MacRumors

HomeKit officially became available in June, with the launch of the first HomeKit-compatible products, but as we've highlighted in reviews, Apple's home automation platform is still in need of some work to make it a viable choice for most users.

With iOS 9, Apple is debuting several new HomeKit features that have the potential to significantly improve the way it works, by simplifying some of the setup process broadening supported device types, and introducing key automation features to cut down on user interaction.

Setup

Setting up HomeKit devices isn't difficult, but it does require users to enter a unique HomeKit identifier to pair with an iPhone. In iOS 9, Apple will support scanning the code with the camera, shaving some time off of the setup process. Information displayed during the setup process, like icons, brand names, and images, is also improved, making the process somewhat more streamlined.

Scenes

With HomeKit, one of the most confusing and time consuming things to set up are scenes, which allow several devices to work in unison at a specific command. For example, when arriving home, one might want a scene that turns on the air conditioner and turns on the lights, a task that can be accomplished with a Siri command like "Turn on the Home scene."

Scenes are useful, but their setup in iOS 8 is not always clear, especially to users who are new to HomeKit. In iOS 9, scenes are more straightforward because developers can add four pre-defined scenes to apps designed to work with their HomeKit-enabled devices. Pre-defined scenes include Getting Up, Leaving Home, Returning Home, and Going to Bed, and will walk users through setting up their devices for each occasion. Siri will automatically recognize these scenes, so Siri response to Scene queries should improve.

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There are quite a few major changes in iOS 9, like split-screen multitasking for the iPad, improvements to search and Siri, under-the-hood performance boosts, and revamped apps, but there are also dozens if not hundreds of lesser-known tweaks and refinements that make the iOS 9 experience better than ever before.

We've had a lot of hands-on time with iOS 9, so we've rounded up a list of the best hidden features in new operating system. These are great little changes you're going to want to know about, so make sure to check out the video and the list below.

Go Back to App - When you tap on a Notification or a link in Safari or another app and it opens a new app, you can go back to the previous app using a handy new "Go Back" button. The "Go Back" button will stick around for about a minute before disappearing, so you can switch quickly between apps if you just want to glance at something real quick.

Battery settings - To go along with all the new battery features in iOS 9, there's a new dedicated "Battery" section in the Settings app, where Low Power Mode can be turned on. It also displays more detailed battery usage information that can be sorted by apps using the most and the least amount of power. With Low Power Mode, background activity, motion effects, and animated wallpapers are disabled. Battery information is also displayed in the Notification Center, for the Apple Watch, iOS devices, and some other connected devices like wireless headphones.

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Apple today released iOS 9 to the public, making the download available to all users who have an iPhone 4s or later, iPad 2 or later, 5th-generation iPod touch or later, or any iPad mini. The update can be downloaded through iTunes or over-the-air by going to the Settings app and tapping General --> Software Update.

As with all major software updates, it may take a few minutes for the update to propagate to all users due to high demand. Some users are seeing "Software Update Failed" messages and may have better luck installing via iTunes.

Public beta testers who have the iOS 9 golden master installed will receive the release version of iOS 9 over-the-air.

With this update your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch become more intelligent and proactive with powerful search and improved Siri features. New multitasking features for iPad allow you to work with two apps simultaneously, side-by-side or with the new Picture-in-Picture feature. And, built-in apps become more powerful with detailed transit information in Maps, a redesigned Notes app, and an all-new News app. And improvements at the foundation of the operating system enhance performance, improve security and give you up to an hour of extra battery life.

The operating system's biggest focus is on intelligence and proactivity, letting iOS devices learn user habits and act on that information, opening apps before we need them, making recommendations on places we might like, and guiding us through each day with new Siri and search features.

Many built-in apps have been improved, including Notes, Mail, and Maps, wihch has gained Transit directions. Apple Pay has been renamed to Wallet, and for the first time, iOS 9 brings split-screen multitasking features to the iPad.

In addition to these consumer-facing features, iOS 9 introduces significant under-the-hood improvements that will free up storage space and improve battery life. With battery optimizations, iOS devices have an additional hour of battery life, and a new Low Power mode can extend battery even further.

iOS updates take up less space in iOS 9, letting even devices with little storage space upgrade, and many app install sizes are smaller due to a feature called app thinning.

More information on iOS 9 can be found in our iOS 9 roundup, which includes details on major features and all of the little tweaks that were added throughout the beta testing period. Discussion of iOS 9's new features is also taking place in our dedicated iOS 9 forum, and we encourage all of our readers to join in with questions and new discoveries.

In addition to being released to the public today, iOS 9 will also come pre-installed on the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus, which will be available beginning on Friday, September 25.

