General iOS 9 feature compatibility on devices.

[George Waseem]

iOS 9 will support
iPhone 4S
iPhone 5
iPhone 5C
iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
iPhone 6 +
iPhone 6S
iPhone 6S +
iPod touch 5
iPod touch 6
iPad 2
iPad 3
iPad mini
iPad 4 (Retina)
iPad mini 2 (Retina)
iPad Air
iPad Air 2
iPad mini 3
iPad mini 4
iPad Pro

IOS 9 will have a lot of new features including :

1. New news app (Replaces Newsstand) - supported on all devices
2. Multitasking for iPad -
A. Slide over - iPad Air / Air 2 / Mini 4 / Mini 3 / Mini 2 / Pro
B. Split view - iPad Air 2 / Mini 4 / Pro
C. Picture in Picture (PIP) - iPad Air / Air 2 / Mini 4 / Mini 3 / Mini 2 / Pro

3. Proactive Assistant
iPhone 5
iPhone 5C
iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
iPhone 6+
iPhone 6S
iPhone 6S+
iPad 4 (Retina)
iPad mini 2 (Retina)
iPad mini 3
iPad Air
iPad Air 2
iPad mini 4
iPad Pro
iPod touch 6
( A5 devices like iPhone 4S, iPod touch 5, iPad mini, iPad 2, iPad 3 are not supported)

4. 6 digit passcodes - supported on all devices

5. Low battery mode - iPhones only (no iPads and iPods are supported)

6. San Francisco font - all devices

7. Notes app improvements - all devices, Sketch :

iPad 4 and later
iPad mini 2 and later
iPhone 5 and later
iPod touch 6

8. Handoff apps would be displayed in the app switcher
Handoff and Continuity are supported on :

iPhone 5
iPhone 5C.
iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
iPhone 6 +
iPhone 6S
iPhone 6S +
iPad mini
iPad 4
iPad Air
iPad Air 2
iPad mini 2
iPad mini 3
iPad mini 4
iPad Pro
iPod touch 5
iPod touch 6

9. CarPlay now pairs with Bluetooth and USB
CarPlay is supported on :
iPhone 5
iPhone 5C
iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
iPhone 6 +
iPhone 6S
iPhone 6S +
iPod touch 6

10. iPad keyboard shortcuts - iPad 2 and later, iPad mini and later.

11. iPad folders new 4x4 interface - iPad 2 and later, iPad mini and later.

12. Siri new interface
Siri is supported on :

iPhone 4S
iPhone 5
iPhone 5C
iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
iPhone 6 +
iPhone 6S
iPhone 6S +
iPad mini
iPad 3
iPad 4 (Retina)
iPad Air
iPad Air 2
iPad mini 2
iPad mini 3
iPad mini 4
iPad Pro
iPod touch 5
iPod touch 6

13. Improved performance On :
iPad 2
iPad 3
iPad 4
iPad Air (iOS 9.3)
iPad mini
iPad mini 2 (iOS 9.3)


14. Photos -
A. Added preview scrubber bar to photo viewer.
Supported on all devices
Except : iPod touch 5 which is getting it in next betas
B. New Selfies folder in Photos
C. New folder for screenshots in Photos.

15. Safari Content blocker
Needs 64 but architecture to work
Supported only on :
iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
iPhone 6+
iPhone 6S
iPhone 6S+
iPad mini 2
iPad Air 1
iPad mini 3
iPad Air 2
iPad mini 4
iPad Pro
iPod touch 6

16. Maps - New Transit
Supported only on :
iPhone 5
iPhone 5C
iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
iPhone 6+
iPhone 6S
iPhone 6S +
iPad 4
iPad Air
iPad Air 2
iPad mini 2
iPad mini 3
iPad mini 4
iPad Pro
iPod touch 6

17. Size of update minimized
Apple says that the update size would be minimized from 4.5 GB (iOS 8) to 1.3 GB (iOS 9), but the size would vary from device to device.

