iOS 9 review: A need for speed, and Maps that actually work


We might not be getting watchOS 2 today, but iOS 9 is now out and available to download and install. With iOS 9, Apple isn't focused on re-creating the wheel, but making the wheel turn better.

Yes, there are new features and enhanced experiences (especially on the iPad), but the core mission of iOS 9 is really about making your phone work more like how you want it to work. This is a good thing.

It's also an update you shouldn't be afraid of installing. Last year, Apple had some issues pushing out the iOS 8 update, with plenty of users running into serious problems trying to get it installed on their phone. With iOS 9, you'll need a lot less free space on your phone to be able to install the upgrade.

Beyond that, iOS 9 will run on every device that supports iOS 8. Now one may argue that running iOS 9 on an older device (like an iPhone 4S), isn't going to lead to a great experience — and that person would have a point. Having said that, I've run iOS 9 betas on an iPhone 5S, an iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, an iPad Air and an iPad Air 2,and all performed extremely well.

But enough about the logistics of getting iOS installed, let's talk about the features.

Siri is everywhere...and she's good

Four years ago, Apple released its virtual assistant, Siri, to the world. It was rocky at first — with Siri not working or working incorrectly as often as she got things right. We're excited to say, with iOS 9, Siri gets a big upgrade and she's a lot more like an actual assistant now.

That's important because Siri is now featured throughout iOS 9. Swipe right on your main home screen to get set of recommendations and news. The suggestions include a set of intelligently selected contacts, apps, news and places nearby based on your previous behavior and the time of day.

If you think this sounds like Google Now, you're right. One can argue the semantics about how the services differ, but the end result is that with iOS 9, Apple really wants to anticipate the type of stuff you want to do next.

Siri can answer contextual questions now, too. You can ask for a game score and then follow up by asking when the team plays again, without having to restate your question. This is awesome.

You can also ask Siri to look through your phone contents. "Show me photos from June" or "show all of my texts with Aly."

I've also found that as of iOS 9, Siri's ability to recognize words and phrases is better — even in loud environments. She's faster, too.

Notes is new

Apple also overhauled the Notes app, making it a lot more robust. You can insert photos, draw with your finger, add maps, create lists and it supports rich-text features.

This makes the app, which has remained basically the same since the original iOS, a lot more useful. With iCloud sync, Notes now sits somewhere between something like Evernote and Microsoft's OneNote.

Maps no longer sucks

The Maps app gets a big overhaul. Not only does Apple Maps no longer suck — it's gotten quite good — it has transit directions as well. It also has improved search.

I've written a lot about Apple Maps in iOS 9 already, but the big thing you need to know is that Maps now works better: Search is greatly improved, and there are transit directions.

In my experiences in New York City, San Francisco and Portland, Apple Maps fully lived up to the expectations of a default mapping app in 2015. That might not sound like a big deal, but considering how bad Apple Maps was in the beginning, this is really important.

Apple News is here

Apple is getting a brand new app with iOS 9, and that's Apple News. Apple has already signed with a bunch of publishing partners (including Mashable) and the app performs well and is a fast way of reading well-formatted news on your phone or tablet.

I'm still unsure how big Apple News will be — and in truth, of all the parts of iOS 9, it feels the least-finished. The product itself works well but not all news publishers have optimized their articles to fully take advantage of the format.

It's also unclear to me just how many users are looking for a new type of newsreader. For now, Apple News is of far more importance to publishers than to iPhone users.

Still, Apple News is solid. I also like that its articles are included in Siri's suggestions.

Performance and battery life

Back in February, I (along with many others) argued that iOS 9 was the right time for Apple to focus on stability and performance, not whiz-bang features.

My thought was that now that iOS and Android were at near parity in terms of features (execution is where they really differ), it made more sense to focus on making what was already there work better rather than working on adding new stuff.

And you know what? That's essentially what iOS 9 is. It's iOS 8, with a few enhancements, but more stable and better performing. Developers I've talked to have also expressed that on the back end, the codebase is easier to work with now and that issues that cropped up in iOS 8 have been fixed in iOS 9.

There's a new Low Power Mode that will help you get the most out of your battery life. Basically, it works by shutting down taxing processes and will provide about an hour of extra battery life to your phone.

This isn't a mode you want to turn on all the time; instead it's great when you're in those "I'm at 15% battery and I have to get home and I have two more hours before I leave" moments.

On the iPad

iOS 9 adds new features on the iPhone and iPod touch, but it's on the iPad where the new features and enhancements really shine.

The big news is that multitasking, at least on the iPad Air 2, is now here for realsies.

There are a few new options in iOS 9 for the iPad that really make the iPad feel more like a Mac. The first is called Slide Over, and it works on the iPad Air (1 and 2) and iPad mini 2, 3 and 4. It lets you slide over a smaller view of an app — such as Mail, News, Books or Notes and view it alongside your any other app.

iOS 9 iPad

iOS 9 running on the iPad Air 2.

On the iPad Air, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3 and iPad Air 2, you can also use Picture-in-Picture. This lets you pop out a video to position around your screen while you're doing something else, such as playing a game or taking notes. At launch, the feature supports YouTube embeds in Safari, the Videos app in iOS, and FaceTime. More support for third-party apps, including Netflix, should come when those services push out their iOS 9 updates.

Seriously, playing Cookie Jam on the iPad while watching a video is an ADD person's dream. As that ADD person, Apple, I salute you.

On the iPad Air 2 (and the upcoming iPad Pro), iOS 9 supports full split-screen multitasking in Split View. This lets you have two apps open at once, both running independently. So you can write something while reading a note on the web or in a book, or you can jot down some notes (or drawings) while a video plays or you listen to music.

It's seriously awesome.

The iPad also now supports better text selection and there is a new shortcut bar plus improved keyboard support.

The bottom line

Taking it all in, the best part of iOS 9 is that it works the same as iOS 8, but it works better and it works more like you want your phone to work. Apple is focused less on giving us tons of features and more about taking the existing stuff and making it work as promised.

Apple Maps and Siri — two things that used to be punchlines — are now good. In the case of Siri, the assistant is so useful, I've begun using it more than I ever have.

It's clear that a ton of behind-the-scenes work has gone into iOS 9. And we're not even scratching the surface of all the "smaller" features, which includes some of the new content blockers for Safari and the improved security enhancements.

Like Snow Leopard, iOS 9 is one of those updates that looks small on the surface but really adds a lot to the overall experience.

You can download iOS 9 now. It's available for the iPhone 4S and up and the iPad 2 and up.

Image: Jhila Farzaneh/Mashable