iOS 9 Wallet: Using the shortcut, loyalty cards and more

Goodbye Passbook, hello Discover and others

Alongside the fresh new San Francisco font and the News app that replaces Newsstand, the biggest change to the iOS 9 home screen may be the arrival of Wallet, the rebranded name for the former built-in Passbook. However, the update isn't simply cosmetic: There are a few new features and improvements coming along for the ride, although some of them haven't been enabled quite yet. Let's take a quick look at what's new. (And for even more iOS 9 tips, click here.)

Welcome Discover

If you've been hanging onto a Discover-branded credit card in a physical wallet lamenting the fact that Apple Pay doesn't support this preferred payment method, your long, national nightmare comes to an end with the update to iOS 9.

But it gets even better: Not only can you now add Discover credit cards alongside Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, but cardholders will also be eligible to receive a 10 percent Cashback Bonus through the end of 2015 on up to $10,000 worth of in-store purchases. (Discover It Miles, Miles, and Escape cardholders earn an extra 10 miles per dollar on the same amount of purchases.)

Discover cards can be added to Wallet on iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 6s Plus devices as well as Apple Watch, and requires nothing more than a quick verification by text message, email, or phone call.

Store Credit Cards, Too

The iOS 9 Wallet app will also mark the arrival of retailer-specific credit cards to the Apple Pay fold, with Best Buy, BJ's Wholesale Club, JCPenney, and Kohl's already lined up to support the feature. Apple has yet to announce when store charge customers can add such cards, though - we tried while writing this article using our Best Buy card, but it came back ineligible.

Once available, adding a supported store-branded credit card is exactly the same as Visa, MasterCard, Amex, or Discover: Tap the plus sign in the upper right corner of the Wallet, then follow the on-screen instructions to snap a picture of your card and verify with the three-digit code on back (four on front for Amex); cards can be added to Apple Watch using the built-in app.

Easier Access

Although Apple Pay has always worked without unlocking your iPhone, accessing the cards stored in Passbook often required drilling down into the app itself or being near a supported retail location that would automatically offer to display a loyalty card via push notification.

iOS 9 makes things a bit easier on us all with a new shortcut: Just double-click on the Home button while your iPhone is locked, and up pops the Wallet app with your default payment card ready for action, and all of your other credit cards, store credit cards, and loyalty cards just a tap away.

Get Rewarded

Although the previous Passbook app was often convenient for adding certain types of rewards cards, it wasn't always clear who actually supported them. iOS 9 promises to expand the available options by receiving and redeeming rewards automatically whenever you use Apple Pay.

Already announced is support for Dunkin' Donuts DD Perks, Walgreens Balance Rewards and MyPanera, and Apple's official screenshots also tease My Coke Rewards, Kohl's Yes2You, Wegmans Food Markets, and Starbuck's, which previously offered a Passbook for gift card payments and racking up points.

As of this writing, however, this feature of Wallet has yet to be implemented.

More Retailers

Though not a new feature per se, there will be plenty of new retailers ready to accept Apple Pay on your iPhone or Apple Watch this year. Announced during the iOS 9 unveil back in June, Best Buy lit up support for the mobile payment service in its retail stores last week after accepting Apple Pay for in-app payments earlier this year.

Other retailers with upcoming support for Apple Pay include B&H Photo, Baskin Robbins, BevMo!, Big Lots!, JCPenney, Jonny Rockets, Kohl's, LEGO, Dunkin' Donuts, El Pollo Loco, Express, Forever 21, Levi's, Peet's Coffee, Trader Joe's, and White Castle.

Last but not least, scores of small retailers will soon be able to jump into the Apple Pay action, thanks to Square integration courtesy of new reader hardware. You can bet there will be plenty of additional retailers jumping on board Wallet and Apple Pay in the very near future as well.

iOS 9 Multitasking

iOS 9 Multitasking: Be more productive on iPad

With iOS 9, Apple has introduced a new feature called Multitasking that takes the iPad to the next level. By running two apps side by side, you can be more productive (or have more fun) than ever before. While this feature is only fully compatible with the iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4 and iPad Pro (and in limited ways on some older iPads), it's an incredibly powerful feature that might be worth the upgrade. (Note that Multitasking does not work on any model ofiPhone.)

Multitasking comes in three forms: you can have two apps running fully side by side in Split View mode; you can peek at an app and use it in limited ways with Slide Over; and you can run a video in a window all its own in a mode called Picture in Picture.

