Every September Apple shows off its latest and greatest in terms of updates and upgrades at their Apple Event. Don’t anticipate being one of the many in line eager to receive the new iPad Pro or the iPhone 6s/6s Plus? You can still upgrade your current device running iOS 8 or OS-Yosemite operating systems to experience the new improvements. The team at Compulite goes beyond providing IT Support and presents you with the most recent buzz on what consumers can expect from the latest in Apple’s operating systems.
OS X El Capitan
OS X El Capitan is the latest Mac operating system available for a free upgrade and install. To see “what makes a Mac a Mac” users will need to upgrade and install the new operating system for free starting September 30th. Building on features previously introduced in OS X Yosemite, El Capitan will have your Mac running faster and more efficient. Users will notice the following key changes in their experience and performance:
Mail Management
- Easily manage meetings or appointments with one click. With Smart Suggestions, your e-mail can now recognize names, and events allowing you to quickly add them to your contacts or calendar.
Mission Control
- The quickest way to view all open windows. The improvements made to this windows management feature, will organize everything you have open on your Mac without stacking or hiding what you are looking for.
Spotlight
- Searching has gotten smarter in this update. Use Spotlight with your natural language and get results for weather, sports, stocks, video and transit information. Typing “Documents from April” or “E-mails from last week” will highlight the enhancements made in this tool.
Notes Management
- The note management feature can now create a checklist from a previously unformatted list. With the help of iCloud your notes will be synced across all devices. Enhance your notes by adding photos, a URL, map or video to your comments.
Changes to Safari
- Pin your favorite site to the tab bar; giving you easy access to your favorite sites.
- Use AirPlay to view videos from a web page to your Apple TV without showing your whole desktop to the viewing audience.
- Easily tune out a tab or all tabs so those pesky videos that run automatically are muted.
Metal for Mac
- The new graphics technology will have gamers loving its effect. Faster and more fluid graphics in games and apps will make the user experience much smoother.
User Interface
- Improvements made to Mac’s language predication engine will better anticipate the words you’ll type next. Mac has updated its vocabulary lists, and improved its track pad handwriting tool- giving users more room to write multiple characters in a row.
- Its split-screen view will make working with multiple apps at the same time more convenient. You will no longer have to manually re-size and drag windows around. You’ll be able to use this view and others like it with your iPad as well. If your multitasking efforts cause you to lose your cursor, you can now shake your finger on the track pad or give the mouse a shake and your cursor gets bigger to easily locate it.
iOS9
On September 16th, iOS9 became free for consumers to download and install. With a heavy emphasis made on improving its intelligence and productivity, you may notice that upgrading to either of these operating systems have sped up the performance of your devices. Below we have compiled the other advancements you’ll notice about the newest mobile operating system:
Siri
- Your home screen will now make proactive suggestions (think Google Now). It can predict what apps you’ll want to use next, people you might want to talk to or places of interest based on your behavior and time of day. Plug in your headphones and the music app will automatically open to your favorite playlist, or set your device to automatically open the weather app once your alarm clock goes off.
- Siri has stronger contextual awareness this time around. She is also more aware of location, and can perform deeper, time-based searches. These enhancements will enable Siri to give context to random numbers that call you by searching your emails to see if an unknown number calling you matches anything in your e-mail correspondence.
User Interface
- Selecting content, cut and paste capabilities and moving your cursor will now be easier on both your phone and iPad with the new two finger swipe gesture.
- A noticeable difference in the system font is apparent with the new “San Francisco” typeface.
- On your iPad you will have three options to help multitask:
- Slide Over- brings in second app from the side to answer a text, or write a quick note then slide it away.
- Picture in Picture- puts videos or face time calls in the corner while you use another application.
- Split View- side by side view, provides the ability to have two apps active at the same time with full multi-touch support.
Applications
- Notes: Siri can remind you about items created in your notes. You can generate checklists and add photos to your notes as well. You can also quickly sketch a quick image using your finger to illustrate your point.
- Maps: Detailed transit directions for major cities including highlight subway entrances. You can also now search maps for nearby categories like food, shopping, cafes, etc.
Settings
- Wi-Fi connection fix: Wi-Fi assist will jump onto your mobile network automatically if your Wi-Fi connection is dropped. This could be a potential area of concern for those with a limited data package, but it can be manually controlled.
- Upgrading the operating system will not only extend the time needed between charges (an extra hour of battery life after the update), but with the new Low Power Mode prompt, you’ll know when to turn on just the essentials as you hit the red (20%) zone. Settings will also give you a detailed view of which applications are eating up your battery life.
Security
- Since Apple hopes to make a big impact in the enterprise world then a focus on security is a necessity. Apple has improved their security efforts by enforcing longer pass-codes (from 4 digits to 6) and enhancing their two-factor authentication support.
Our Advice
While we wait to see the impact Apple’s new operating systems will have on bringing more Macs into the enterprise world, have fun exploring the changes on your personal devices. When debating which one to upgrade first, go with El Capitan. You can easily revert and downgrade to Yosemite. Any problems you encounter after upgrading your phone could limit your access, speed and battery life on a device that many of us depend on daily.
And per usual, delay any upgrades on devices that are for business use. This will provide enough time to identify how the updates may impact current enterprise security processes, tools and integration with existing line of business applications.