Inside iOS 9: Under-the-Hood Improvements for Battery Life, Security, and More

[kentsydney]

I'm glad iBooks had been fixed- when Apple Music was introduced all my audiobooks went to iBooks and it was painfully slow to the point of being in useable- now it's still a bit laggy but massively better.

I also like the new font on the keyboard

 

[JulianL]

I believe an extra 3 hours after 20%. So typically I get 1 hour per 10%, so instead of 2 extra hours at the 20% notification you get 5 hours. I've been on betas for a while and tried low battery mode from 100% and got two whole days while camping. Still had 30% before plugging it in at night on the last day.

Interesting. I hadn't thought of that interpretation. Thanks.

Thinking about it after my last post it occurred to me that these "up to an extra <x> hours" are pretty meaningless anyway, unless I've missed some Apple clarification somewhere. Extra hours of what sort of usage? The official Apple battery life specs that Apple gives for the 6 Plus gives 7 different figures for battery life hours: Talk time on 3G, internet use on 3G, LTE & WiFi, HD video playback, Audio playback and standby time. Which figure or what blended use case is being extended?

Surely these extra-hours figures can't be any of the quoted usage figures if your explanation of how the up-to-3-extra is correct? If that was the case then if we take Apple's published 6 Plus 3G talk time figure (up to 24 hours), assume that includes the basic +1 hour addition for battery-life optimisation improvements of iOS 9 in normal mode, and then factor in getting an additional 3 hours per 20% battery if the phone is set permanently for power save mode that gives a 3G talktime figure for a 6 Plus in permanent powersave mode up from 24 hours to 39 hours. That really sounds implausible to me (too good to be true).

Taking the other extreme, i.e. the +<x> hours relates to standby time (claimed 384 hours for 6 Plus) that gives an improvement up to 399 hours for a 6 Plus set permanently to powersave mode, i.e. an increase of 3.9% which actually sounds pretty underwhelming to me, not really worth setting permanent powersave mode for.

Presumably the truth is somewhere in between but Apple did quote these "up to" numbers so presumably it had some sort of test case data that it was basing its claims on. I really would love to know exactly what sort of usage mix Apple used as the basis of those battery life extension numbers.

 

[0098386]

This issue was very rare and was related to hardware. How can an iOS upgrade affect the case of the iPhone?

It's a joke, relax.

 

[Fzang]

iOS 9 on iPhone 6 Plus definitely seems to improve everything.... Except animations. Everything is so choppy now. Performance is definitely better, but animations are an eye sore.

 

[Statusnone88]

I'm really out of the loop on 9.1. That's good to hear! This is definitely shaping up to be an iOS 6 type quality release. Like a Snow Leopard for iPhone. I just had my mind blown again a little bit earlier when I installed my first content blocker, "Peace", by Marco Arment and Ghostery. 9to5Mac is especially faster, lol. It's going to be amazing to see the iPhone 6S on iOS 9 after seeing these improvements already on older devices!

Just bought Peace for $2.99. What a difference. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[KdParker]

The app deleting while upgrading is nice, but I really wish Apple would just raise the memory on the introductory model from 16g to 32g.

 

[ulrich213]

With all due respect, it's idiotic to create software running well only on the latest tech especially if the software you make has leverage (meaning that its features aren't/shouldn't be too demanding on the processing power) to run well on old hardware! And iOS shouldn't be a processing power hog because except its fancy animations (which a 4S should and could handle without any issues) there really isn't anything there that should strangulate the hardware.

I believe you're not a software developer, because if you were at least a decent one you wouldn't write such stupid comments. But if you are, you should seriously go back to basics and learn how to create not great, but good software.

I'm a software developer, and especially in the Apple world, you are holding back the potential of your apps/OS by creating apps/OS with a 4 year old phone in mind. The 4s has a A5 processor, while the 6 has an A8. With the new additions to Siri's capability, as well as multitasking, and, in general, app smoothness, it would be a disservice to not take advantage of the latest advances in hardware as it provides much more power and speed for some awesome, but intensive functions.

(The following is a hyperbole) What you are saying is similar to this: "GTA V should totally run just as well on my 4 year old computer as it does on the newest gaming towers, software developers should keep that in mind!"