Using Slide Over

Split-screen multitasking is a feature introduced in iOS 9 that really takes advantage of the latest iPads' capabilities. However, you don't need the newest gear to use Slide Over - it also works with iPad Air and iPad mini 2 and 3. This handy feature lets you run a second app on your iPad without exiting the app you're currently using. To use Slide Over:

1. Open Safari, Mail, Messages or any other app that supports Multitasking. This includes most apps bundled with iOS, as well as apps downloaded from the iTunes App Store, including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), 1Password and Join.me.

2. Slide your finger from the right edge of the screen towards the center. This will "pause" the main app you have open and initiate Slide Over view, allowing you to select from a column of supported apps. Tap one to start using it.

3. While you are in this mode, you can switch apps by swiping from the top of the screen on the Slide Over window (just like you were opening Notification Center). If you want to exit Slide Over mode, either press the Home button or tap the drag bar and pull it back to the right side of the screen and let go.

Using Split View

After initiating Slide Over, if the two apps you're using support multitasking, then you'll see a drag handle on the Slide Over window. Dragging this handle to the left will let you enter Split View mode for true side-by-side multitasking.

When using apps in Split View mode, iOS 9 will remember the sizes of the windows that you're using, so if, for example, you use the Home button to exit to the Home screen, then open another app, then return to one of the two apps that were split in multitasking mode, the windows will open at the sizes they were previously. As with Slide Over, if you want to exit out of Split View mode, simply grab the drag handle and slide it off to the right side of the screen until the secondary app disappears from view.

Picture in Picture

Picture in Picture (commonly called PIP) refers to the feature in iOS 9 that lets you overlay a small video window on top of all other apps and the Home screen, allowing you to keep the video playing while navigating iOS and going in and out of apps.

Apps built for iOS 9 can have this feature built in, and all system apps have this feature (including Safari, Podcasts, and more). Activating PIP can usually be accomplished in one of two ways. The first is to simply play the video in a compatible app, then press the Home button - if the developers have set the app up to do so, then the video will minimize to a PIP window on the Home screen.

The second way is by manually activating PIP from the video player window. This is how it's done within Safari and other apps that use the standard player controls available in iOS. If you encounter a player with a PIP button, you can tap this button to shrink the player down into one of the four corners of the screen, allowing you to keep navigating inside of the app or leave the app by pressing the Home button, all while the video remains playable.

You can resize this mini player by using a pinch gesture, play or pause the video by tapping it once then tapping the play/pause button, stop the video by tapping the "X" button, or restore the app the video belongs to (and exit PIP mode) by tapping the maximize button.

In addition, the PIP window can be moved to any of the four corners of the screen by simply dragging and releasing it. You can also make the PIP window minimize itself further by pushing it further towards the edge of the screen. The audio continues to play, but only a small portion of the video will remain on the screen.

iOS 9.0.1

iOS 9 bug fixes arrive with iOS 9.0.1 update

The first round of iOS 9 bug fixes have landed, just one week after iOS 9 went public.

The fixes arrive with iOS 9.0.1, a small update that users can download over the air now.

On the bug side of things, iOS 9.0.1 does the following:

• Fixes an issue where some users could not complete setup assistant after updating
• Fixes an issue where sometimes alarms and timers could fail to play
• Fixes an issue in Safari and Photos where pausing video could cause the paused frame to appear distorted
• Fixes an issue where some users with a custom APN setup via a profile would lose cellular data

The update also brings some performance enhancements to Apple's latest mobile OS. The timing for iOS 9.0.1 couldn't be more clutch: the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus launch globally on September 25 and iOS 9 adoption is on a crazy clip.

iOS 9

iOS 9 Notes: How to use these 5 fun new features

Apple's Notes app received a much-needed overhaul with iOS 9. It's still a fairly bare-bones experience compared to beefier alternatives like Evernote, but the lack of abundant options can actually make note-taking faster and easier. Plus, the improved Notes has some cool new features if you know how to use them.

First, it's important to know that notes are now sorted into folders such as "All iCloud," "All On My iPhone," or ones that you create and name. If you store notes in an iCloud folder, they'll sync across all your iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan devices.

Also, on an iPhone, the new editing options are aligned in a row just above the predicitve-text suggestions that sit above the on-screen keyboard. To make the row of options appear, touch the plus button that appears above the keyboard on the right. (On an iPad, the options are always visible to the left and right of the predictive text.)

Now, let's use the the cool new features!

