iOS 9 comes with a number of new features and enhancements like a brand new News App, improved Apple Pay, transit direction in Apple Maps, and more. Sadly though, all these features will not be available on every iOS device out there or in all regions across the world.
Below, we list down some of the major features in iOS 9 that will only be available in certain regions or on certain iOS devices out there.
Apple News
With iOS 9, Apple is introducing Apple News, a cloud-based aggregator that aggregates content of your interest from multiple sources and different publications. The app stripes down the content from any ad and shows them in a beautiful editorial view for easier readability.
However, not everyone running iOS 9 will be able to enjoy iOS 9, since the service is only available in the United States for now.
Transit direction in Apple Maps
Apple has given its mapping service, Apple Maps, a huge usability boost in iOS 9 by adding support for public transit information and Nearby — a feature that automatically recommends shops, cafes, and other popular places near you.
However, the public transit direction feature of Apple Maps is only available at a handful of countries for now, which includes:
- Baltimore
- Berlin
- Chicago
- London
- Mexico city
- New York
- Philadelphia
- San Francisco
- Toronto
- Washington, D.C.
- Plus, 300 cities in China
It is a given that Apple will expand transit directions to more regions in the world, but for now, only iOS users in the above cities will be able to enjoy it.
Content Blocking in Safari
With iOS 9, Apple is making content blocking mainstream. With ads taking over content on most websites, this move from the company does make sense, though it will definitely hurt the earnings of web publishers out there.
While content blocking is available in all regions across the globe, it can only be used on the following iOS devices:
- iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6s Plus
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPhone 5s
- iPad Pri
- iPad Air 2
- iPad Air
- iPad mini 2
- iPad mini 3
- iPad mini 4
- iPod touch 6
Split View
Split View is one of the key new features in iOS 9 meant specifically for the iPads. The feature makes it possible to run two apps side-by-side on the iPads — something that pro users have been asking Apple for a long time. Apple has managed to nail Split View perfectly in iOS 9 and it is even possible to freely copy/paste data between two apps on the screen, which further improves the usability experience.
Sadly, Split View is only available on the iPad Air 2, likely because it requires a lot of RAM and a powerful processor to run the apps side-by-side.
Slide Over
Slide Over is another new multitasking related feature that Apple has introduced in iOS 9. The feature is similar to Split View, though here the secondary app runs as an overlay on top of an existing app. While using the second app, the primary app is frozen to save resources and battery life. Unlike Split View, Slide Over is available for a larger number of iPads out there. This includes:
- iPad Pro
- iPad Air 2
- iPad Air
- iPad mini 4
- iPad mini 3
- iPad mini 2
Low Power mode
Apple has introduced a new low power mode in iOS 9 that helps in further extending the battery life of your device when the battery gets low. It does so by turning off features like mail fetch, background app refresh, motion effects and animations.
This new feature is only available on the iPhone though. Considering that battery life is not really an issue on the iPad, this does make sense.
Apple says that low power mode can extend the battery life of your iPhone by another three hours, which might not sound like much, but can come in handy when your iPhone is low on charge and you are not going to be near a charger for at least a few more hours. You can read more about Low Power mode in iOS 9 here.
Are you bummed that a certain iOS 9 feature is not available in your region or iOS device? If so, drop in a comment below and let us know which one it is.
