10 Reasons Why It’s a Good Idea to Download iOS 9

Many iPhone and iPad users are wondering whether they should download Apple’s new iOS 9. Here are 10 reasons why they should download it now.

For the enterprise especially, improved battery performance in iOS 9 could be a major benefit. According to Apple, iOS 9 has been optimized to take advantage of battery resources and promises an extra hour of battery life over iOS 8. For heavy travelers, that alone could be enough to warrant the operating system’s adoption.

There’s really nothing to lose with adopting iOS 9. The operating system is available for free and although it’s a bit difficult, it’s not impossible for users to go back to iOS 8 if they don’t like the upgrade. If Apple were offering the upgrade for a price, adoption rates would likely be lower. But since it’s free, the risk is all but non-existent.

According to data from Crittercism, a mobile app intelligence provider, developers are currently seeing a crash rate of just 2.8 percent in iOS 9. That figure is notably better than the 3.5 percent crash rate iOS 8 had during the same point in its life cycle. Over time, that crash rate will only improve, which means the risks of actually having issues with the operating system are very low.

Current Apple mobile device owners who are considering a new iPad or iPhone 6s might want to download iOS 9 to their older models to get familiar with the operating system. After all, when those devices launch, Apple will bundle iOS 9 with them, requiring users to run the operating system. Getting used to its features will help make the move to new hardware much easier.

While the leap from iOS 7 to iOS 8 was a major one that included a host of changes, the jump to iOS 9 is not so great. In fact, the operating system looks nearly identical to its predecessor, and the vast majority of improvements were made under the hood. Think of iOS 9 as iOS 8, but with better features and enhanced performance. There’s not much more to it.

News could be a way for Apple to get people to iOS 9. The application is a new addition that allows users to curate topics from reputable publications that they care most about. News is very similar to Flipboard, a social content aggregation app, but it’s Apple’s home-grown app and has already signed on several prominent content providers. Look for News to be a popular option for those who are actively seeking better ways to follow the news around the world.

Siri has received a meaningful upgrade in iOS 9. The platform now allows users to ask Siri more questions, thanks to her searching more places for answers. Siri is also more self-aware, providing users with relevant updates when they get to certain locations. Since Siri is reputed to be much more capable than she was in iOS 8, this digital assistant app could help persuade more people to download the operating system.

Apple’s iOS 9 seems like an obvious choice for iPad owners. The operating system has, in several ways, been optimized for the iPad. For instance, iOS 9 allows users to view multiple apps at once with a split-screen feature. The platform also includes better support for keyboards, providing more keys to users when they’re typing. Apple’s iOS 9 has added many improvements that iPad owners will not want to miss.

One of the big complaints about iOS 8 was that it took up too much capacity on the storage drives built into iPhones and iPads. Apple has addressed that problem in iOS 9 by significantly reducing the operating system’s size. Whereas iOS 8 took up nearly 4.6GB of storage space, iOS 9 will account for a mere 1.3GB of space.

Security has long been a concern for the enterprise, and any company that wants the best security in iOS devices will need to download iOS 9 sooner rather than later. According to Apple, it has made a series of security improvements under the hood, but has also added some features users will see. For one, the default for passcodes is now six digits instead of four. Apple has also added two-factor authentication and optimized the operating system to work with the second-generation Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Apple’s iOS 9 won’t be impregnable, but it will be tougher than iOS 8.