Apple has a high adoption rate for both hardware and software, you are actually in the minority of Apple users if you are still using a 4s, so you really don't have much ground to stand on with demands.

 

[joueboy]

Well Apple made this entire system bloated to begin with. Geez this OS won't fit anymore in the 4GB earlier versions of iPhone. Don't tell me the codes are taking all the space for this. They probably caching everything and loading some stuff we don't know and we don't need in anticipation that we might need it just so it feels faster and snappier. App Thinning? I haven't seen my iPhone freed up some space after the update so this feature is only for 16GB versions? We started an app for iPhone only, then iPad came in then they have a separate apps. Now we are freakin downloading some stuff we don't need in our devices. They keep on justifying things that is obviously to their business advantage, but their answer are more bs and doesn't make any sense. Like stock app that we cannot delete and 16GB iphone or 5GB iCloud! Come on Apple if you wanna change the world at least give something back to your loyal customers who put you on that pedestal.

 

[macduke]

Just bought Peace for $2.99. What a difference. Thanks for the recommendation.

No problem! I saw that it was 1.) Made by a respected and widely known iOS developer and 2.) Backed by a high-quality database so it seemed like a no-brainer. I don't even feel like I need to try other blockers because this one seems to work so well out of the box. When I searched around I didn't see many sites reviewing the blockers. Hmmm…I wonder why that could possibly be? HAH. First iOS 9 Safari memory improvements. Now these speed improvements…it's just crazy. It's like a new phone.

 

[JulianL]

...App Thinning? I haven't seen my iPhone freed up some space after the update so this feature is only for 16GB versions?

As I understand it App thinning only downloads the version of the app that is needed to support the device that it is being downloaded to so I think it only thins down the size of the app at the point of downloading and installing it to a device. I had assumed that there isn't anything in iOS 9 that is going to go through all the apps already installed and delete the unnecessary bits but I could well be wrong on that. Does anyone know if, as part of process of installing iOS 9 itself, it goes through and thins all apps installed on the device or is a thing that will happen gradually as updates for the various apps are pushed out by developers.

Also, does a developer with an old app have to do anything specific to tell the app store which bits are needed for which device or is that already clearly identifiable by the tools that Apple uses to verify app store submissions so that Apple can make sure that all the apps on the app store are automatically thinnable or does the developer need to change things at his/her end?

If it is how I think then can the process be speeded up by explicitly deleting each app from the device and re-installing it from the app store so that the thinned version of each app is what gets re-installed without having to wait for the next developer update?

 

[agsystems]

As I understand it App thinning only downloads the version of the app that is needed to support the device that it is being downloaded to so I think it only thins down the size of the app at the point of downloading and installing it to a device. I had assumed that there isn't anything in iOS 9 that is going to go through all the apps already installed and delete the unnecessary bits but I could well be wrong on that. Does anyone know if, as part of process of installing iOS 9 itself, it goes through and thins all apps installed on the device or is a thing that will happen gradually as updates for the various apps are pushed out by developers.

Also, does a developer with an old app have to do anything specific to tell the app store which bits are needed for which device or is that already clearly identifiable by the tools that Apple uses to verify app store submissions so that Apple can make sure that all the apps on the app store are automatically thinnable or does the developer need to change things at his/her end?

If it is how I think then can the process be speeded up by explicitly deleting each app from the device and re-installing it from the app store so that the thinned version of each app is what gets re-installed without having to wait for the next developer update?

Yea - I am waiting for a big app like Asphalt 8 to proof this theory. That app should go down from the close to 1.22g to something more reasonable.

 

[JCrz]

This issue was very rare and was related to hardware. How can an iOS upgrade affect the case of the iPhone?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humour

 

[Googlyhead]

Well; I made the mistake of "upgrading" to 8.3 on my main iPhone, so (going by the promise of battery, filtering, and performance improvements) presumably have nothing to lose and everything to gain...

 

[Mackker]

I'm a software developer, and especially in the Apple world, you are holding back the potential of your apps/OS by creating apps/OS with a 4 year old phone in mind. The 4s has a A5 processor, while the 6 has an A8. With the new additions to Siri's capability, as well as multitasking, and, in general, app smoothness, it would be a disservice to not take advantage of the latest advances in hardware as it provides much more power and speed for some awesome, but intensive functions.

