A Real-World Look at Proactive Suggestions on iOS 9

Apple aims to take on Google Now with the addition of several new intuitive features on iOS 9 for iPhone and iPad, including Proactive Suggestions, which provides contextually-aware recommendations for music, email, reminders, calendar events and more based on apps that you frequently open and the time of the day.

With iOS 9 currently available in beta, ahead of a public release in September, several readers have shared their real-world experiences with Proactive Suggestions within the MacRumors discussion forums, providing a closer look at the new-and-improved assistant that will be available to all users next month.

Music and Maps

Music Proactive
When you connect your iPhone to your car via Bluetooth, iOS 9 can automatically make suggestions for you based on your common tasks while driving. For example, if you often listen to music while driving, it is likely that playback controls or a suggested playlist will be displayed on the Lock screen.

Meanwhile, if you are a daily commuter focused on getting from point A to point B in the fastest manner possible, iOS 9 can also learn to display real-time traffic updates and an approximate time it will take to reach your destination through Apple Maps notifications on the Lock screen.

MacRumors forum member penajmz:

"This is when I get in my car now every day. It's really nice and it started happening after the last beta. I get traffic and music app because I usually play music as soon as the Bluetooth connects."

Netflix

netflix-proactive
MacRumors forum member VSMacOne:

"About a week and a half ago I switched from listening to Podcasts to watching Netflix during my morning run on the elliptical and this morning when I cut on my iPad I saw the Netflix icon in the lower left corner and then again in the multitask view in the same place where Handoff shows up but with the message Good Morning! This is really awesome."

Games

Clash of Clans Proactive
MacRumors forum member XTheLancerX:

"I always wake up and check Clash of Clans in the morning. iOS 9 has noticed."

iOS 9 can remember which games you play the most and when, such as Clash of Clans every morning, place the app in your multitasking view, provide Lock screen notifications and more so that you can easily pick up where you left off.

Game-Proactive
In another real-world scenario, iOS 9 recognizes that MacRumors forum member Shirasaki often plays a Japanese game called ラブライブ! after plugging in EarPods into the headphone jack, so it automatically suggests the app and places it in the multitasking view on iPhone.

Siri on iOS 9 will also feature quick connections for finding contacts, deeper search within apps, nearby places, news and other suggestions as a more intelligent assistant on iPhone and iPad. Siri can also be searched for a wider range of topics, understands what you are saying more accurately and delivers search results faster.

Related Forum: iOS 9

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
iPhone 17 Roundup Feature 2

iPhone Design to Change 'Significantly' This Year

Monday February 17, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker. In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

What to Expect From the 'Apple Launch' Next Week

Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week. Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
Apple Maps 2024

Apple Maps Might Start Showing Ads

Sunday February 16, 2025 7:22 am PST by
Apple is "exploring" the idea of showing search ads in the Apple Maps app, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Back in 2022, Gurman said software engineering was "already underway" to display ads in the Apple Maps app, but Apple did not move forward with the idea at the time. Today, he said Apple is "giving this notion more thought" again. This time around, he said Apple has yet to...
Tim Cook Apple Park

10+ Announcements Apple Could Have Rolled Into a February Event

Saturday February 15, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple appears to have enough upcoming product announcements to justify a full event this month, yet all signs indicate these reveals will be handled through a series of press releases instead. There are a multitude of rumors from reliable sources about specific announcements in the coming weeks, so here's everything that Apple could have feasibly included in a hypothetical February event: ...
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro With All-New Camera Bar Design Allegedly Revealed

Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech. iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
m2 pro mac mini

Apple is Now Selling a Refurbished Mac Mini for Just $319 (!)

Saturday February 15, 2025 9:58 am PST by
A few days ago, we reported that Apple's refurbished Mac mini pricing had a problem, and it appears that Apple has taken note. Apple was offering a refurbished Mac mini with the M2 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage for $559, which was $50 more than a refurbished Mac mini with the M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. All other key specifications were equal. That's no longer...
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

Apple's Next iPhone SE Launching on Wednesday - Here's What We Know

Friday February 14, 2025 4:04 pm PST by
Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an Apple announcement that's coming on Wednesday, February 19, and it's looking like that mystery announcement will be the next-generation iPhone SE. We've been hearing about the iPhone SE 4 for quite some time now, and we essentially know everything to expect. If you want a sneak peek at what's coming, read on. Naming Apple first introduced the iPhone SE in...

Top Rated Comments

BeefCake 15 Avatar
124 months ago
Can it detect when I go to the restroom?
"I noticed you've taken longer to pee than usual, here is a list of urologists in your area" Siri
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Popeye206 Avatar
124 months ago
Quit trying to make Apple Maps happen.
???? In my world they have "happened". I use Apple Maps all the time and it performs just as good as Google Maps from what I can see.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
124 months ago
Google does this best. Apple please focus on removing the endless bugs in iOS.
Google does this best on an iPhone?

Quit trying to make Apple Maps happen.
Right, Google should be the only one allowed to do these things forever and we should all suck it up and like it. That will really drive competition!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nazaar Avatar
124 months ago
Google does this best. Apple please focus on removing the endless bugs in iOS.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FightTheFuture Avatar
124 months ago
Google does this best. Apple please focus on removing the endless bugs in iOS.
So they should just give up and not develop new software to improve the user experience on their own platform? By your logic, there would be no Apple Maps, Apple Music or even Siri integration.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cariacou Avatar
124 months ago
Can it detect when I go to the restroom?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)