iOS 9 And Its Place In iOS History

Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference this year capitalized on a few fundamental improvements coming to the company's operating systems: experience and performance. The next version of both OS X and iOS will be spruced up with top-notch features to enhance usability as well as resource management, to get the most out of every Apple device. For iOS 9, these new features follow the big-picture pattern of iOS updates. Every three or so iOS X releases comes a game-changing rework of the operating system, with two lesser announced additions that build on the new face of iOS.

iOS 4.0, iOS's first facelift
[source]

Before iOS was what powered our iPhones and iPods, there was iPhone OS. iPhone OS along with the original iPhone were nothing short of groundbreaking. iPhone OS 2 & 3 steadily added features that today are taken for granted, such as the App Store and copy-&-paste. Then came iOS, version 4.0. Introduced with the modern-looking iPhone 4, iOS 4 changed almost every aspect of using a mobile Apple device. From visual changes such as the dock and background wallpapers, to system features like multitasking and over a thousand new developer APIs, iOS 4 was the first major milestone in Apple's mobile operating system's history. iOS 5 and 6, much like iPhone OS 2 and 3, steadily improved on iOS 4's overall style. iOS 5 introduced a notification center to go along with the new banner-type popup notifications, as well as Twitter integration. iOS 6 kept up on new features such as Siri, an all-new Maps app, and myriad of improvements.

iOS 7, the current modern look of iOS [source]

Then came iOS 7, and with it a complete system aesthetic overhaul. Gone were textures and realistic designs, replaced by "flat" gradients and flowing styles. Just as iOS 4 came two versions after the revolutionary iPhone OS 1, iOS 7 followed two of iOS 4's building blocks to again redefine iOS. New powerful features like the control center and enhanced multitasking gave power to the new aesthetic. The trend of incremental updates continued last year with iOS 8, which introduced only footnote features like third-party keyboards and notification center widgets.

Now, the second update after iOS 7 has been announced, iOS 9. Predictably, it includes only small features and enhancements. I'm most excited for the new Spotlight Search, which leverages Siri's insight and your daily habits to provide an intelligent search feature that people might consistently use. It also includes APIs so developers can add their app's search results right into the overall system results.

Other notable features include a low-power mode to stretch a low battery's life, plenty of powerful multitasking features for iPads, and rejuvenated stock apps like Notes and Wallet (previously Passbook).

Source for above images.

Overall, iOS 9 is following the incremental-iOS-update trend. While its new features will no doubt change how iPhones and iPads are used, larger updates have come before it, and will very likely come after.