This New iOS 9 Feature Will Replace Your Boring Home Screen

We know much about the new iPhone 6s and it’s shiny newfangled operating system, iOS 9. Many improvements will be made to the already fantastic iPhone lineup, making the phones faster and smarter than ever before.

The great thing is, we no longer have to wait for the official release of iOS, or wait for the upcoming iPhone to get our hands on the latest features! Even older iPhones dating back to the iPhone 5 can get in on the action with the iOS 9 public beta release.

Here we will explain one of iOS 9’s greatest new features and how to get the public beta version.

One of the most useful new features within iOS 9 is Siri’s suggestion page. Similar to a feature already available on Android phones, Siri can now provide contextually based information and functions. This basically means that Siri will learn from your behaviors, and share with you what she thinks you’d like to do next.

Predictions ranging from what apps you’re most likely to use to which people you’d like to call or message next, are readily available at the top of the page. The suggestions page will essentially become the heart of the phone, only displaying the functions you like to use the most.

Even when you need to use an application that isn’t found on the suggestions page, using the home screen is still unnecessary. Rather than digging through folders looking for that application you rarely use, just type the name in the search bar.

The search bar is also capable of handling common problems like measurement conversion. Let’s say you’re cooking and the recipe calls for 1 quart of milk, but all you have is a pint container. Siri will let you know quickly that there are four pints in a quart, so you can get back to cooking.

The search bar doesn’t just stop at measurements, however. iOS 9 will now allow the user to search deeply within apps, bringing up information from the internet and any nook and cranny of your iPhone’s memory bank. For example, searching for sushi might bring up a list of great sushi restaurants near you found using your Yelp application. Apple showed off this feature with our favorite vegetable, the versatile potato, generating recipe results from within the Yummly app.

There many other great features that will be included in iOS 9 that make the newest operating system worth a download. One of the greatest improvements in iOS 9 is the increase in battery life. Apple claims the operating system alone will improve your iPhone’s battery life by one entire hour. Even better yet, iOS 9 deploys the new “low power mode” which will maximize your iPhone’s efficiency increasing the battery life by another three hours.

Remember there is some risk associated with installing iOS Beta Software. The risk is minimal, however you might notice some instability within the operating system. Also, some users will report lower battery life when using a beta version of iOS. Initially there was some battery drain with iOS 9 public beta version 1, however it seems that Apple has fixed the issue in iOS 9 beta 3.

If you’re impatient like me, you’re probably not willing to wait for the official version of iOS 9 to be released to get your hands on the latest and greatest features. Signing up for the iOS Beta Testing Program is super simple and can be done in only a few steps.

1. Back up your iPhone to your computer, just incase something were to go wrong.
2. Use your iPhone to go to beta.apple.com/profile and log in with your Apple ID.
3. Click “enroll your iOS device.”
4. Download your beta profile by pressing the blue button found in step 2.
5. On the iOS 9 beta software profile screen, tap install.
6. Enter your passcode, and install, and then install again.
7. Confirm to restart your phone.
8. Unlock your phone and tap on the Settings app.
9. Tap General.
10. Tap Software Update.
11. Download and install.

The update is rather large coming in at 1.5 GB. It will take some time to download and install, so be patient. My install actually failed the first time, but worked perfectly the second time around.

I’m really enjoying the improvements that come with the public beta verison of iOS 9. Between Siri’s intelligent and proactive suggestions to the major increase in battery life, iOS 9 is turning out to be an impressive update. Expect the official version of iOS 9 in the near future.

What do you think of iOS 9?
Did you install the public beta or are you waiting for the official release?
Are there any other features that you feel iOS 9 should have incorporated?
Let us know in the comments below!