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Apple today seeded the third beta of iOS 9 to developers for testing purposes, just over two weeks after releasing the second beta and exactly a month after unveiling the new operating system at the 2015 Worldwide Developers Conference.
The update, build 13A4293f, is available through Apple's over-the-air updating system on iOS devices and is also available for download through the Apple Developer Center.
As promised by Eddy Cue last week, today's beta includes the updated Music app, allowing those running iOS 9 to access the new Apple Music service and the Beats 1 radio station. Today's beta also includes the new News app, a new two-factor authentication system, and more. For a full rundown of changes, make sure to check out our iOS 9 beta 3 tidbits post.
iOS 9 is Apple's newest operating system, focusing on intelligence and proactivity. It allows iOS devices to learn user habits and act on that information, providing recommendations on places we might like, apps we might like to use, and more. Siri is smarter in iOS 9, with the ability to create contextual reminders, and search is improved with new sources.
Many of the built in apps have been improved, including Notes, Maps, and Mail. Passbook has been renamed to Wallet, and iOS 9 introduces split-screen multitasking for the iPad along with a revamped keyboard. In addition to these consumer-facing features, iOS 9 brings significant under-the-hood performance improvements.
With battery optimizations, iOS devices have an additional hour of battery life, and a new Low Power Mode extends the battery even further. iOS updates take up less space in iOS 9, and many app install sizes are smaller due to a feature called app thinning. iOS 9 is capable of running on all devices that support iOS 8.
iOS 9 is currently only available to developers, but Apple plans to introduce a public iOS 9 beta in July before the final release of the software in the fall.
Top Rated Comments
Sorry. Somebody had to ask.
I am really surprised to see no mention on this site that the "Apple Music" section of iTunes on OSX, and the app for iOS was written in... Javascript (Ember).
This can be seen by monitoring the traffic from the apps downloading the Javascript, and also another big red flag is the square switch under account settings, which is not a native control, and also displays graphical glitches when animating.
I see how this may make it easier for a cross-platform application, but this should not be the solution for iOS/OSX.
- The energy usage on OSX was one of the top offenders while I was streaming music, and it's not that great on iOS, either.
- It's really an embarrassment when they ship an app using javascript, while at the same time they preach at WWDC how *important* it is to build quality, NATIVE apps, and you should *never* ship before it is ready.
Apple's biggest competitor, Spotify, has a fully native iOS application written in Objective-C, and the performance blows Apple's version out of the water.. how do they have an excuse for that? It sort of makes me sad to be an apple developer when they ship crap like this - you tell me your tools and platform are the best, yet do not use them your self?
I love Apple, but this needs to get fixed..
=(