iPhone 8 release date, news and rumors

Update: Rumor has it Apple wants to include an OLED display on the iPhone 8, but there's not enough supply so it may only be on one version of the iPhone 8 Plus.

Apple only recently launched the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but it's never too soon for new handset rumors, especially when we're talking about a phone as popular as the iPhone, and 2017's model will be the handset's tenth anniversary, meaning it's sure to undergo big changes.

That could all start with the name, which is likely to be the iPhone 8, rather than the iPhone 7S, marking the phone out as a big jump rather than a minor refresh.

Based on early rumors it seems the design, specs and features could all get a major overhaul, and we've got all the latest details on the direction the phone might take.

• Read our in-depth reviews: iPhone 7 | iPhone 7 Plus,

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The next iPhone
• When is it out? Probably September 2017
• What will it cost? A lot

iPhone 8 release date

Hottest leaks:

• Likely to launch early September 2017
• On-sale probably mid-September 2017

While there aren't yet any rumored release dates for the iPhone 8 this is one thing that's easy to take a guess at, as Apple tends to stick to a similar schedule each year.

In fact, with the exception of the iPhone SE, every Apple handset since the iPhone 5in 2012 has been launched in September. There's no reason to think that will change for the iPhone 8, so expect to see it in September 2017.

We can even get more specific than that, as Apple held its iPhone 7 event on September 7, while the events for the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6 were both on September 9 of their respective launch years.

Even going further back you'll see similar dates, so again it's likely that Apple will stick to this sort of schedule for the iPhone 8.

Of course that's not when you'll be able to buy the iPhone 8/iPhone 7S, but Apple typically makes its phones available one to two weeks after announcing them, so you should be able to have the iPhone 8 in your hands before the end of September 2017.

TechRadar's take: A launch event in the first or second week of September 2017, with the phones hitting stores one to two weeks later, is our best guess.

iPhone 8 screen

Hottest leaks:

• A curved AMOLED display
• A 5.8-inch screen
• No home button and no bezels

Apple hasn't done much with its iPhone screens since upping the sizes with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but the iPhone 8 could see the display undergo its biggest change yet, with respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claiming that the iPhone 8 will have a curved AMOLED display.

AMOLED is a technology primarily used by Samsung phones, like the Samsung Galaxy S7, and it can often deliver great contrast and vibrant colors.

The AMOLED theory is gaining ground, with reports that Sharp is in negotiations to manufacture an OLED screen for the iPhone, and even a direct claim from Sharp's president that the iPhone 8 will use OLED.

Another source close to Apple has suggested there won't be a switch to OLED technology, but it's not Apple's decision. Apparently it's because of supply issues, and Apple will instead include it on one version of the iPhone 8 Plus.

As well as sporting a new technology and curves, the iPhone 8 display could also come in a new 5.0-inch size, or get much larger, with Ming-Chi Kuo claiming it could be up to 5.8 inches, which would make the phone even larger than the 5.7-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

That size would presumably be reserved for the iPhone 8 Plus, but it makes sense, as Apple's phablets and large handsets in general are proving popular. If the screen does get larger it's likely to also get sharper, so we might finally see a QHD iPhone display.

But despite the larger screen size the phone itself might not be much bigger, as way back in 2015 we heard talk from Taiwan that Apple was working on a way to get rid of the home button and build Touch ID into the screen itself, potentially eliminating the bezels in the process.

More recently, Apple blogger John Gruber made similar claims, saying that "the entire face will be the display. And the Touch ID sensor will be somehow embedded in the display. The front-facing camera will somehow be embedded in the display. The speaker, everything. All the sensors will somehow be behind the display."

Apple tweaked the home button with the iPhone 7, making it no longer physically click when pressed, so this could be the next step. On the other hand, you could argue that since Apple only just tweaked the button it's unlikely to ditch it so soon.

There's also the question of whether Apple would be able to produce enough of these panels. The company currently uses Japan Display for many of its screens, and while Japan Display is planning to start building OLED panels they're not expected to arrive before 2018.

Looking even further ahead we might see a flexible or even foldable iPhone, as Patently Apple has found a patent for just such a device, but this is likely a long way out yet.

