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

 

[melgross]

heartburnkid[/url]":29pum7ke]

The iOS 7-era Shift key was, at best, ambiguous. Shift in iOS 6 and older versions would glow blue when pressed, a behavior unique to that key that made it clear when it was pressed. Shift in iOS 7 and iOS 8 went through a few different iterations, but they've all been some combination of grey and black and white. In no case has it been completely clear whether Shift is on or not.

iOS 9 fixes the problem not by changing the Shift key, but by changing the way every other key on the keyboard works. Letters on the new keyboard will change from lower to uppercase depending on whether the Shift key has been pressed. No more ambiguity, and it's basically the same solution that companies like Google and SwiftKey have used.

About time. Android has been doing this since version 1.5.

I have never understood the problem with the shift key. It always seemed to be pretty obvious to me. When it's not used, it's grey. When you tap it to use it, it turns black. When you give it a quick double tap, it turns black with the bar at the bottom, indicating it's locked on. Tap it again, and it turns off. Why is that so difficult?

Frankly, I don't really like the keys changing, as it's disconcerting when typing.

 

[thomsirveaux]

melgross[/url]":19inq6c2]

heartburnkid[/url]":19inq6c2]

The iOS 7-era Shift key was, at best, ambiguous. Shift in iOS 6 and older versions would glow blue when pressed, a behavior unique to that key that made it clear when it was pressed. Shift in iOS 7 and iOS 8 went through a few different iterations, but they've all been some combination of grey and black and white. In no case has it been completely clear whether Shift is on or not.

iOS 9 fixes the problem not by changing the Shift key, but by changing the way every other key on the keyboard works. Letters on the new keyboard will change from lower to uppercase depending on whether the Shift key has been pressed. No more ambiguity, and it's basically the same solution that companies like Google and SwiftKey have used.

About time. Android has been doing this since version 1.5.

I have never understood the problem with the shift key. It always seemed to be pretty obvious to me. When it's not used, it's grey. When you tap it to use it, it turns black. When you give it a quick double tap, it turns black with the bar at the bottom, indicating it's locked on. Tap it again, and it turns off. Why is that so difficult?

Frankly, I don't really like the keys changing, as it's disconcerting when typing.

You can change it back in Accessibility > Keyboard I believe.

 

[Brandon B]

ltcommander.data[/url]":22z4qqjq]Weren't A5 devices in particular a target for performance improvements in iOS 9? So does iOS 9 feel more speedy on old A5 devices than iOS 8? It's doubtful it'll be iOS 6 level of speedy, but perhaps iOS 7.1 fluid?

8 made my iPad 3 pretty miserable. I put the 9 public beta on it in hopes it would restore 7 level usability. I'd say it got roughly halfway there, maybe less. Ended up buying a new iPad anyway in spite of vowing not to out of irritation, because I dearly want the adblocking functionality that comes with 64 bit.

 

[심돌산]

127.0.0.1[/url]":19oww2t7]

peragrin[/url]":19oww2t7]

I have never purposely clicked on an advertisement on a website.

I have!
In 2001, I was trying to figure out how to send money to a buddy in .ch and there was a Western Union banner. "Send cash anywhere, anytime". It worked great. (My US bank's solution was to wait until the next time I flew over. A SWIFT transfer was out of the question.)

I'm surprised your bank didn't have the solution mine did around that same time: they were happy to do a SWIFT transfer for $120. I declined and found a new bank.

If you want to do a lot of such international transfers, get at an account at a bank that caters to recent immigrants. I use a bank aimed at Koreans but probably any such bank will do. International transfers for me are $7.

 

[lnguyen]

melgross[/url]":35938t0w]

Frankly, I don't really like the keys changing, as it's disconcerting when typing.

I like to know without having to look at the shift key that is under my thumb. If anything, the visual indicator should be away from where I'd have my thumbs. There's just a better assurance that you are typing what you want with the keyboard case. It's also not clear to some people shift being active matches the keyboard color (there was a time where there were two keyboards, very annoying).