(The following is a hyperbole) What you are saying is similar to this: "GTA V should totally run just as well on my 4 year old computer as it does on the newest gaming towers, software developers should keep that in mind!"

Apple has a high adoption rate for both hardware and software, you are actually in the minority of Apple users if you are still using a 4s, so you really don't have much ground to stand on with demands.

My iPhone 4S is a testing device. Since I'm an iOS Developer I have several iDevices so I'm not bitching about the 4S not running well the latest iOS because I don't have any other option but because this should not happen.

I get your (and others) point, tech must evolve and Apple must make money on new hardware but this doesn't excuse a poor software design. Hardware should not be the saviour of bad software (see Android) while of course, the software should take full advantage of the hardware.

Since I know the performance of an iPhone 4S and what it can do, I honestly tell you: iOS 7, 8 & 9 are pieces of crap.
The iPhone 4S has sufficient hardware power to run these OS's buttery smooth if they were designed with performance in mind.

But for me it's very obvious that this isn't a priority for Apple and the iPhone 4S is running iOS 9 only because it's a marketing stunt like "Oh, look at Apple... it runs the latest OS on a 4y old device! Kudos to them!" but it doesn't matter that the OS runs like crap when it really shouldn't.

 

[ulrich213]

I get your (and others) point, tech must evolve and Apple must make money on new hardware but this doesn't excuse a poor software design. Hardware should not be the saviour of bad software (see Android) while of course, the software should take full advantage of the hardware.

It's not poor software design to utilize the power of the latest hardware. It would be poor design to develop with a 4 year old device in the forefront of your mind, as it would be a disservice to the latest tech. A good analogy of this would be making a MBA do intern work.

Since I know the performance of an iPhone 4S and what it can do, I honestly tell you: iOS 7, 8 & 9 are pieces of crap.

You should probably put in an application since you apparently know the hardware better than Apple engineers do...

But for me it's very obvious that this isn't a priority for Apple and the iPhone 4S is running iOS 9 only because it's a marketing stunt like "Oh, look at Apple... it runs the latest OS on a 4y old device! Kudos to them!" but it doesn't matter that the OS runs like crap when it really shouldn't.

I refer you back to my hyperbole.

 

[Mackker]

It's not poor software design to utilize the power of the latest hardware. It would be poor design to develop with a 4 year old device in the forefront of your mind, as it would be a disservice to the latest tech. A good analogy of this would be making a MBA do intern work.

WOW =)))! And you say that you're a software developer? Since when?
You either don't really understand what I'm saying or you're a pretty bad software developer (please don't take it personal).

Who says that engineering a software product on older hardware first would impair adding more features for newer hardware? Engineering software to run great on older hardware would have awesome performance benefits for newer hardware, DUH...!

You should probably put in an application since you apparently know the hardware better than Apple engineers do...

I get the sarcasm but you should really start reading some good programming guidelines.
BTW, you should really apply working on Google's Android team! You have the perfect cultural fit for their team!

 

[ulrich213]

Who says that engineering a software product on older hardware first would impair adding more features for newer hardware? Engineering software to run great on older hardware would have awesome performance benefits for newer hardware, DUH...!

Innovation isn't bred with a stagnant mindframe. Newer technology gives us the ability to create powerful pieces of software that can do more, faster, and better. Sure, you could program for older devices in mind first, and that software in turn would work crazy well on newer hardware; you're right, but it makes the creation of newer devices kind of pointless as you wouldn't be able to take advantage of the specs to the extent they deserve...

You either don't really understand what I'm saying or you're a pretty bad software developer (please don't take it personal).

Makes personal attack, "Don't take it personal." Ok... Ad hominem is always the way to go.

 

[APlotdevice]

This is pretty minor, but for devices with a keyboard, they've also added a helpful popup when you hold cmd that shows what keyboard shortcuts you can use.

Not a huge feature, but it's definitely a nice touch.

I've noticed that the new keyboard shortcuts work on the iPhone too, though you don't get the pop up.