TechRadar's take: A move to OLED sooner or later seems inevitable, but Apple might only use the panels for the iPhone 8 Plus in 2017, if it can't source enough. A larger, sharper screen seems likely, but plans to build Touch ID into the screen sound ambitious, and while Apple is seemingly working on this we're not convinced the tech will be ready for the iPhone 8.

iPhone 8 design

Hottest leaks:

• A curved glass back

Apple's stuck with a largely similar design for the last three iPhones, so we're expecting a big change for the iPhone 8, not least because it will arrive on the iPhone's tenth anniversary.

That change could start with the material it's built from, as analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reckons the phone will have a curved glass back (as well as a curved screen), rather than being metal like the iPhone 7.

That rumor has since been given more weight, with the CEO of the company behind the iPhone's metal casing claiming that one model of the phone "will adopt glass casing next year."

It would still require a metal frame apparently, which makes it sound a lot like the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, especially if both panels are curved. That lines up with a claim from a source that's proved reliable in the past that Apple is experimenting with a "glass sandwich design."

But if you're a fan of metal backs you might be in luck, as the mention of "one model" going glass suggests the other won't, so perhaps we'll see a glass iPhone 7S but a metal iPhone 7S Plus, or vice versa.

The other major design change that's been rumored is the removal of the home button, with Touch ID instead being built into the screen.

Some things are likely to stay the same though. Apple has just added waterproofing to its phones, so we'd expect to see that again - perhaps to an even higher level, and the headphone jack is almost certainly gone for good.

TechRadar's take: Expect a big change to the design of the phone. It's too early to say for sure what that will be, but a glass back is believable and has solid sources backing it up.

iPhone 8 camera and battery

Hottest leaks:

• Still just a single lens on the standard iPhone 8
• OIS for both lenses in the iPhone 8 Plus
• Wireless charging from 15ft

While you might expect the dual-lens snapper found on the iPhone 7 Plus to filter down to the standard version of the iPhone 8 that's not likely, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who in a research note obtained by MacRumors claimed that the high cost and niche appeal of dual-lens cameras meant Apple would probably limit the tech to "high-end" models - likely meaning the iPhone 8 Plus.

In the same note he suggested that the telephoto lens in the dual-lens camera might get optical image stabilization (where currently only the wide-angle lens does), so that's one improvement we might see.

That aside, camera rumors are thin on the ground, though an anonymous Apple employee has said the camera will be an upgrade. It's possible that Apple will change the megapixel count from 12MP, though around that seems to be the sweet spot that many manufacturers have settled into, so don't count on it.

One analyst has said the iPhone 8 will come with a single sensor while there will be two models of the iPhone 8 Plus, both with dual-lens sensors.

We wouldn't expect much change from the front-facing camera, as Apple only just upped that to 7MP for the iPhone 7.

There's no news on what size the battery will be, but Apple might finally support wireless charging, as Foxconn is apparently looking into the tech for Apple. The company is trailing rivals there and with the removal of the headphone jack being free of cables completely is surely the next step.

In fact, Apple might go beyond rivals and offer a truly wireless charger, that works at up to 15ft, with no contact required between the device and the power source. 

There's evidence that Apple has been looking into this tech, with Energous, the company behind it, supposedly working with a "tier 1" smartphone maker. According to BGR, Energous has also received a $10 million investment from Dialog Semiconductor - a company which primarily works with Apple.

There's no guarantee that Apple is involved, and even if it is this might not be ready in time for the iPhone 8, but it would certainly be a big change fit for the phone's tenth anniversary.

TechRadar's take: Wireless charging and improved battery life are likely - but don't count on being able to charge from a distance. The camera may not change much, but expect various tweaks and improvements.

iPhone 8 OS and power

It's very likely that the iPhone 8 will run iOS 11, given that iOS 10 has just landed, though what new features that will contain remains to be seen.

As for power, Apple only just moved to a quad-core chip with the iPhone 7 range, so we expect quad-core again for the iPhone 8, with the chip likely called the A11 or the A11 Fusion.

3GB or 4GB of RAM in both phones is likely, as while the iPhone 7 is stuck with just 2GB of RAM, the iPhone 7 Plus has 3GB and the iPad Pro 12.9 has 4GB.

