After months of waiting and watching as sites like BGR showed you all the great new iOS 9 features you didn’t have access to yet, the time has finally arrived: iOS 9 has been released. The new OS is better, faster, more efficient and more capable than its predecessors, and you need to install it right away. Trust me — it’s so good it has me wondering why I still use Android.
We’ve already told you about the best new features in iOS 9, but there are plenty of nifty new additions that aren’t quite as obvious. So, in this post, we'll cover 15 great hidden features in Apple’s new iOS 9 software, and you'll definitely want to try them all.
DON'T MISS: iOS 9: The 9 best new features
Battery Widget
There’s a new widget available for the Notification Center’s Today view that will show you the remaining charge of your iPhone and any connected Apple Watch. Just scroll to the bottom of the Today pane and tap edit to add it.
Battery Usage Details
iOS 9 gives you access to a whole new dimension of information when it comes to determining which apps are hogging your battery life. Go to Settings > Battery and you'll see some great details under Battery Usage. Apps that use background refresh will be highlighted, and you can also tap the clock button at the top of the list to see exactly how long each app was sucking up your precious battery charge.
Quick Calling and Messaging
This is a great one — when you search for a contact using Spotlight (swipe down from the middle of any home screen or swipe right from your first home screen), you'll now see buttons to quickly call or message contacts without having to open the Phone or Contacts apps.
Disable Lowercase Keys
Do you want to disable one of the best new features on Apple’s new iOS 9 keyboard? Head to Settings > General > Accessibility > Keyboard and slide the toggle next to Show Lowercase Keys to off. Now you‘ll be back to the way things were in iOS 8, and you’ll have no idea when your shift key is on.
Mail Markup
In iOS 9’s new Mail app, you can draw on images that you attach to emails. Simply tap and hold on a photo after you’ve added it as an attachment, and select Markup.
Hide Multiple Naked Selfies at Once
iOS 8 lets you hide photos from prying eyes, but you have to do it one at a time. In iOS 9, you can finally hide all of your risque photos at once. In your camera roll, tap Select and choose all of the images you want to hide. Then tap the button in the bottom-left corner to open up the share sheet, and choose Hide.
Search in Settings
Just like Android, iOS is getting overwhelmed with dozens upon dozens of different settings. Beginning in iOS 9, however, there’s now a search bar at the top of the screen that let’s you quickly find what you’re looking for instead of having to dig through all of the subsections within Settings.
Stop Wallet From Opening on Your Lock Screen
By default, iOS 9 enables a new feature that lets you double-tap the home button on your lock screen to open Wallet. Of course, Apple Pay and other Wallet features appear on their own when you need them to, so this feature will be little more than an annoyance for many users. To disable it, go to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode and slide the toggle next to Wallet to off.
New View in Health
Open the Health app and tilt your phone to landscape. Trust us, it’s awesome.
