'm interested in is working between a set of my most recently used apps. Sure, they usually get clustered near one another, but why have the clutter of all of my apps listed?

If having every app open in the multitasking view was a benefit with no downside, why wouldn't Apple just preload every single app into memory on boot-up?

1. I think you're pulling a usage case out of your rear-end to justify a flawed argument. Would you really scroll through 20+ apps in the recents list instead of going directly to the app on the home screen? I don't think so -- the vast majority of times I use the recents list is to switch between one or two programs repeatedly, not to go back to something I ran yesterday morning. Aside from that, according to Gartner stats, the average smartphone user has about 40 apps on their device -- on an iPhone 5, that's just over two pages of apps on the homescreen, even if you don't use any folders. There's no way it's faster or easier to scroll through 20 recent apps than it is to swipe one or two pages and tap on the app you want to use.
2. I don't think you understand how iOS multitasking works.

 

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Fredy Eliot Cáceres Martínez[/url]":1jvn942e]Apple Maps is still virtually useless in Peru. Google Maps is vastly superior here everywhere.

T, FTFY

 

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gettersetter[/url]":llhu98iq]I think Apple maps has reached feature parity with Google Maps, and almost let me ditch my standalone GPS. I even prefer the 3D satellite view over street view to quickly tell me if I'm exactly where I need to be. There are two caveats, however.

When routing for navigation, Google Maps lets me quickly hit an option to "Avoid Highways." As a local truck driver sometimes you just want to keep it on the streets. If I jump on a highway, then G Maps gets the hint and goes with it. Apple maps, even in iOS 9, has no such feature I can see.

And for crying out loud, when typing a hyphenated address in Queens, NY, like 37-26 108 street or something, Apple maps doesn't offer any usable suggestions, whereas G Maps can and does. Apple requires a postal correct address *without* a hyphen such as 3726 108th. Sure it will generally figure it out and route you even with the hyphen in there but it would sure be nice to get a live suggestion closer than Turkey. Seriously. I've tried several times a day for a year and the hyphen chokes the suggestion process.

I know Queens is just an outer borough of NYC but we use the hyphen here *all the time.* What the hell, there's only 2.3 million people that live here, and only two major international airports.

The weirdest part: if you drop a purple pin on a house in *Queens* by long pressing (not in Manhattan or any other borough) the address is returned hyphenated! Like 108-02 or 46-100. It's just the live suggestions that are broken. So clearly someone over at Apple knows how things are done in this neck of the woods. Probably was all the bug reports I filed

Well, your caveats make it pretty clear that there's still a pretty good feature gap between Apple Maps and Google Maps.

FWIW, I tried running them in comparison again last night -- the first time in probably 6 months. Here was my methodology:
Launched Google Maps, entered my destination, then selected the route with the shortest time.
Switched back to the Home Screen, launched Apple Maps, entered the same destination, and selected the route with the shortest time.
Had my copilot switch between the apps as we drove. . .

Immediate Notes:
1. Apple Maps took MUCH longer to find my destination and generate a route - almost instantaneous in Google Maps, but upwards of 20 seconds in Apple Maps.
2. The shortest-time route was a couple minutes shorter in Google Maps than the shortest-time route in Apple Maps -- 17 miles/29 minutes from GMaps, and 21 miles/31 minutes from AMaps.
3. The GMaps route notes alternate routes with estimated travel time changes at every major intersection.
4. The nighttime display for GMaps was much less disruptive/distracting than the AMaps nighttime display (I know this is subjective).

Conclusion: Apple Maps is still a non-starter for me.

 

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gettersetter[/url]":53csld1e]

evan_s[/url]":53csld1e]

InlineRanger[/url]":53csld1e]
Maybe I don't know how multitasking works? Apple never deigned to teach me the intricacies of their software design. My experience is that apps tend to accumulate in the multitasking window over the course of a day, certainly more than the 3-5 most recents I'd actually want to switch between. I haven't sat there to check, but maybe Apple kills suspended apps after a period of time. My experience is that they aren't killed after an hour of suspension, a period of time long after an app would be justified as being "recent" to me.

So tell me, what is the Apple-sanctioned way to use an iPhone? Because the "it just works" way isn't working very well for me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

See that's the thing. There really is no multi tasking in iOS. Apps can not run in the background at all. (ignoring the recent iOS 9 split screen etc). When an app isn't the active app on your screen it is immediately suspended and will be purged from memory as needed. For things like chat programs, music players there are special functions to build a component that handles just the background function but it has very strict requirements and limits. The main app is suspended immediately. If you try switching to one of those really old apps you'll see that it's really just launching again and returning to where you were because it had long been purged out of memory completely. As SraCet it's basically a screenshot of the app the last time it was open and that's all that's left of it in memory.

Add up all those "special functions" and you simply can't assert that apps are not able to run in the background. Of course they can. Nav, music, push email, pebble alerts, chat apps and many more and not just native apps either. It's the rare app that cannot continue to function in some way unless many apps are launched in the interim, forcing nonessential functions to purged. But even in that case, by nav always works, my chats and emails always arrive, news and weather, and so on, even without launching the app at all in many cases. I see the updated widgets.

Eh. . . Try using a third-party alarm clock. If it drops into the background, you won't wake up on time!

 

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SraCet[/url]":g5nu8wp7]

stokestack[/url]":g5nu8wp7]Here's another glaring defect, a feature missing from all iPhones since day one: AUDIBLE NOTIFICATIONS OF MISSED CALLS. It's unbelievable that, after eight years, this basic feature is still missing from A PHONE.

And to add stupidity to this, what did Apple do? Add the feature for TEXTS. You can have up to 10 repeat notifications of a text but ZERO for missed calls.

Apple has ignored this embarrassing and offensive defect since the inception of the device, despite numerous bug reports. This feature was standard on StarTACs of the 1990s! But Apple's handheld Unix computer is too stupid to tell you that you missed a call while you were in the shower. Or down the hall doing laundry while your phone was on its charger (which it will be, since they also idiotically made it thinner at the expense of battery life).

Then don't buy one. Or if you already have one, you can sell it. iPhones retain their value very well.

Or learn to use your phone properly. If you miss a call on an iPhone, what's the first thing you see when you turn the screen on? Missed call: 555-1212. If you miss that, there's that nice, high-contrast red badge on the phone icon. Miss that as well, and it'll still show up in your notifications list until you manually clear it out. . .

I'm not crazy about how iOS implemeted notifications, but one certainly can't complain that they're easy to miss.

 

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Zak[/url]":3m2er480]Ads are annoying, irrelevant and often disturbing. Google ads are particularly nasty. When I'm eating my breakfast I don't want to be greeted with images of bed bugs, ingrown toenails, zits and boils. Fuck that noise, I'm blocking ads.

You do know that Google ads are generated in large part based on your browsing habits, right?