Apple has finally lifted the lid on its new iOS 9 mobile operating system this evening at its WWDC 2015 developer conference in San Francisco. Among its key features are a new and improved Siri, a handful of brand-new apps and, most importantly, split screen multitasking for iPad.
Starting with Siri, Apple's Craig Federighi said that its digital assistant is now 40% faster and up to 40% more accurate in iOS 9, and you'll be able to ask it to show specific photos or videos as well as set reminders about "this" or "that" depending on what you currently have onscreen.
Siri can also anticipate what you might want to do next. For instance, plug in a pair of headphones, and Siri will bring up 'Now Playing' from the lock screen. It's context-sensitive, too, so it will adapt to how you use your phone in your car, too, perhaps automatically playing an eBook or recent playlist when it connects over Bluetooth. Likewise, adding locations to events in your Calendar will prompt Siri to suggest how long it will take you to get there, taking traffic into account in real-time throughout your journey.
Siri is built into Search, too, with Apple announcing a new API for developers so you can search for more information related to apps currently installed on your phone, such as sports schedules and Netflix movies. Getting back to your search results is made easier too, thanks to Apple's deep-linking.
If you get an incoming call from an unknown number, Siri will search your address book for likely contacts, showing possible names underneath the number on the dialler. Spotlight does a similar thing in iOS 9, too, suggesting recent contacts, apps or places that you might be interested in based on certain actions you take.
As for new apps, Maps will introduce Transit for public transport information, showing bus, trains and subway lines as well as step-by-step directions and the time it will take to walk to your destination. So far, so Google Maps, but Apple's taken its Transit Maps one step further by adding individual subway exits and entrances to the mix, giving you more accurate walking time calculations based on your current location. This will all be taken into account when asking Siri for directions as well. In the UK, Transit will only be available in London at first, but more cities are sure to follow.
News, meanwhile, is completely new and is Apple's take on news aggregators such as Flipboard. It updates every time you open the app and you can choose specific publications to follow as well as general interest areas, such as science, technology, baking and travel. Articles published in the Apple News format will have access to rich typography and infographics as well as fast and fluid animations and embedded video. You can switch articles by swiping sideways, or bookmark them to read later. Only three countries have been confirmed to receive News so far, but luckily the UK is one of them (along with the US and Australia).
Slide Over is another big new feature for iPad users, as a simple swipe in from the right will now let you run two apps side by side simultaneously. Even better, you can control both of them at the same time. To change which app you see in the sidebar, all you need to do is pull down on the slider and you'll be presented with all the different apps you currently have open, allowing you to easily switch between them on the fly. Like Splitscreen in OS X El Capitan, you can adjust the size of your respective app windows as well. Videos, meanwhile, appear as small pop-up windows which you can move around the screen and resize while looking at other apps.
Other minor tweaks include new and improved battery life (an iPhone 6 running iOS 9, for instance, should last another hour with average usage, according to Apple), while built-in apps will receive faster scrolling and smoother animations by taking advantage of Apple's Metal GPU technology. Likewise, iOS 9 will only take up a mere 1.3GB, making it much easier to install than iOS 8.
Developers can get iOS 9 now, while a public beta will open in July. As always, iOS 9 will be made available as a free upgrade later this autumn, but the good news is that no devices will be left behind this time, as Apple's promised to bring iOS 9 to all devices that support iOS 8.
