With an easy-to-use interface, amazing features, and security at its core, iOS 9 is the foundation of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. It’s designed to look beautiful and work beautifully, so even the simplest tasks are more engaging. And because iOS 9 is engineered to take full advantage of the advanced technologies built into Apple hardware, your devices are always years ahead.
From the moment you pick up iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you know how to use it. That’s because iOS was designed to be easy to understand. The simple-yet-beautiful Home screen invites you to discover each of the built-in apps and features. So right away, you’re browsing your favorite websites, using search to find whatever you need, or effortlessly switching between apps. And no matter what you’re doing or what app you’re using, everything feels easy, intuitive, and even fun.
Because Apple makes both the hardware and the operating system for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, everything is designed to work together. So apps take full advantage of hardware features such as the dual-core processor, accelerated graphics, wireless antennas, and more. With multitasking, you can make the most of your big iPad display to work in two apps at once. iOS learns when you like to use your apps and updates the content in them at power-efficient times, like when your device is already in use and connected to Wi-Fi. So the content in your favorite apps stays up to date without a major drain on your battery.
iOS and an ever-expanding collection of features and built-in apps make iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch even more powerful, innovative, and a joy to use.
The Camera app makes it easy to take advantage of the advanced cameras in your iOS device. With just a swipe, you can switch between modes like panorama, time-lapse, and slo-mo. And on iPhone 6s and the new iPhone SE, you can take a Live Photo, turning moments into unforgettable memories. Adjust focus and exposure while you shoot, and change the look of your shots with creative filters and effects.
With the Photos app and iCloud Photo Library, every photo you take will now be available on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, on iCloud.com, and downloaded to your PC, ready to edit and share. And you can search for your favorite photos by time, location, and album, or browse by Collections and Moments — smart groupings of your photos and videos based on time and place.
When it comes to your music, this is home base. With an Apple Music membership, you get access to the always-growing Apple Music library. Add that to all the music you’ve collected from the iTunes Store and it’s like having nearly every song ever recorded ready to play, all in one place.
With a tap, you can make video calls or audio-only calls from your iPhone or iPad to someone else’s. Or make calls from your Mac to anyone on an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or another Mac. And you can do it over Wi-Fi or cellular networks. So you can be there, even when you’re not there.1
Siri is your personal assistant, letting you use your voice to send messages, search the web, get guidance on public transportation, and more. You can even ask Siri to search your photo library to find just the photo or video you’re looking for. And Siri works with HomeKit — so you can control products in your home, too.2
Wallet is the convenient place to keep things like your boarding passes, event tickets, and coupons, as well as all the cards you use with Apple Pay, including credit and debit cards. And soon you’ll be able to use store credit cards and reward cards with Apple Pay too.
Apple-designed from the ground up (and the sky down), this built-in app shows you incredible detail — even on full zoom. Maps keeps street names where they belong and keeps you heading in the right direction with spoken turn-by-turn navigation and real-time traffic updates. Now you can even navigate public transportation with the new Transit view.3
News collects stories from top sources just for you, all in one place. And the more you read, the more tailored to your interests your articles become. And publishers can create unique pieces complete with interactive galleries, videos, and animation — so it’s always a beautiful reading experience.
Health lets your activity tracker, heart rate monitor, and other health and fitness apps talk to each other. Which means they can work even harder for you. And all the information is accessible in one easy-to-read dashboard.4
Safari puts the focus where it should be: the web. When you open a web page, the address and navigation bars move out of the way until you need them. Bookmarks are easy to add and edit, and features like Reading List, Shared Links, and iCloud Tabs let you get to the content you need when you need it.5
With powerful new features, Mail helps you stay in touch with people in more engaging ways — all from your iOS device. Use the Markup feature to add drawings, comments, or a signature to photos and documents. And easily attach files right from your iCloud Drive.
Now more than just text, the redesigned Notes app lets you include photos, maps, web links, and checklists — even sketches you can draw with the tip of your finger. And with iCloud, you can share your notes across all your devices, so you can easily access them no matter which device you’re using.
Keep track of your busy schedule and share it with others using Calendar. Create separate calendars — one for home, another for school, a third for work, and so on. See all your calendars in a single window or choose to see only the calendars you want. Calendar works with iCloud, Yahoo, Google, and more. So every change you make on one device appears on all the others.
Download and read everything from classics to the latest page-turners. Add bookmarks and notes. Adjust the font size and background color for easier reading. Give your eyes a break with Audiobooks. And with iCloud, you can start reading a book on your iPhone and continue on your iPad, iPod touch, or Mac.
iOS is the platform for over a million and a half mobile apps — and counting.6 And every app starts with the right DNA. The App Store makes all of these apps easy to access, easy to search, and easy to buy. Just browse the App Store on your iOS device and download them with a tap.