TechRadar's take: A power boost is a given, with a faster quad-core processor and 3GB or 4GB of RAM likely.

iPhone 8 other features

Hottest leaks:

• An iris scanner
• A Smart Connector
• New security features

One rumored feature of the iPhone 8 is an iris scanner, which wouldn't be much of a surprise given that the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has one, though Samsung's implementation is a bit slow and Apple isn't likely to include one unless it can improve the performance.

The iPhone 7S might tighten up security in other ways too, as an Apple patentdetails a system that could get a thief's fingerprints and photo, as well as recording audio, video and their location.

We might also see a Smart Connector on the iPhone 8. This was rumored for inclusion on the iPhone 7 Pro – a phone which never launched, but with numerous pictures of a phone sporting the Connector it seems likely that Apple really was considering it, so the feature might be ready by next year.

We've already seen a Smart Connector on the iPad Pro, where it's primarily used to attach accessories, like keyboards.

TechRadar's take: The iPhone 8 might have an iris scanner, but only if Apple can make it fast to use. A Smart Connector is also a possibility, but seems a less useful fit than on an iPad.

iPhone 8 price

There aren't any price rumors yet, but the iPhone 8 is likely to cost a similar amount to the iPhone 7, meaning a starting price of around $649/£599/AU$1,079, rising potentially to around $849/£799/AU$1,379 for the largest (probably 256GB) storage size and even more for the iPhone 8 Plus.

There are quite a few iPhone 8 rumors already, but rumors is all they are for now, and there are certain things that we'd like to become fact. From a brand new look to new charging technologies, this is what we want to see.

1. A brand new design

The last three generations of the iPhone have all had a similar look, so it's high time Apple changed things up.

Rumors point to a glass back and a curved screen on the iPhone 8, which would certainly make for a big change, but whether that or something else we want something new, so we can get excited about the look of the phone and not just the features.

2. A dual-lens camera

The iPhone 7 Plus already has a dual-lens camera and the iPhone 8 Plus is likely to as well, but early rumors suggest the standard iPhone 8 might stick with a single-lens snapper.

We hope that's not true, as the dual-lens camera Apple's using is one of the most exciting aspects of the iPhone 7 Plus. It's also a feature that a number of other phones, like the LG G5 and Huawei P9, have, so hopefully the iPhone 8 won't get left behind.

3. Fast and wireless charging

Fast charging is now a common feature on Android phones, and an extremely useful one at that, yet the iPhone 7 doesn't have it, so the iPhone 8 really needs to.

Wireless charging isn't quite as essential, but is another fairly common feature outside Apple land, and given that there's no longer a headphone port in Apple's phones you need an adapter if you want to charge and plug a pair in at the same time, but if you could charge wirelessly that would be less of a factor.

4. A big battery boost

Apple improved battery life for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but they still lag behind the longest-lasting handsets around and battery life is a vital aspect of smartphones for many users, so we'd like to see more improvements here for the iPhone 8, even if it means making the phone thicker.

5. Real innovation

There's the sense that Apple has been playing it safe for the last couple of years, simply refining the iPhone 6 rather than doing much that's really new.

Arguably the only massive change the company has made is ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack and the jury is still out over whether that's even a good thing, so we want some major, positive innovation for the iPhone 8.

There's a good chance we'll get that too, as the iPhone 8 is going to be marking the phone's tenth anniversary, so there's every chance Apple will go all out.

Will the next generation iPhones be made in USA?

iPhones may soon be made in US as Apple has asked Foxconn and Pegatron to look into this possibility, reports said.

According to Nikkei Asian Review, key Apple assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn Technology Group, has been studying the possibility of moving iPhone production to the US.

"Apple asked both Foxconn and Pegatron, the two iPhone assemblers, in June to look into making iPhones in the US Foxconn complied, while Pegatron declined to formulate such a plan due to cost concerns," sources said.

But the sources have said that making of iPhones in the US will cost will more than double.

The general perception among Americans that they are losing manufacturing jobs to other countries overlaps the Apple's 'rumoured' prospect move.

President-elect, Donald Trump referred to Apple multiple times during his campaign and vowed to slap a 45 per cent tariff on goods made in China.

"We're going to get Apple to build their damn computers and things in this country instead of in other countries," Trump said at Liberty University in Virginia in January.