 

[Zwhaler]

Nope. http://arstechnica.com/apple/2015/09/ios-9-on-the-iphone-4s-a-stay-of-execution-nothing-more/

Nice article, thanks.

 

[Mackker]

Innovation isn't bred with a stagnant mindframe. Newer technology gives us the ability to create powerful pieces of software that can do more, faster, and better. Sure, you could program for older devices in mind first, and that software in turn would work crazy well on newer hardware; you're right, but it makes the creation of newer devices kind of pointless as you wouldn't be able to take advantage of the specs to the extent they deserve...

Your statement is full of contradictions. You first say that

Innovation isn't bred with a stagnant mindframe

and

Newer technology gives us the ability to create powerful pieces of software that can do more, faster, and better

but after these statements you say

you could program for older devices in mind first, and that software in turn would work crazy well on newer hardware; you're right

So where's the truth? Creating awesome and high performance software is called innovation y'know...

Regarding this statement

but it makes the creation of newer devices kind of pointless as you wouldn't be able to take advantage of the specs to the extent they deserve...

you really believe that? Updating/upgrading great software and hardware is called innovation and they're intertwined. You can't have one process without the other at some point in time.

Makes personal attack, "Don't take it personal." Ok... Ad hominem is always the way to go.

Well yes. Don't take it personal. You're under anonymity, no one knows who you really are, who you're working with or what you've done so far, so your ego is protected.
Instead of being sarcastic without having any grounds you should try to comprehend and use whatever useful information you meet here or anywhere else and upgrade yourself to become a better you.

I've replied using the same tone you've used when talking to me. You should expect that when you're being sarcastic with other people when talking matters where you don't hold the truth, to be "corrected".

 

[ulrich213]

So where's the truth?

I'm saying if you program for a 4 year old device, there is no surprise it would run well on a brand new piece of equipment, but it would be able to do significantly less compared to software developed for that new tech...

Updating/upgrading great software and hardware is called innovation and they're intertwined. You can't have one process without the other at some point in time.

Then why are you continuing to argue? Updating great software and hardware is the key. You are expecting an obsolete phone to keep up with innovation of newer software and hardware. It's a flawed stance.

I've replied using the same tone you've used when talking to me. You should expect that when you're being sarcastic with other people when talking matters where you don't hold the truth, to be "corrected".

Sarcasm isn't a personal attack.

 

[Mackker]

I'm saying if you program for a 4 year old device, there is no surprise it would run well on a brand new piece of equipment, but it would be able to do significantly less compared to software developed for that new tech...

Again, who says that when making a software for older hardware impairs creating features for newer hardware (which of course, would not work with the older hardware)? What you're saying makes no sense for me.

My own example: I make an app in 2012 which runs awesome on the iPhone 4S and in 2015 the same app runs at ludicrous speeds on newer devices. Does that mean I can't update the app to take advantage of the newer hardware?
Of course not! I've updated the app to take advantage of the bigger screens (like adding more information), 64bit architecture and so on but the app still runs awesome on the iPhone 4S and incredible on newer devices.

Then why are you continuing to argue? Updating great software and hardware is the key. You are expecting an obsolete phone to keep up with innovation of newer software and hardware. It's a flawed stance.

Because you still don't understand my point: I'm not expecting an obsolete device to keep up. I'm expecting a piece of software to run as it is supposed to on certain hardware.
And since I have some technical background in this matter, I know what I'm talking about. iOS 7,8 & 9 should be able to run buttery smooth on the iPhone 4S hardware.

Sarcasm isn't a personal attack.

Sarcasm means a lot of different things for a lot of different people.

 

[kentsydney]

Just bought Peace for $2.99. What a difference. Thanks for the recommendation.

Thanks just brought Peace too and enabled content blocking on Safari in settings- pages load instantly!!

 

[jrswizzle]

so much effort required from so many developers (Apple, 3rd party) so that Apple can save $5/device by not moving to 64GB base...

Try $20....NAND flash isn't as cheap as most people think.

 

[larrylaffer]

This is pretty minor, but for devices with a keyboard, they've also added a helpful popup when you hold cmd that shows what keyboard shortcuts you can use.


Not a huge feature, but it's definitely a nice touch.

Hmm, I thought iOS 8 had this too?