Hidden Features in iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan

[MacRumors]

iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan have been available to developers for two weeks now, giving us time to discover all of the little features in both operating systems that weren't discussed during the keynote event. We've created two videos that highlight some of the small but neat additions to iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan, which you can watch below.

Apple's introduced a wide range of feature additions and minor tweaks in iOS 9 that make some very useful improvements to iOS. For example, there's now a Notification Center widget that displays the battery life of connected devices like the Apple Watch, and there's a search bar in the Settings app that lets you find a specific setting very quickly.

A "Back to App" feature lets you swap between apps quickly when you click a notification or a link, and some keyboard changes on the iPad make editing documents a whole lot easier.

OS X 10.11 El Capitan has fewer small feature additions, but there are some improvements worth pointing out. The famous rainbow wheel pointer or "beachball," which spins when a program is loading has brighter, more defined colors, and the cursor is now easier to find when waking a Mac from sleep. There's also a revamped Disk Utility window and a dedicated Find My Friends widget for the Notification Center.

If you want to see an overview of all of the features in the new operating systems, make sure to check out our roundups: iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 El Capitan. Our dedicated iOS 9 and El Capitan forums are also an excellent resource for learning more about the software we'll all be using in the fall.

Article Link: Hidden Features in iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan

 

[roland.g]

In iOS they need to make the letters at the right side in a contact or iTunes list bigger. They are so hard to tap and if you miss you tap the contact for the row you are on. Even if they aren't bigger, the phone should know you are trying to jump to a letter and not that contact by how far right you tap.

 

[keysofanxiety]

In iOS they need to make the letters at the right side in a contact or iTunes list bigger. They are so hard to tap and if you miss you tap the contact for the row you are on. Even if they aren't bigger, the phone should know you are trying to jump to a letter and not that contact by how far right you tap.

Agreed. Though in a way it's funny that these are the things we're picking up on. Remember when an iPhone couldn't even record video without jailbreaking?

 

[TheIguana]

Where is the darn F.lux (https://justgetflux.com) support... come on Apple!

 

[Skika]

Where is the darn F.lux (https://justgetflux.com) support... come on Apple!

Not this again.

 

[ricosuave]

Does iOS 9 allow you to keep a 4 digit unlock passcode?

 

[AngerDanger]

I learned how to pronounce Helvetica Neue just in time for it to get replaced. I also wish that jitter-to-reveal feature was available on iOS, so I began working on a tweak:

 

[tagsaid]

Does iOS 9 allow you to keep a 4 digit unlock passcode?

Yes it does, you just have the option for:
No pin
4 digit pin
6 digit pin
Alpha (words etc)

So all they did was introduce a new 6 digit pin option

 

[sniffies]

I didn't see a single hidden feature.

 

[Broojo02]

The auto-hiding menu bar is awesome, I wonder if you can move windows right to the top of the screen or there is an area where you can't put the window.

 

[ricosuave]

Yes it does, you just have the option for:
No pin
4 digit pin
6 digit pin
Alpha (words etc)

So all they did was introduce a new 6 digit pin option

That is great news. My wife's work issued iPad requires a specific 4 digits. She is not allowed to change it.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

What was the name of that font? Helvetica Nioooia?

 

[Benjamin Frost]

In iOS they need to make the letters at the right side in a contact or iTunes list bigger. They are so hard to tap and if you miss you tap the contact for the row you are on. Even if they aren't bigger, the phone should know you are trying to jump to a letter and not that contact by how far right you tap.

Indeed.

There are too many places in both iOS and Mac OS X where the font is tiny, such as the App Store and the iTunes Store.

 

[Benjamin Frost]

Where is the darn F.lux (https://justgetflux.com) support... come on Apple!

Oh the joy it would be to have F.lux on iOS!

 

[Bkfraiders7]

Yes it does, you just have the option for:
No pin
4 digit pin
6 digit pin
Alpha (words etc)

So all they did was introduce a new 6 digit pin option

Theres also a custom numeric pin option, so if you want a 5 digit pin you can set it as that too.

 

[Benjamin Frost]

Does iOS 9 allow you to keep a 4 digit unlock passcode?

Yes.

Pay attention to the video, Mr. Ricosuave.

 

[190991]

Where is the darn F.lux (https://justgetflux.com) support... come on Apple!

I agree completely! A company that invests so much in techniques to monitor your health, doesn't allow this simple feature that will also improve health!

 

[macpt]

The new OS X theme is great, for puking rainbows. Why did Apple turn OS X into the visual train wreck that was iOS 7 ?

I can't agree with shifting keyboard uppercase/lowercase characters, I'm supposed to be typing, not adjusting to a different interface at each keypress !! Bring back Scott Forstall fast, to keep the boat afloat.

Everything else seems great tho.

 

[EdwardGreene]

The auto-hiding menu bar is awesome, I wonder if you can move windows right to the top of the screen or there is an area where you can't put the window.

Yes. I use Tweetbot and have it zoomed to cover the entire screen so it looks for all intents and purposes like a fullscreen app.

 

[Mattjeff]

I really like that hidden menu bar at the top for that even cleaner looking desktop. Also, I am liking the videos you added MacRumors.

 

[Benjamin Frost]

Theres also a custom numeric pin option, so if you want a 5 digit pin you can set it as that too.

So you can have two pins at once? A 4 digit and a 5 digit one?

 

[nepalisherpa]

The "Back to App" will be a very useful feature for me. That's one feature (out of few others) I like about Android.

 

[Benjamin Frost]

The new OS X theme is great, for puking rainbows. Why did Apple turn OS X into the visual train wreck that was iOS 7 ?

I can't agree with shifting keyboard uppercase/lowercase characters, I'm supposed to be typing, not adjusting to a different interface at each keypress !! Bring back Scott Forstall fast, to keep the boat afloat.

Everything else seems great tho.

Too true.

I don't want a lower-case keyboard. Bring back the iOS 6 shift key, please.

 

[macintologist]

Is there any reason Matt Gonzalez can't create Macrumors videos in 60fps? Since he is demoing the UI I think it makes much more sense to take advantage of Youtube's 60fps hosting.

 

[GenesisST]

Is it a bad omen that they made the beach ball prettier? "You're going to see it often, so we made it prettier"

Probably not

 

[iFanaddic]

Using the iPhones side switch to lock rotation has been removed in beta 2. Probably a software glitch and was never meant to be there on iPhone.