With iOS 9, Apple will apparently focus on delivering a more solid, optimised user experience, reportedly eschewing the usual raft of new features in favour of beefing up the existing framework and squashing bugs. We reckon it’s a great strategy and here’s why…
Apple has endeavored to cram plenty of cool new features into each of its major iOS releases in recent years, in a bid to stay in line with the looming shadow of Google’s Android, which has gone from strength to strength.
But the addition of so many new features appears to have hit Apple’s OS where it hurts, impacting the platform’s stability. After all, iOS 8 was a target of frustration for many Apple fans thanks to various issues and bugs, which eventually led to iOS 8.1 being swiftly replaced. As a result, Apple’s engineers have reportedly been told that stabilisation and optimisation are the key focus of the next iOS release.
iOS 9, which is codenamed Monarch, will most likely boast a few new features, but optimisation of the operating system is Apple’s priority. According to 9to5Mac, those working on the update are putting a “huge” focus on squashing bugs, which have been a real pain since iOS 8 rolled out.
Effort is also being expended on getting the size of iOS down, given that so many Apple users have the most basic 16GB devices with no expandable memory. We’re sure that most iPhone owners have enjoyed the customary “Oh crap, I’ve got to delete half of my apps just to install this update,” moment at least once. And that’s also good news for anyone who tries updating their handset as soon as a new version of the OS rolls out, a task which often takes hours thanks to the enormous downloads.
Apple’s decision to consolidate rather than build ever upwards is one which could pay rich dividends for Cupertino. When the company did the same with OS X, the release was lauded as a huge improvement, while the addition of improved battery life and performance is something which will always go down well.
iOS 9 will be unveiled at Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference, which is expected to take place in June 2015. But, as is often the case, the update isn’t likely to begin hitting devices until the Autumn.
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