Ultimately, it really should be an option for user preference (and as pointed out, seemingly so)

 

[deus01]

melgross[/url]":zz21uirz]

heartburnkid[/url]":zz21uirz]

The iOS 7-era Shift key was, at best, ambiguous. Shift in iOS 6 and older versions would glow blue when pressed, a behavior unique to that key that made it clear when it was pressed. Shift in iOS 7 and iOS 8 went through a few different iterations, but they've all been some combination of grey and black and white. In no case has it been completely clear whether Shift is on or not.

iOS 9 fixes the problem not by changing the Shift key, but by changing the way every other key on the keyboard works. Letters on the new keyboard will change from lower to uppercase depending on whether the Shift key has been pressed. No more ambiguity, and it's basically the same solution that companies like Google and SwiftKey have used.

About time. Android has been doing this since version 1.5.

I have never understood the problem with the shift key. It always seemed to be pretty obvious to me. When it's not used, it's grey. When you tap it to use it, it turns black. When you give it a quick double tap, it turns black with the bar at the bottom, indicating it's locked on. Tap it again, and it turns off. Why is that so difficult?

Frankly, I don't really like the keys changing, as it's disconcerting when typing.

Since you generally need to look at the keys when typing anyway it's helpful to have that visual cue. If you're using you left hand the shift key is also often covered by your left thumb so its not always in your field of view.

 

[Baumi]

simonm_1[/url]":16ypstp5]Perhaps some of your main cities are good. They should at least have flyover in Berlin I'm guessing?

Flyover is wonderful. They have it in Berlin, Cologne, and Hamburg. (Not sure if anywhere else.)

However, rural areas just look wrong. I made a quick comparison for an area in NW Germany

Notice how Apple Maps lacks detail on the terrain type even though it is zoomed in a tiny bit more. On the other hand, it litters the map with all those numbers for minor roads, even though these are hardly ever relevant in practice, since the numbers for anything below Bundesstraße (the second-highest road type) are not displayed at all on most road signs.

 

[jaberg]

thomsirveaux[/url]":11jyvv0u]

melgross[/url]":11jyvv0u]

I have never understood the problem with the shift key.

You can change it back in Accessibility > Keyboard I believe.

It's great that we now have the choice, and I'd be lying if I said I was never momentarily confounded by Apple's previous implementation of shift/caplock but I'm with Mel in that I never got the amount of nerdrage directed at it.

I guess I'm old enough that moments of confoundedness have (increasingly) become just part of my day and I choose to fret and rage about bigger things…

As per my usual practice, I'll leave the iOS 9 feature set to default mode for a bit and decide for myself which is most right for me. (Natural scrolling on Mac OS must have taken a good three hours to feel natural—now the old way seems wrong to me.)

 

[Baumi]

Crazy Diamond[/url]":qr85ycpx]I'm still a bit confused with the "Hey Siri" functionality. Will it now be smarter so that when my wife and I are in bed, and I say "Hey Siri", only my phone will respond instead of both?

From what I've read, that's how it's supposed to work. Could be problematic if you have multiple persons using the device, though: Unless there's a option to train 'Hey, Siri' for more than one user, you'd have to pick who gets to talk to Siri without pressing a button.

 

[jaberg]

Baumi[/url]":28n9e826]I'm still a bit confused with the "Hey Siri" functionality. Will it now be smarter so that when my wife and I are in bed, and I say "Hey Siri", only my phone will respond instead of both?

iOS 9 adds a voice training feature that is supposed to improve the experience in this scenario. It should also reduce "Hey Siri" trolls from podcasts and Apple Keynote presentations.

EDIT because I initially replied to the wrong poster because of a reading comprehension failure.

 

[ackmondual]

As an IpT5 user on ios7.0.4, I'll follow the "don't fix it if it ain't broke" motto until my games require me to be using ios8 or higher. Otherwise, many of these features are only for Iphones, if not the latest one, and my Samsung Galaxy s4 remains my 'workhorse'.

 

[iOSecure]

I noticed TheNextWeb wrote an "article" saying your 48k write up is ridiculous.

Just wanted to let you know I appreciate and read these in depth reviews.

 

[thomsirveaux]

iOSecure[/url]":28g05d6o]I noticed TheNextWeb wrote an "article" saying your 48k write up is ridiculous.

Just wanted to let you know I appreciate and read these in depth reviews.

Heh, I think you're thinking of this write-up: https://www.macstories.net/stories/ios-9-review/

Our review is a mere ~13,000 words, not counting the extra iPad 2/iPhone 4S stuff I'm working on. That apparently counts as concise now.

 

[metamatic]

A while back I read that iOS 9 would allow direct sideloading using the developer tools on OS X. Anyone able to confirm this? It would make iOS an option for me.