Apple's Chief Executive Tim Cook was quoted by CBS' 60 Minutes programme in December 2015 that America simply did not have enough skilled workers for the production of iPhones.

"To make iPhones, there will need to be a cluster of suppliers in the same place, which the US does not have at the moment. Even if Trump imposes a 45 per cent tariff, it is still possible that manufacturers will decide to continue production overseas as long as the costs together with the tariffs are lower than the amount they need to spend on building and running production lines in the US," sources familiar with the iPhone production process were quoted by Nikkei Asian Review.

Sources said that to make iPhones, America will need US government to subsidise local companies for domestic productions. 

iOS 9 features - updated for iOS 9.3

• Update: Apple updated iOS 9 to iOS 9.3 and, for beta testers, iOS 9.3.3 public beta. Here's everything you need to know about the recent iPhone and iPad interface changes.

iOS 9 launched back in September of last year and it was instantly better than iOS 8, thanks to new features that make the iPhone and iPad software easier to use.

Siri is smarter, Apple Maps has transit directions and the notifications drop-down menu is now sorted logically. Best of all, every device that works with iOS 8 works with iOS 9.

It improved even further in March with the rollout of iOS 9.3. The new software rolled out alongside the smaller iPad Pro 9.7 and even tinier 4-inch iPhone SE hardware unveilings. iOS 9.3.3 is currently in beta.

iPads benefit the most from this current operating system update. New iPad multitaskingfunctionality, especially for the iPad Air 2 and iPad Pro, finally fulfills the tablet's promise of productivity on the go.

While iOS 9 and even iOS 9.3.3 beta lack key Android N features, there's a lot to like about it on the iPad and phones like iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. It's enough to tide us over untiliOS 10 beta on June 13.

• Check out our collection of guides on how to use iOS 9

iOS 9.3 update

iOS 9.3 is Apple's first major update with exciting new features to highlight, so you'll actually really want to update to the newest software version. It's now up to iOS 9.3.3 beta.

You'll want to now-pulled avoid iOS 9.3.2 firmware on the iPad Pro 9.7, since it locked up Apple's newest tablet. But overall iOS 9.3 beta has brought new functionality worth your progress bar time.

This contrasts with what we've seen before: iOS 9.1 added new emojis, iOS 9.2 tweaked Apple Music and Apple News and iOS 9.2.1 just fixed bugs. Nothing exciting. iOS 9.3 is different.

Specifically, the new software debuts Night Shift, which automatically tints your iPhone and iPad with warmer colors. Bright blue light can keep you up at night, studies have shown.

Night Shift uses the time and geolocation to determine the sunset and the display returns to normal in the morning. It's a feature we've seen from third-party apps like f.lux on Mac, but a first directly from Apple.

• Interested? Here's how to download iOS 9.3 right now

Educators wielding iPads can dive into a new classroom app and multi-student login. Passing an iPad around the class can let students save their work to individual profiles and pick up where they left off.

Beyond that, Notes can be locked behind Touch ID for additional security, and the Apple News and Apple Health apps have been tweaked with minor design and content changes.

Specifically for the US, Verizon customers without a strong signal can now switch on Wi-Fi calling, just in case the usually reliable carrier doesn't have a good signal while you're in the range of a router.

Both iOS 9.3.1 and iOS 9.3.2 took care of behind-the-scenes issues with iOS 9.3. One front-facing feature change to the latest software is the ability to run Night Shift and Low-Power mode at the same time.

iOS 9.1

The first small update Apple brought to its mobile operating system was iOS 9.1. Its headline feature? 150 new emoji, brought about through its support of Unicode 8, so you can more easily express the fact that you're painting your nails or playing at detective.

The update also added a trio of new wallpapers, but the most significant additions are the least visible ones, as iOS 9.1 fixes a number of bugs, improves general stability and boosts the performance of multitasking, the Calendar, Game Center and Mail.

iOS 9 1970 glitch

Don't reset your iPhone date back to January 1, 1970. Doing so can brick your iPhone upon resetting it, requiring a visit to the Apple Store for some major surgery.

It's an iOS glitch affects all newer iPhones running iOS 9, and it's thought to happen because the phone recognizes this date as a negative time value. Plus, Apple didn't even exist back then, so you've sent it back in time before it even existed.