Checklists

Notes has always been a handy go-to app for shopping lists, and its new checklists feature will help you breeze through aisles faster than before. To create a checklist, position the cursor at the start of a list item and tap the first icon shown in the new row of editing options (a checkmark inside a circle) - a checkmark bullet point is added instantly. Simply tap your new checkmark to select or deselect it.

Add a photo

Need a visual reminder to go along with your text? Now you can take a photo from within the Notes app, or select a preexisting image, and attach it to your note. Just pull up the row of new options and tap the camera icon to start the process.

Attach maps, links, and more from other apps

You can attach a map, web link, Pages document, and more to a note, but you've got to pop into the appropriate app to do it. If, for example, you want to attach a link, go to the related page in Safari and touch the Share icon along the bottom to bring up the share sheet. From there, tap the Notes icon, and you'll be prompted to choose which note you'd like to put the link into. Easy-peasy. And if you forget which note you stuck something to, you can quickly find any attachment in the Attachments Browser. To use it, enter a folder and tap the small four-squares icon in the lower-left corner.

Sketch

A picture says a thousand words, so if you don't feel like typing a thousand words, doodle. It's the squiggly-line icon in the row of new options. Notes even smooths out your messy lines for you.

Siri can help

Finally, don't forget that Siri can help you quickly find a specific note, even if you can't remember its title or which folder it's in. Just ask her to "Find my grocery list note," "Find my note about Oreos," "Show me all the notes I wrote this week," etc. She'll helpfully pull up all the files that fit your description.

New iOS News

iOS 9 Multitasking: Be more productive on iPad

Double your pleasure, double your apps

With iOS 9, Apple has introduced a new feature called Multitasking that takes the iPad to the next level. By running two apps side by side, you can be more productive (or have more fun) than ever before. While this feature is only fully compatible with the iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4 and iPad Pro (and in limited ways on some older iPads), it's an incredibly powerful feature that might be worth the upgrade. (Note that Multitasking does not work on any model ofiPhone.)

Multitasking comes in three forms: you can have two apps running fully side by side in Split View mode; you can peek at an app and use it in limited ways with Slide Over; and you can run a video in a window all its own in a mode called Picture in Picture.

Using Slide Over

Split-screen multitasking is a feature introduced in iOS 9 that really takes advantage of the latest iPads' capabilities. However, you don't need the newest gear to use Slide Over - it also works with iPad Air and iPad mini 2 and 3. This handy feature lets you run a second app on your iPad without exiting the app you're currently using. To use Slide Over:

1. Open Safari, Mail, Messages or any other app that supports Multitasking. This includes most apps bundled with iOS, as well as apps downloaded from the iTunes App Store, including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), 1Password and Join.me.

2. Slide your finger from the right edge of the screen towards the center. This will "pause" the main app you have open and initiate Slide Over view, allowing you to select from a column of supported apps. Tap one to start using it.

3. While you are in this mode, you can switch apps by swiping from the top of the screen on the Slide Over window (just like you were opening Notification Center). If you want to exit Slide Over mode, either press the Home button or tap the drag bar and pull it back to the right side of the screen and let go.

Using Split View

After initiating Slide Over, if the two apps you're using support multitasking, then you'll see a drag handle on the Slide Over window. Dragging this handle to the left will let you enter Split View mode for true side-by-side multitasking.

When using apps in Split View mode, iOS 9 will remember the sizes of the windows that you're using, so if, for example, you use the Home button to exit to the Home screen, then open another app, then return to one of the two apps that were split in multitasking mode, the windows will open at the sizes they were previously. As with Slide Over, if you want to exit out of Split View mode, simply grab the drag handle and slide it off to the right side of the screen until the secondary app disappears from view.

Picture in Picture

Picture in Picture (commonly called PIP) refers to the feature in iOS 9 that lets you overlay a small video window on top of all other apps and the Home screen, allowing you to keep the video playing while navigating iOS and going in and out of apps.

Apps built for iOS 9 can have this feature built in, and all system apps have this feature (including Safari, Podcasts, and more). Activating PIP can usually be accomplished in one of two ways. The first is to simply play the video in a compatible app, then press the Home button - if the developers have set the app up to do so, then the video will minimize to a PIP window on the Home screen.

The second way is by manually activating PIP from the video player window. This is how it's done within Safari and other apps that use the standard player controls available in iOS. If you encounter a player with a PIP button, you can tap this button to shrink the player down into one of the four corners of the screen, allowing you to keep navigating inside of the app or leave the app by pressing the Home button, all while the video remains playable.