 

[cadence]

I tried to update to iOS 9 just now, but am getting a download error. It happens even before anything starts downloading. It sort of looks like a file it is looking for is missing. I'm on iPhone 5S and my update was supposed to be exactly 1GB in size.

 

[elk025]

Yea lots of people failing to get the update. I'm trying through itunes right now.

 

[Deleted member 174040]

thomsirveaux[/url]":26g31b4c]

iOSecure[/url]":26g31b4c]I noticed TheNextWeb wrote an "article" saying your 48k write up is ridiculous.

Just wanted to let you know I appreciate and read these in depth reviews.

Heh, I think you're thinking of this write-up: https://www.macstories.net/stories/ios-9-review/

...and fully done on an iPad, I might add.

 

[swimboy]

Crazy Diamond[/url]":3l27qtmm]I'm still a bit confused with the "Hey Siri" functionality. Will it now be smarter so that when my wife and I are in bed, and I say "Hey Siri", only my phone will respond instead of both?

The screenshots seem to indicate that it will know your voice.

Only if your wife's name isn't Siri.

 

[tipoo]

ltcommander.data[/url]":3w07fn3r]Weren't A5 devices in particular a target for performance improvements in iOS 9? So does iOS 9 feel more speedy on old A5 devices than iOS 8? It's doubtful it'll be iOS 6 level of speedy, but perhaps iOS 7.1 fluid?

It seems like those rumors were just rumors, to be honest. Apple never explicitly said A5 performance was a priority, just hopeful "leaks" did. From the other article, it seems the same (and maybe slightly worse on average) as iOS8.

My biggest bummer is no content blockers without ARMv8. A5 and A6 needed that most.

 

[PDXoPDX]

"Content blockers can be used either to hide elements on a Web page, or to block those elements from being loaded altogether."

FINALLY! Oh, happy day!

 

[DOOManiac]

flyingember[/url]":36psb2r9]the split screen app selector needs an overhaul already. That needs to be a priority for 9.1, it's that bad.

as more and more apps support it the up and down scrolling will become unmanageable. The UI could fit 8 icons where there's 3 on screen right now.

To make things worse, it's not alphabetical nor is it based on recent usage of the app. It's an entirely random order.

This selector also validates needing to be able to hide apps. I will never use Tips and I can't hide it from the multitasking view in any way.

This this this. As much as I love the idea of Split View, it boggles my mind that they would go with a simple dumb list - with such huge icons and wasted space at that - for the actual app selection. It should show a mini version of the multitask list (complete w/ thumbnails) or perhaps even a mini home screen...

 

[gizmotoy]

The release notes say "Third party app extension support for VPN". Anyone know what that's about? I get a lot of hard crashes using the built-in VPN on my iPhone 6. Now I could use an external app, maybe?

 

[heartburnkid]

melgross[/url]":wambr6ie]

heartburnkid[/url]":wambr6ie]

The iOS 7-era Shift key was, at best, ambiguous. Shift in iOS 6 and older versions would glow blue when pressed, a behavior unique to that key that made it clear when it was pressed. Shift in iOS 7 and iOS 8 went through a few different iterations, but they've all been some combination of grey and black and white. In no case has it been completely clear whether Shift is on or not.

iOS 9 fixes the problem not by changing the Shift key, but by changing the way every other key on the keyboard works. Letters on the new keyboard will change from lower to uppercase depending on whether the Shift key has been pressed. No more ambiguity, and it's basically the same solution that companies like Google and SwiftKey have used.

About time. Android has been doing this since version 1.5.

I have never understood the problem with the shift key. It always seemed to be pretty obvious to me. When it's not used, it's grey. When you tap it to use it, it turns black. When you give it a quick double tap, it turns black with the bar at the bottom, indicating it's locked on. Tap it again, and it turns off. Why is that so difficult?

Frankly, I don't really like the keys changing, as it's disconcerting when typing.

If I'm typing, my thumb is usually covering the shift key. Which is a major problem, especially when typing passwords (which iOS still requires you to do with the goddamn awful default keyboard no matter what). OTOH, I don't find it the least bit disconcerting when the keys change; in fact, I find it to be far more user friendly to see exactly what character will be typed when I tap.