The ripple in the space-time continuum affects phones and tablets running a 64-bit chip such as the Apple's A7, A8, A8X, A9 and A9X processors.

Everything from the new iPad Pro, iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus to the older iPad Air, iPad mini 2 and iPhone 5S. For once, iPhone 5 users are smiling.

iOS 9 compatibility and download size

iOS 9 isn't about a fresh coat of paint like iOS 7 was, it's about rust-proofing glitchy software that launched alongside iOS 8 in 2014. Everything is designed to run smoother, especially with the update to iOS 9.3, and it does.

There are fewer app crashes and hard restarts required compared to when iOS 8 first came out. I've experienced no white screen of death problems so far, just occasional design flaws.

Even better, iOS 9 works with devices as old as iPhone 4S and iPad 2. Apple didn't axe any old phones or tablets from its compatibility list in the transition to the new operating system.

It was also a relief to see that this free update is a 1.4GB file and doesn't require the 4.7GB of free space to install on your tiny, 16GB devices.

Siri and search

The most obvious iOS 9 change involves Siri and spotlight search. Sliding to the left-most menu reveals a robust list of "Siri Suggestions," filled with your most recent contacts and apps.

It provides quick access to your four most recent contacts and four most recent apps. There's a "show more" and "show less" toggle to increase that to the eight most recent. Sadly, you can't unpin and disallow certain apps from showing up before your parents see you're on Tinder.

Apple Maps gets some attention here, too. "Nearby" shortcuts are a fast way of finding Parking, Restaurants, Gas Stations and even Desserts, which all link to a Yelp review-filled Maps menu. In true Apple fashion, there's no customization or option to re-sort which shortcuts come first.

iOS 9 concludes this Siri-run search menu with news snippets from sources like the New York Times and CNN. Strangely, there are four headlines, but if you hit the rather stingy "Show More" text, it reveals a total of five. A glitch to be solved in the future, perhaps?

The news presentation here isn't as flashy as Samsung's Flipboard-based menu, which is also the leftmost Android menu on the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. Apple saves the magazine-style stories for its new iOS 9 News app.

Holding down the iPhone or iPad home button to issue normal Siri commands leads to smarter answers. I randomly asked "Bring up photos from May 28, 2015" and Siri immediately opened the pictures I took at Google IO on that date.

I still find Google Now to be more advanced overall, but this same phrase on an Android just leads to my Samsung Galaxy S6 Active opening up random web results. That... doesn't really help, Google. Apple is catching up and boasts that Siri is 40% faster and 40% more accurate. It shows.

Notifications, recent and photo scrubbing

Smaller iOS 9 menu changes (which are also present in iOS 9.3) have solved big pet peeves I've had with iOS 8, one of which I felt Apple should just steal from Android.

Notifications are now sorted chronologically instead of illogically grouped by app. This was always a problem when I accidentally put my finger on the Touch ID home button, forever sending all time-sorted lockscreen notifications into the app-sorted notifications menu. Now they all reside in the swipe-down-from-the-top menu once the phone is open.

Apple re-stylized its Recent menu, which is the one you see when double pressing in the Home button. It now sports a larger Cover Flow format, rather than its former zoomed out look.

The more important change to the Recent menu is that there's a shortcut icon tucked away at the bottom for Continuity (an app open your nearby Mac, iPad, etc) and location-based apps (if you're at a store like Starbucks and have the app installed).

Previously, these icons were stuck on bottom left corner of the lockscreen, which meant locking your phone just to press the wake button again to access the lock screen shortcut. Now it's available in two spots, whether or not your phone is in a locked state.

Finally, flipping through the default Photos app is less of a hazard, because there's a mini slideshow at the the bottom of the app. It's the fastest way to scrub through photos and reduces the chance you'll bring up that embarrassing picture while showing someone other photos.

Apple Maps

iOS 9 is the company's big push to improve Apple Maps, and it does just that... to some extent. Namely, this comes through with long-overdue public transit directions.

Routes for buses, trains, subways and even ferries are here, and I put it to the test on the New York City subway while navigating Manhattan. I survived this Apple Maps expedition without booting up Google Maps.

Besides New York City, transit directions are available in Baltimore, Berlin, Chicago, London, Mexico City, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area, Toronto and Washington D.C. About 300 cities in China, including Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai, are also getting the transit treatment.