Actual update size :
1.1 GB - iPad Air 2 / iPhone 6 / 6+
1.0 GB - iPad Air / iPhone 5S / iPod touch 6
980 MB - iPad mini 2
950 to 1 GB - iPad 4 / iPhone 5 / 5C
800 MB - iPad mini / iPad 3 / iPhone 4S
700 MB to 800 MB - iPad 2

18. Night shift (iOS 9.3) New!
Supported only on :
iPad Air
iPad Air 2
iPad mini 2
iPad mini 3
iPad mini 4
iPad Pro
iPhone 5s
iPhone 6
iPhone 6 Plus
iPhone 6s
iPhone 6s Plus
iPod touch 6

19. Notes - Protection and security. (iOS 9.3)
Passcode : supported on all devices.
Touch ID : supported on iPhone 5s and later, iPad Air 2, iPad Pro, iPad mini 3 and later.

20. New Health up (updated look & content) : available on all iPhones and iPods.

21. Improved Quick Actions for 3D Touch for iPhone 6S/6S+ including a set of new options when force touching AppStore, iTunes Store, compass, clock, settings and weather. (iOS 9.3)

22. Siri - new languages.
Arabic - iOS 9.2
Finnish (Finland), Malay (Malaysia) - iOS 9.3

23. Improvents to Wallet
Lower brightness and option to open an app that's linked to a pass or credit card. (iOS 9.3)


24. Watch, pair with more than one Apple Watch (iOS 9.3)

25. Education "iPad" (iOS 9.3) includes shared iPads features for students, a new Classroom app, also improved Apple ID management features.

26. New News (iOS 9.3)
More personalised content based upon person's interest. New trending topics in For You section. A new landscape mode for iPhone has been also added. It's also said to be faster in loading topics for faster and improved usability and personal experience.

27. New Health (iOS 9.3)
Links to apps users can download to display health data on the dashboard. Activity features from Apple Watch are now displayed on the dashboard too.

28. CarPlay improvements (iOS 9.3), support for 2016/2017 car models and the US and some other countries, improvements to Apple Music, Improved maps with suggested places or Nearby.

29. Improvements to App switcher when using 3D Touch for iPhone 6S/6S+ (iOS 9.3) Includes peeking into the app switcher when less force is applied and popping into the switcher when applying more force on the touch screen.

- Performance
1. iPad
~ iPad 2 doesn't get any of the special features, it gets general features that exist when updating to any new version of iOS and some good performance enhancements for more usability. ***
~ iPad 3 got some enhancements to the performance, and design tweaks to Siri *
~ iPad mini got Performance enhancements but still didn't reach how it was with iOS 7. *
~ iPad 4 got animation & performance enhancements in addition to new proactive assistant and transit features, performance improved with iOS 9.2 *
~ iPad Air got slide over multitasking and the performance has improved with iOS 9.3*
~ iPad Air 2 got the multitasking split view features, performance is the same with some bugs that are fixed with iOS 9.2 and 9.3*
~ iPad mini 2 got some enhancements to performance and animations and the new slide over. *
~ iPad mini 3 got new multitasking features, performance is same as iPad mini 2.*

2. iPhone
~ iPhone 4S got the general new features that come with every iOS update. ***
~ iPhone 5 got some animation improvements, the new Bluetooth CarPlay toggle in settings, the new proactive assistant and the low power mode. *
~ iPhone 5C got enhancements to performance and new proactive assistant and rest of the features that are there with iPhone 5 iOS 9 update. *
~ iPhone 5S got a new secure 6 digit passcode to protect the data on iPhone and performance enhancements with iOS 9.3 **
~ iPhone 6 and 6 Plus got the same features that are given to the iPhone 5S with the iOS 9 update with new wallet app for making Apple Pay purchases. *

3. iPod
~ iPod touch 5 - got performance enhancements, some bugs are still found.
~ iPod touch 6 - newer improvements after upgrading, performance enhancements

* Features above could not only exist in one iDevice but many other iDevices.
** iPhone 5S new passcode features are present in all iOS 9 devices.
*** General system tweaks means that there small updates that come with every iOS 9 device.

- Performance on a scale

Scale :

1-3 Bad
4-6 OK
7 Good
8-9 Very Good
10 Perfect

1. iPhone
A. iPhone 4S (6/10)
B. iPhone 5 (8/10)
C. iPhone 5C (8/10)
D. iPhone 5S (9/10)
E. iPhone 6/6+ (9/10)
F. iPhone 6S/6S+ (10/10)

2. iPad
A. iPad 2 (7/10)
B. iPad 3 (7/10)
C. iPad mini (7/10)
D. iPad mini 2 (8/10)
E. iPad 4 (8/10)
F. iPad Air (8/10)
G. iPad mini 3 (8/10)
H. iPad Air 2 (9/10)
I. iPad Pro (10/10)

3. iPod touch
A. iPod touch 5 (7/10)
B. iPod touch 6 (9/10)
_______________________________________________________________________________

Advice : if you have an iPhone 4S / iPhone 5 / iPhone 5C, sign up for the public beta to try new updates to iOS 9 first before upgrading, as some users experience slow performance on iPhone 4S and minor animation bugs on iPhone 5 and iPhone 5C.