Honestly, the idea of the keys not changing to reflect what will be entered always struck me as one of the last remnants of skeuomorphism in iOS. It only doesn't happen in iOS because it doesn't happen on physical keyboards, despite the fact that the only reason it doesn't happen on physical keyboards is because it can't.

 

[joesteele]

The articles comments about App Thinning and bitcode are a bit misleading. Bitcode is not required for applications to gain the vast majority of the "App Thinning" benefits. The primary benefits of bitcode will be better performance as new processors are released and appleWatch support (where it is required). It will have minimal impact if any on app size as far as I can tell.

However bitcode does have two serious negative impacts for some developers. If you use tools that require the final binary for processing (e.g. code obfuscation, in-memory validation) you are out of luck when you use this flag. Also if you are concerned about Apple being able to reverse engineer your code, providing them with the IR instead of the final binary makes it much easier for them. Let's hope this does not become "required" anytime soon until there are answers for these two issues.

 

[DOOManiac]

gizmotoy[/url]":1e46xr2z]The release notes say "Third party app extension support for VPN". Anyone know what that's about? I get a lot of hard crashes using the built-in VPN on my iPhone 6. Now I could use an external app, maybe?

I found this: https://developer.apple.com/library/pre ... /iOS9.html

Network extension points:

- Use the Packet Tunnel Provider extension point to implement the client side of a custom VPN tunneling protocol.

- Use the App Proxy Provider extension point to implement the client side of a custom transparent network proxy protocol.

- Use the Filter Data Provider and the Filter Control Provider extension points to implement dynamic, on-device network content filtering.

Each of the network extension points requires special permission from Apple.

(Emphasis mine)

There's even a sample app for VPN tunneling:

https://developer.apple.com/library/pre ... TP40016140

 

[redtomato]

simonm_1[/url]":3ka6my16]

deus01[/url]":3ka6my16]

simonm_1[/url]":3ka6my16]

xaqattax[/url]":3ka6my16]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 it's premature and problematic introduction. I vastly. It's not only safe to dump Google maps now but I think Apple has overtaken it in many areas.

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

Google maps seems to have started prioritizing the look over it's functionality. It drives me crazy when it doesn't display names on major streets without a huge amount of zooming and panning. I've mostly switched to Here maps. It has better offline support and allows you name custom locations for use in directions.

Pretty sure I zoomed to maximum possible extent (or is that minimum?) to check though.

Apple is not immune to drawing issues though. It drives me crazy that it won't draw all train/metro station symbols at the same scale. I've even had to zoom in very close on major stations to see the symbol sometimes. My guess is they get shunted by other symbols but a station symbol is something that should have fairly high priority!

That for me is a major deal-breaker with Apple Maps. Try learning to navigate around London with a map that won't show the tube station names unless at near maximum zoom. Everybody and every other map (including Google) uses them as navigation landmarks.

I also agree with one of the above posters about the colouring scheme that Apple Maps uses. It seems harsh on the eye and somehow childish - Google is right to stick closer to the more muted colouring scheme used on paper maps which has developed over hundreds of years.

 

[adamsc]

The one odd thing about low-power mode is that there's no way to have it automatically enabled. If some background app is sucking your battery dry it'd be nice if, say, hitting 50% would automatically enable low power mode without requiring human intervention.

I suggested that during the first beta but never got a response. Maybe 9.1…

 

[the_frakker]

Ad Blocking

In the short term, all we can ask of you if you use a content blocker in iOS 9 is to whitelist the sites you like (hi, again) whenever possible. That said, it’s telling that Crystal is only going to get a whitelist at some future date—it apparently won't be available at launch.

I'd prefer to update a blacklist when I run into an offending site then have to go through and maintain a whitelist for every good site. If it's good it's a distraction to whilelist. If it's bad, it's already a distraction and my frustration drives me to the blacklist.

Even ads on Ars (mobile version) are intrusive. Some of the ads embedded in articles take up 80+% of screen width and height; making it difficult to scroll past the ad without accidentally clicking it and being redirected. On iOS that sometimes means the user gets passed to Multiple apps, such is the case of an ad for an app in the App Store (passed to Safari and then to App Store with maybe multiple web page redirects on the way).

I want Ars and other media to get paid and I like that ads supplement paid subscriptions. I just don't want those ads to make the consumption of the media unenjoyable.

 

[theBearoness]

quamsta[/url]":4gyyf1cu]

theBearoness[/url]":4gyyf1cu]Now why in the world would I install iOS 9 on my 3rd-gen iPad if it's going to take Siri away? They shouldn't *remove* features that my device already has.