You can resize this mini player by using a pinch gesture, play or pause the video by tapping it once then tapping the play/pause button, stop the video by tapping the "X" button, or restore the app the video belongs to (and exit PIP mode) by tapping the maximize button.

In addition, the PIP window can be moved to any of the four corners of the screen by simply dragging and releasing it. You can also make the PIP window minimize itself further by pushing it further towards the edge of the screen. The audio continues to play, but only a small portion of the video will remain on the screen.

iphone 6s New IOS smartphone Technology

iphone 6s

Here's proof people are mental about the iPhone 6S

In case you were wondering how many people are interested in the iPhone 6S or iPhone 6S Plus, here's a hint: pre-order sales are likely to beat last year's iPhone 6 sales.

While we don't quite know just how many pre-orders have been made for the new iPhones this weekend yet, Apple has revealed that it is "on pace" to surpass the first weekend pre-order sales for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Last year, first weekend pre-order sales reached 10 million, with a record-breaking 4 million pre-orders made within the first 24 hours.

Bigger and better?

Apple announced the new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus last week Wednesday, and though they sized similarly to its predecessors, it comes with improved specs as well as 3D Touch tech. The new handsets are available in the usual gold, space gray and silver, as well as a new rose gold color.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said, "Customer response to iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus has been extremely positive and preorders this weekend were very strong around the world."

And interestingly, Muller noted that pre-orders for the larger iPhone 6S Plus have been "exceptionally strong."

Currently, of you're ordering from Apple's store, there's a 2-3 week wait for the iPhone 6S Plus to ship out, while the iPhone 6S is expected to start shipping out September 25.

iPhone 6S Plus release date: where can I get it?

Apple's brand new large iPhone is now official

The highly anticipated iPhone 6S Plus has been released, and it's packed full of new and improved features, making it a substantial step up from last year's already impressiveiPhone 6 Plus.

With Apple announcing that pre-orders for the iPhone 6S Plus will go live on Saturday September 12 in preparation for the release date of September 25, networks have already begun announcing what deals they'll be offering on Apple's new phablet, so where can you get one from, and how much will it set you back?

SIM-Free

As usual you'll be able to buy the iPhone 6S Plus from Apple's online store, and although you might not get such a tempting offer from the official store, it could be your best bet when getting your hands on the brand new device.

The iPhone 6S will launch at the same price as the iPhone 6 did last year, so for the 16GB variant you'll be splashing out £539, with the 64GB version costing £619 and the 128GB version weighing in at £699.

Apple also announced an upgrade program through the Apple Store that will let you upgrade to a new iPhone every year for $32 a month in the US - though no mention was made about the service coming to the UK.

EE

EE informed its customers on Twitter that it will be stocking the iPhone 6S Plus, and you'll be able to get it on contracts with Wi-Fi Calling and 4G+ thrown in as well.

Vodafone

Vodafone has confirmed that both the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus will be available on the network, and will come with access to its ultrafast 4G network - and for the first three months of your contract you'll have no limits on the amount of data you use.

O2

O2 will be stocking the iPhone 6S Plus, and you can register for updates on information on when the pre-orders kick off on the official O2 website.

If you're looking to swap your existing phone for an iPhone 6S Plus, then O2 is running its O2 Recycle scheme and will offer customers from any network prices for their handsets.

If you have an iPhone 6 Plus you can get £310 for the 16GB version, £350 for the 64GB and £370 for the 128GB version.

If you're swapping out the smaller iPhone 6, you'll get £280 for the 16GB version, £315 for the 64GB capacity and £330 for the 128GB version.

A 16GB iPhone 5S will net you £160, while the 64GB version will go for £185.

You can also swap out non-Apple phones as well, such as the Sony Xperia Z3+ (which will give you £175), while the HTC One (M8) will pay out £115.

Three

Three has also announced that it will be offering the new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus handsets, and you'll be getting 4G data at no extra cost.

No further pricing structures have been announced so far, but you'll be able to phone, text and use data in 18 countries (including the USA, France, Italy, Spain and Australia) without any roaming charges.

Virgin Media

Virgin Media will be offering the iPhone 6S Plus to its customers, and it will be available in the coming weeks, though no additional information was provided just yet.

Carphone Warehouse

We've had work that high street retailer Carphone Warehouse will be stocking the iPhone 6S Plus, along with the iPhone 6S as well.

Currys PC World

With the Currys and PC World stores being owned by the same company as Carphone Warehouse, it's little surprise that these shops will also be stocking the iPhone 6S Plus, though no prices have been announced so far