If you have an iPhone 5S, think well and watch iOS 9 reviews on YouTube before you upgrade. You can also try it your self by signing up for the public beta.

If you have an iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad mini, you should upgrade as soon as it's live in September as it enhances the performance and will improve preformance up to an acceptable level.

If you have an iPad 4, the update will totally improve the animations and will minimise lag and stutter, it's is good to update especially if you are on iOS 8.


If you have an iPad Air, iPad mini 2, sign up for the public beta to try them first before upgrading, as some users experience lagging and bad animations on those devices.

If you have an iPod touch 5, the performance will stay the same after upgrading to iOS 9 and most of the features do not support iPod, so it's good to watch reviews before update to know if you are going to upgrade as well cause there maybe little bugs.

If you have an iPod touch 6, the performance will improve, newer features that iOS 9 offers would be added.

Before you upgrade to iOS 9, think about its Pros and Cons and also think about the Pros and Cons of the system version you are on (iOS 8, iOS 7, iOS 6)

If you like Newsstand, stick with iOS 8 or earlier as its replaced by the new News app, which could be annoying for some users who used Newsstand for many years.

Information is subject to change.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask any questions in the comment bar

iOS 9.3 and 9.2 additional features updated.

 

[LordQ]

Thanks for this thread, Craig Federighi.

 

[hanser]

Thanks for the helpful summary.

 

[George Waseem]

You are welcome, stay tuned for more posts

 

[batting1000]

I'm glad he identified himself as an apple developer at the end of his post. Whew.

 

[George Waseem]

Thanks for this thread, Craig Federighi.

You are welcome, stay tuned for more posts.

 

[danleon950410]

Thank you very much. I love this thread! This is exactly what i needed!

 

[George Waseem]

Thank you very much. I love this thread! This is exactly what i needed!

You are most welcome, stay tuned for more posts.

 

[Hustler1337]

Nice useful post. Maybe indent the devices/subsections for easier readability?

 

[chekz0414]

iPhone 4s doesn't get the Notes improvements, and iPod doesn't get Low Power Mode as it lacks battery percentage.

 

[0000757]

Thanks for this thread, Craig Federighi.

I'm glad he identified himself as an apple developer at the end of his post. Whew.

This can be really useful for a lot of people...

 

[George Waseem]

iPhone 4s doesn't get the Notes improvements, and iPod doesn't get Low Power Mode as it lacks battery percentage.

Thanks a lot. actually the iPod touch features are said to be released soon in next betas. I'll edit the post

 

[ithinkwithportals]

The new search page is shown as being available for the iPod Touch in the Tips app, but as of yet seems to be completely unavailable in the Public Beta. Is this a mistake in the contents of Tips, or is this feature coming to a later Public Beta for the iPod Touch? I'd be interested to see what the answer to this is...

 

[George Waseem]

The new search page is shown as being available for the iPod Touch in the Tips app, but as of yet seems to be completely unavailable in the Public Beta. Is this a mistake in the contents of Tips, or is this feature coming to a later Public Beta for the iPod Touch? I'd be interested to see what the answer to this is...

The proactivity feature will not be available on the A5 devices including iPod touch 5 / iPad 2 / iPad mini / iPad 3, they only get the same iOS 8 search (which is sliding from the top) but with a new look, so maybe it's just a publishing mistake by apple. But actually it was said that many features like the photo scrubber and the notes sketch features are missing during the beta and may exist in next betas.

 

[George Waseem]

Nice useful post. Maybe indent the devices/subsections for easier readability?

Sure, thanks for the good idea, stay tuned for more posts.

 

[stusgt67]

3. Proactive Assistant
iPhone 5
iPhone 5C
iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
iPhone 6+
iPad 4 (Retina)
iPad mini 2 (Retina)
iPad mini 3
iPad Air
iPad Air 2
( A5 devices like iPhone 4S, iPod touch 5, iPad mini, iPad 2, iPad 3 are not supported)

Just wanted to ask, where's the source for this information? I don't remember Apple saying anything about this in the Keynote and I can't find a compatibility list for this feature on their site. I'm read mixed things about this.