The article is wrong. Siri does work on the third generation iPad. Come on, Ars.

From Apple's website:

"Siri is available on iPhone 4s or later, iPad Pro, iPad Air or later, iPad (4th generation), iPad mini or later, and iPod touch (5th generation or later) and requires Internet access. Siri may not be available in all languages or in all areas, and features may vary by area. Cellular data charges may apply."

 

[OptimusP83]

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.

 

[mjptango]

thomsirveaux[/url]":kjnoodag]

iOSecure[/url]":kjnoodag]I noticed TheNextWeb wrote an "article" saying your 48k write up is ridiculous.

Just wanted to let you know I appreciate and read these in depth reviews.

Heh, I think you're thinking of this write-up: https://www.macstories.net/stories/ios-9-review/

Our review is a mere ~13,000 words, not counting the extra iPad 2/iPhone 4S stuff I'm working on. That apparently counts as concise now.

Oh great... my iPhone 4S is hovering... waiting for the iOS9 update go ahead!

thanks for great write up

 

[the_frakker]

That data will be downloaded from the App Store (or from your test Mac, if you're a developer) when it's needed and purged when the OS needs to make space for something else.

Wtf!? My data plan cannot support me using apps that constantly download and delete content in this manner. Sure, maybe for a news reader or something like that, but game levels can be 100s MB in size and this suggests that data is downloaded as needed. So if your out and about, that means downloaded over cellular. Either that or the game will be unplayable until you reach Wifi.

Concept sounds good, but reality sounds terrible for cellular data caps.

 

[jandrese]

Hey iOS 9 users. How do you delete downloaded apps now? The old method of holding down the icon until the screen went all shaky and then clicking on the "X" that gets overlaid seems to be gone and I'm not sure where to go to delete apps now.

 

[milski]

jandrese[/url]":2qqehc4i]Hey iOS 9 users. How do you delete downloaded apps now? The old method of holding down the icon until the screen went all shaky and then clicking on the "X" that gets overlaid seems to be gone and I'm not sure where to go to delete apps now.

The old method is still there, I just tried it. Are you holding down long enough?

 

[DOOManiac]

Ditto. Try rebooting and maybe it will come back?

 

[jandrese]

Rebooting didn't seem to help. I still can't delete any app. Maybe there is a new setting somewhere that turns it off?

Edit: Checked the security settings and lo and behold the "delete apps" permission was turned off. Turning it back on fixed the problem. Dunno how that happened, but mystery solved.

 

[DOOManiac]

A note on Notes:

The new fancy notes w/ drawings/pictures/etc only work with Notes synced with iCloud! If you still sync your notes with GMail or etc. the Notes UI will be the same as iOS8. You may also need to manually turn on iCloud-based Notes in the Settings.app > iCloud > Notes. Luckily there is a "Move all" button to move all of your notes from one source to the next; moving notes does let you start using the fancy new features on them.

Moving notes to iCloud also lets you access them via iCloud.com in any web browser; obviously it also makes them inaccessible inside GMail (or wherever your notes were before)

 

[bri2000]

I can certainly see how slide over and split view will be useful. However I'm a bit disappointed with the selection of compatible apps. There's a lot of padding (Tips, Game Centre, Find Phone, Clock) where quick access via slide over isn't that useful but not Music or Remote which would be, to me at least, for quick song selection while playing Hearthstone or something.

None of the Apple productivity software is compatible, although the MS stuff is, which I find odd. Split view will be great with the larger screen of the Pro assuming Apple sort out Pages etc by then. Not sure if I can justify one just for that though. Will depend on pricing and if there's an Air 3.

 

[evan_s]

My question about the App Thinning, slicing in particular, does it happen automatically after an upgrade to iOS 9 or only on install/update. I just installed iOS 9 on my 5s and a failed to note exactly how much free space I had before and after. It does seem like I have a bit more space, maybe a couple hundred megs on a 16gb device, but certainly not a 30-40% savings most of my apps. Now it could be that a lot of the apps aren't tagged yet to support it but the description makes it sound like this happens when they are downloaded and on the Apple server so and update/reinstall might be needed. Guess I'll have to wait and see and hope to get some more free space back. Won't matter for much longer because I've got a 64gb 6s preordered.