Does it fix everything? No. The problem with Apple Maps wasn't just its lack of transit directions or too-often wrong routes, it was the fact that the app's design just couldn't compete with Google Maps. That's still the case.

Google is busy adding ridiculously minute details, like chalking out your vacation dates to the map overtop of your hotel. Apple's cumbersome app won't let you finger ahead to see the next directions. It just springs you back into place. I can go from Los Angeles to London on Google Maps while in the middle of turn-by-turn directions if I wanted to. With Apple Maps, I can't look ahead one block.

While I appreciate its new Nearby feature that lets you discover stops along the way, Apple Maps' foundation is a little too flawed for me to give up on Google Maps just yet. It doesn't matter if Siri insists on opening up Maps whenever I ask for direction by voice.

iOS 9 is very much an iPad-focused update, with several of the most exciting new features only available on Apple's 7.9-inch, 9.7-inch and 12.9 tablets.

Multitasking

True multitasking finally has come to the newer Retina-class slates: the iPad Air 2, iPad Air,iPad mini 4, iPad mini 3 and iPad mini 2. The newer iPad Pro 12.9 and iPad Pro 9.7 make even better use of this feature out of the gate. Multitasking may help Apple's sluggish tablet sales among enterprise users.

Slide Out opens a second app from the left, working a lot like the drag-from-the-bottom Command Center gesture, and gives it about a third of the screen. That's been enough space to check my email while already surfing the web, or to respond to iMessages while in the middle of writing a certain iOS 9 review in a Google Doc.

While the main portion of the iPad screen can consist of any app, the one-third panel is limited to Apple's app suite of 19 apps. I get it. It's clearly because the apps here are tweaked ever so slightly to fit the abnormal layout, but it's still disappointing.

I should also note that while Mail, Reminders, Notes and Photos are useful in this Slide Out view, it's hard to understand why Apple's 19 multitasking apps includes Tips and Feedback. (Actually, scratch that, I may use that last one right now.)

Picture-in-Picture is another multitasking mode, one that's focused on continuing to allow you to play videos and stream FaceTime calls while still using the tablet.

It puts the video in the corner of the home screen as soon as you hit the home button, and the small window can be resized and dragged around while you work in other apps. This works fine for all videos playing in Safari, just don't expect it to work in the native YouTube app.

Split View is the closest thing there is to computer-grade multitasking on a tablet running iOS 9 or iOS 9.3, and it's only available on the iPad Air 2, iPad Pro 9.7 and iPad Pro 12.9. It converts the small Slide Out panel into two apps running side by side with equal space. Both are active, with full multitouch support.

All three multitasking modes give the iPad a much-needed productivity boost and they right the wrongs of Apple's "multitasking" iOS 4 announcement, which ended up being apps kind-of, sort-of running in the background.

All of this is limited to the iPad. As much as you may want it on a phone in exchange for lugging around that 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus or iPhone 6S Plus, there's no such multitasking in the iOS 9 update for Apple's phablets.

New keyboard

The iPad takes the lead here, too, but there are still important changes that makes the iPhone's QuickType keyboard even better in iOS 9 and iOS 9.3.

First, it's easier to tell the difference between capital letters and non-capital letters, thanks to the new San Francisco font type. I no longer have to look at the shift key to try to determine whether it's on or off.

Second, Apple turned off the pop up animation for every key press. You can still turn it on in the settings menu by following Settings> General > Keyboards and checking off "Character Preview." However, I found it much less of a distraction without it on.

The iPad gets the most out of the keyboard changes with new shortcuts that flank the suggestion word bar at the top. They depend on the app, but I found cut, copy and paste almost always appear on the left, and sometimes undo and redo, too. Bold, italics, underline and attachment shortcuts hog the right side of the bar and are sometimes joined by up and down arrows.

Previously, this was unused space, and now it's put to good use. I really wanted iOS 9 to add right and left arrow keys in this space, but Apple went in another direction. It made the entire keyboard a trackpad whenever two fingers touch down on the display.

It turns off the keyboard and lets you move the cursor all around without your finger having to be over the top of it (read: in the way of it). This works especially well when trying to highlight text right before hitting that copy and paste shortcut.