Each of your devices puts amazing capabilities in your hands on its own. But features like Handoff, AirDrop, AirPlay, and iCloud let you work across devices — and the possibilities become even more astonishing.7
Start writing an email on your iPhone and pick up where you left off when you sit down at your Mac. Or browse the web on your Mac and continue from the same link on your iPad. It all happens automatically when your devices are signed in to the same iCloud account. Use Handoff with favorite apps like Mail, Safari, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Maps, Messages, Reminders, Calendar, and Contacts. Developers can build support for Handoff into their apps, too.
Sharing with AirDrop is faster and more convenient than an email or a text, especially when the person you want to share with isn’t in your contacts. Just tap to send photos, videos, contacts — and anything else from any app with a Share button — to anyone nearby who’s also running iOS or OS X.8
AirPlay lets you wirelessly stream what’s on your iOS device to your HDTV and speakers via Apple TV. Or mirror exactly what’s on your display to the big screen. From vacation photos to blockbuster movies — you choose how to go big.9
iCloud makes sure all your devices always have the latest versions of your most important things, including documents, photos, apps, contacts, calendar events, and more.10
iCloud Drive lets you access all your files from any device. With Family Sharing, all your photos, videos, music, and iTunes purchases can be shared easily with your family across multiple Apple devices. And iCloud Photo Library keeps every photo and video you take all in one place, and you can access them from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC and on iCloud.com.
iOS updates are free. And they’re available to download wirelessly on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch the moment they’re released. Your device even alerts you when it’s time to get the latest version. So you won’t miss out on all the amazing features in new updates.
iOS provides built-in security from the moment you turn on your device. That’s because the hardware, firmware, and operating system come with built-in features designed to help your device — and what you put on it — stay safe.
Malware and viruses aren’t confined to desktops anymore. They can infect mobile devices, too. Which is why Apple takes security seriously when it comes to iOS. For starters, hardware and firmware features are designed to protect against malware and viruses, while iOS features help to secure your personal information. iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan have built-in support for two-factor authentication which, when enrolled, prompts you for a verification code when you sign in from a new browser or on a new device.11 This code is automatically displayed on your other Apple devices or sent to your phone, so you can quickly gain access to your account, while unauthorized users are kept out. Touch ID lets you use your fingerprint as a passcode, preventing unauthorized access to your device. When you use a passcode, it automatically encrypts and protects information like your email, calendar events, contacts, reminders, notes, messages, and third-party apps.
iOS is designed to put your privacy first. If an app wants your location information or data from Calendar, Contacts, Reminders, or Photos, it needs your permission first. And you have complete control of how Health and HomeKit use your data. Conversations over iMessage and FaceTime are encrypted, including predictive text — so no one but you and the person you’re talking to can see or read what’s being said. And features built into Safari give you the ability to browse privately, block cookies, and prevent websites from tracking you.
Your iPhone is your iPhone, no matter where it is. The same goes for your iPad and iPod touch. Because security features in iOS make it very difficult for anyone who’s not you to use or sell your device. Turning off Find My iPhone or erasing your device requires your Apple ID and password. Find My iPhone can also continue to display a custom message, even after your device is erased. And your Apple ID and password are required before anyone can reactivate it.12
Most of the websites you visit nowadays require user names and passwords. Remembering them all can be tough, but you can let iCloud Keychain do it for you. It stores your website user names and passwords on the devices you’ve approved, protects them with robust 256-bit AES encryption, and keeps them up to date on each device. Then it automatically fills them in whenever and wherever you need them. Password Generator can even suggest unique, hard-to-guess passwords for your online accounts. iCloud Keychain works with credit card information too, so checking out takes no time at all.
iOS includes a variety of accessibility features that help people with disabilities experience more of what iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch have to offer.
The built-in VoiceOver screen reader allows those who are blind or have low vision to hear a description of the item they’re touching on the screen. Made for iPhone Hearing Aids are Bluetooth devices that allow you to experience clearer phone conversations and music, and you can manage them directly from your iOS device. With Guided Access, you can restrict an iOS device to one app, and even limit the amount of time spent in an app. Which can be helpful to people with autism or other attention and sensory challenges. And Switch Control gives individuals with limited physical or motor skills complete control of their device through switch access. iOS also offers many other beneficial accessibility features, such as dynamic screen magnification, playback of closed-captioned video, mono audio, simplified screen gestures, and more.