I was hoping to try Proactive on the iPad 3 but I guess I'll have to wait until the iOS 9 GM to install it on the iPhone 6 Plus.

 

[0003462]

Thanks a lot. actually the iPod touch features are said to be released soon in next betas. I'll edit the post

iPhone 4s doesn't get the Notes improvements, and iPod doesn't get Low Power Mode as it lacks battery percentage.

Also, iPad mini doesn't get drawing within Notes but it gets the other improvements.

 

[Paddle1]

iPhone 4s doesn't get the Notes improvements, and iPod doesn't get Low Power Mode as it lacks battery percentage.

This is incorrect, the iPhone 4s gets all Notes improvements except the ability to draw.

 

[stusgt67]

iOS 9 will support
iPhone 4S
iPhone 5
iPhone 5C
iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
iPhone 6 +
iPod touch 5
iPad 2
iPad 3
iPad mini
iPad 4 (Retina)
iPad mini 2 (Retina)
iPad Air
iPad mini 3
iPad Air 2

IOS 9 will have a lot of new features including :

1. New news app (Replaces Newsstand) - supported on all devices
2. Multitasking for iPad -
A. Slide over - iPad Air / Air 2 / Mini 3 / Mini 2
B. Split view - iPad Air 2 only
C. Picture in Picture (PIP) - iPad Air / Air 2 / Mini 3 / Mini 2

3. Proactive Assistant
iPhone 5
iPhone 5C
iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
iPhone 6+
iPad 4 (Retina)
iPad mini 2 (Retina)
iPad mini 3
iPad Air
iPad Air 2
( A5 devices like iPhone 4S, iPod touch 5, iPad mini, iPad 2, iPad 3 are not supported)

4. 6 digit passcodes - supported on all devices
5. Low battery mode - all iPhones (no iPads and iPods are supported)
6. San Francisco font - all devices
7. Notes app improvements - all devices
8. Handoff apps would be displayed in the app switcher
Handoff and Continuity are supported on :

iPhone 5
iPhone 5C.
iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
iPhone 6 +
iPad mini
iPad 4 (Retina)
iPad Air
iPad Air 2
iPad mini 2 (Retina)
iPad mini 3

9. CarPlay now pairs with Bluetooth and USB
CarPlay is supported on :
iPhone 5
iPhone 5C
iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
iPhone 6 +

10. iPad keyboard tweaks - all iPads
11. iPad folders new 4x4 interface - all iPads
12. Siri new interface
Siri is supported on :

iPhone 4S
iPhone 5
iPhone 5C
iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
iPhone 6 +
iPad mini
iPad 3
iPad 4 (Retina)
iPad Air
iPad Air 2
iPad mini 2
iPad mini 3

13. Improved performance On :
iPad 2
iPad 3
iPad mini
iPad mini 2

14. Photos -
A. Added preview scrubber bar to photo viewer.
Supported on all devices
Except : iPod touch 5 which is getting it in next betas
B. New Selfies folder in Photos
C. New folder for screenshots in Photos.

15. Size of update minimized
Apple says that the update size would be minimized from 4.5 GB (iOS 8) to 1.3 GB (iOS 9), but the size would vary from device to device

In my opinion :
1.3 GB - iPad Air 2 / iPhone 6 / 6+
1.2 GB - iPad Air / iPhone 5S
1.1 GB - iPad mini 2 /
1.0 GB - iPad 4 / iPhone 5 / 5C
800 - 900 MB - iPad mini
700 - 800 MB - iPad 3 / iPhone 4S
600 - 700 MB - iPad 2

- Performance
1. iPad
~ iPad 2 doesn't get any of the special features, it gets general features that exist when updating to any new version of iOS plus some good performance enhancements that give the iPad 2 a new life. ***
~ iPad 3 got some enhancements to the performance, and design tweaks to Siri *
~ iPad mini got Performance enhancements and better look with transparent view. *
~ iPad 4 got animation enhancements in addition to new proactive assistant. *
~ iPad Air got multitasking features and the performance went down a small bit. *
~ iPad Air 2 got the multitasking split view features and the outstanding performance stays the same.*
~ iPad mini 2 got little enhancements to performance and animations and the new multitasking. *
~ iPad mini 3 got new multitasking features while the good performance stays the same.*