Notes

Notes has never been the most compelling app, but Apple's iOS 9 update makes it less of an Evernote-afterthought with a few new tricks.

I was able to add checklist icons for a quick and simple to-do list and include photos thanks to a new attachment icon in the shortcut bar. Maps and URLs can be included, too, but the need for these two tools isn't as pressing in such a "jot something down" app.

Right next to the little camera attachment icon is a squiggly line, which of course means I could draw a sketch by using my finger. It's complete with different pen sizes and colors.

iOS 9's enhanced Notes app isn't enough to drop my subscription to the more feature-packed and easily searchable Evernote, but it's an important step forward for Apple's ecosystem loyalists.

Apple is giving two of its existing pre-installed apps a complete overhaul and a name change in iOS 9, and both are improvements over the old way of doing things.

Newsstand has been revamped as Apple News, or just News, and it gives us a free, magazine-styled layout. Passbook has become Wallet, and expands instead of changes the idea behind it.

Apple News

Really, you should get all of your news straight from TechRadar, but if you need to learn about other events happening in the world, Apple has a News app within iOS 9 and iOS 9.3, available in the US, UK and Australia.

It's a slick-looking news aggregator, but, truthfully, it's not the most ground-breaking app design because it does exactly what Flipboard does: lays out RSS content in a magazine-style format.

It collects stories from publications and topics I favorite, then does its best to deliver a rich newsfeed I actually care about. It has two things going for it over traditional Safari browsing: it's fast and it keeps my personalized data separate from my Apple ID.

Wallet

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users have been waving their phones in front of NFC stations to pay for stuff in the US since October 2014, and as of 2015, they've been doing it throughout the UK, Canada and Australia. In 2016, China, Singapore and Spain received Apple Pay.

iOS 9 further expands Apple Pay by adding gift and loyalty cards, therefore the app that contains it, Passbook, is being renamed Wallet. Goodbye, cumbersome QR codes that few retailers even used.

Only, these loyalty cards haven't been widely implemented at stores. The first retailer, Kohl's, just turned on its rewards system through Apple Pay in May, eight months after iOS 9 launched.

Other retailers like Whole Foods, Walgreens and JCPenney are promising to launch Wallet-integrated app updates "soon." Our loyalty is running out for this overdue feature.

The Wallet new app comes with a handy trick: double pressing in the home button on a locked iPhone (but not an iPad) and it brings up the Apple Pay menu.

It's so tempting to hide the Wallet app in a folder. There's no reason to keep it on the home screen until you really need it. But it's nice to have quick access to it the few, precise times you actually do need to pull something out of your "Wallet."

With loyalty cards launching, shortcuts like this are going to become even more important. I just wish Apple devised a way to access a flight boarding pass when my iPhone screen isn't locked.

I have to lock my always-in-use device in an airport line, then press the lock button again to wake it in order to access the lockscreen notification. Apple Watch does it correctly with a shortcut that always rests in the notification dropdown right before a flight. I'm hopeful I don't have to wait for iOS 10 for something similar.

Verdict

iOS 9 is well worth downloading. The keyboard is easier to use, Siri suggestions make menu navigation faster, notifications are rightly sorted by time and, on the iPad, there's actual multitasking.

Not everything that's new is perfect or worthwhile. Apple Maps still needs a lot of design work, Apple News is a clone and the same old Apple ecosystem problems persist. You still can't delete useless pre-installed apps (and now we know why) and Siri still loves opening Safari and Maps, even if you're loyal to Chrome and Gmail.

Even with all of the iPad advancements, you won't find multiple accounts like you would on Android, and good luck switching to Google's operating system. Apple makes it tough to leave iMessages, as group conversations fall apart when you switch to those ugly green bubbles your Apple-loving friends hate.

• Here's how to download iOS 9.3 on your iPhone or iPad right now

That said, iOS 9 is an incremental advancement over iOS 8, which is exactly what Google has done in the transition from Android 5.0 Lollipop to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Much of it is behind the scenes.

But we're already seeing the positive effects of the update, and it's got even smoother and more robust with the launch of iOS 9.3. With mid-cycle features like Nift Shift tiding us over to iOS 10, it should be enough to rival Android N and its big demo at Google IO 2016.