2. iPhone
~ iPhone 4S got the general new features that come with every iOS update. ***
~ iPhone 5 got some animation improvements, the new Bluetooth CarPlay toggle in settings, the new proactive assistant and the low power mode. *
~ iPhone 5C got enhancements to performance and new proactive assistant and rest of the features that are there with iPhone 5 iOS 9 update. *
~ iPhone 5S got a new secure 6 digit passcode to protect the data on iPhone and performance enhancements. **
~ iPhone 6 and 6 Plus got the same features that are given to the iPhone 5S with the iOS 9 update. *

3. iPod
~ iPod touch 5 - got performance enhancements, some of the features are missing in the earlier betas.

* Features above could not only exist in one iDevice but many other iDevices.
** iPhone 5S new passcode features are present in all iOS 9 devices.
*** General system tweaks means that there small updates that come with every iOS 9 device.

- Performance on a scale

Scale :

1-3 Bad
4-6 OK
7 Good
8-9 Very Good
10 Perfect

1. iPhone
A. iPhone 4S (5/10)
B. iPhone 5 (8/10)
C. iPhone 5C (8/10)
D. iPhone 5S (9/10)
E. iPhone 6/6+ (9/10)

2. iPad
A. iPad 2 (7/10)
B. iPad 3 (7/10)
C. iPad mini (7/10)
D. iPad mini 2 (8/10)
E. iPad 4 (8/10)
F. iPad Air (8/10)
G. iPad mini 3 (9/10)
H. iPad Air 2 (10/10)

3. iPod touch
A. iPod touch 5 (7/10)

_______________________________________________________________________________

Advice : if you have an iPhone 4S / iPhone 5 / iPhone 5C, sign up for the public beta to try them first before upgrading, as some users experience slow performance on iPhone 4S and minor animation bugs on iPhone 5 and iPhone 5C.

If you have an iPhone 5S, think well and watch iOS 9 reviews on YouTube before you upgrade. You can also try it your self by signing up for the public beta.

If you have an iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad mini, you should upgrade as soon as it's live in September as it enhances the performance and will give a new life to those iPads.

If you have an iPad 4, iPad Air, iPad mini 2, sign up for the public beta to try them first before upgrading, as some users experience lagging and bad animations on those devices.

If you have an iPod touch 5, the performance will stay the same after upgrading to iOS 9 and most of the features do not support iPod, so it's good to watch reviews before update to know if you are going to upgrade as well cause there maybe little bugs.

Before you upgrade to iOS 9, think about its Pros and Cons and also think about the Pros and Cons of the system version you are on (iOS 8, iOS 7, iOS 6)

If you like Newsstand, stick with iOS 8 or earlier as its replaced by the new News app, which could be annoying for some users who used Newsstand for many years.

Information is subject to change.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask any questions in the comment bar

George Waseem
Apple Developer

Can we sticky this thread? Sorry just noticed you're an Apple Developer

 

[elgatonl]

Also, iPad mini doesn't get drawing within Notes but it gets the other improvements.

Yeah I've noticed the iPad mini (1) doesn't get drawing in Notes, but does get the other improvements. whats up with that?

 

[oldmacs]

Is performance truly improved for A5 iPads? I've read mixed reports....

 

[George Waseem]

Just wanted to ask, where's the source for this information? I don't remember Apple saying anything about this in the Keynote and I can't find a compatibility list for this feature on their site. I'm read mixed things about this.

I was hoping to try Proactive on the iPad 3 but I guess I'll have to wait until the iOS 9 GM to install it on the iPhone 6 Plus.

I've read alot of posts and I tried some devices my self, In my opinion proactive is not that cool.

 

[George Waseem]

O

Is performance truly improved for A5 iPads? I've read mixed reports....

I tried it on the iPad mini, it feels little better but still some lag as its a beta.

 

[0003462]

Is performance truly improved for A5 iPads? I've read mixed reports....

My mini feels good. The 'keyboard-as-trackpad' feature is remarkably smooth: I thought that would be problematic.

I'd say my mini is smoother and more finished than it was on iOS 8.4, except for the obvious beta bugs and UI glitches.

 

[C DM]

Is performance truly improved for A5 iPads? I've read mixed reports....

Might be hard to make a good call on it until the final version.