Make sure to check out our iOS 9 coverage:

- Inside iOS 9: Apple Maps Gains Transit Mode and Nearby Search

- iOS 9 Hidden Features: Settings Search, Selfie Folder, Home Sharing for Music, Go Back to App, and More

- Inside iOS 9: Notes Gains Checklists, Photos, Sketches and More

- Apple Debuts New Move to iOS App for Android

- Inside iOS 9: Apple News Delivers the Latest Stories to Your Device

- Inside iOS 9: Split-Screen Multitasking for the iPad

- Inside iOS 9: HomeKit Gains Simpler Set Up, Pre-Defined Scenes, Triggers and More

- Inside iOS 9: A More Intelligent OS With Proactive Suggestions and Siri Improvements

- Inside iOS 9: Under-the-Hood Improvements for Battery Life, Security, and More

While Apple announced last week that it would be releasing iOS 9 and watchOS 2 to the public today, the company has just announced that it will not be releasing watchOS 2 as scheduled due to a recently discovered bug.

TechCrunch has shared the full text of Apple's notice.

“We have discovered a bug in development of watchOS 2 that is taking a bit longer to fix than we expected,” an Apple spokesperson told TechCrunch. “We will not release watchOS 2 today but will shortly.”

Apple seeded the intended golden master version of watchOS 2 to developers immediately following last week's media event, but the company will need to make some final tweaks to address the discovered bug before it feels comfortable releasing the updated operating system to the public.

As promised earlier this year, Discover has rolled out support for Apple Pay as of today for users running iOS 9 betas or the golden master. Other users will be able to add Discover cards once iOS 9 launches to the public in a few hours. With the addition, Discover cardholders will be able to take advantage of Apple Pay to make secure, contactless payments using Apple's payment service.

To encourage users to give Apple Pay a try, Discover is offering a deal for all of its U.S. cardmembers. Any customer who uses their Discover cards through Apple Pay will get a 10 percent Cashback Bonus through the end of 2015. Cashback Bonuses are available on up to $10,000 of in-store purchases, and Discover it Miles, Miles, and Escape cardmembers will earn an extra 10 miles per dollar on up to $10,000 of in-store purchases.

"We are excited for Discover cardmembers to have the ability to use Apple Pay. Rewards have always been important to our cardmembers, and we want to make sure they receive a generous offer for shopping with Discover and Apple Pay," said Heather Roche, vice president of rewards at Discover. "We want to encourage new and existing Discover cardmembers to add their Discover card to Apple Pay with a few simple clicks using our mobile app, take advantage of this 10% Cashback Bonus, and experience the ease and convenience of using Apple Pay."

According to Discover's Apple Pay press release, Discover members who want to use their cards with the service will need to update to Apple's latest operating system, iOS 9, and then add their cards to the newly renamed Wallet app (formerly Passbook). From there, adding a card to Apple Pay is as simple as scanning it in and verifying it, as seen in our how to on using Apple Pay.

With Discover now supporting Apple Pay, all of the four major credit card networks in the United States work with the payments service. MasterCard, American Express, and Visa have worked with Apple Pay since the service launched in October of 2014.

Since Apple Pay first became available, Apple has worked with hundreds of banks and credit unions to expand Apple Pay support. A full list of supported banks in both the United States and the United Kingdom is available on Apple's website.

Apple Pay is compatible with the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 6s Plus. Apple Pay is also available on an Apple Watch paired with one of the aforementioned devices or an iPhone 5, 5c, or 5s.

(Thanks, tmiw!)

The first batch of customers that pre-ordered the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are beginning to see their order statuses change from "Processing Items" to "Preparing for Shipment" on Apple's website, less than nine days before the new smartphones launch on September 25.

The customers that have seen early movement on their iPhone 6s pre-orders all appear to live outside of the United States, with order status changes occurring in Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Apple has also begun charging credit cards for some of these customers, which is common at this point in the pre-order process but earlier than usual this year.

While some orders are now moving to the "Preparing for Shipment" stage, new iPhones will be held at FedEx, UPS and other couriers for delivery until September 25. In rare cases, however, some customers might receive their iPhone slightly earlier.

iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus shipping estimates range between September 25 and October 2 for several customers, but some iPhone 6s Plus and Rose Gold models may ship later due to stronger demand.

Apple began accepting pre-orders on September 12 at 12:01 AM Pacific in the U.S. and eleven other countries, with shipping estimates quickly slipping to 2-3 weeks or later for the most popular models.

iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s launch on September 25 at Apple Stores and authorized resellers in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

Apple CEO Tim Cook appeared on the "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" tonight, with the interview covering a number of topics including the iPhone 6s, the possibility of an Apple Car, and Cook's and Apple's efforts in social responsibility.

During the portion of his monologue highlighting the show's guests, Colbert poked fun at Apple with a couple of jokes, initially announcing Cook as "Cello Apple Time Cook" thanks to autocorrect and joking that the interview would be great but that Cook would release a cooler updated version of it in three months.

The interview kicked off with Colbert showing off a rose gold iPhone 6s before proceeding to ask Cook about the device, leading with making sure the charger hasn't changed. Colbert and Cook then discussed and showed off 3D Touch and Live Photos, with Colbert quipping regarding 3D Touch "If I hang up on someone hard enough, will it actually hit them on the other side?"

Addressing comments from Uber CEO Travis Kalanick during an interview on The Late Show last week about Apple working on a car, Cook brushed off the question with a variation of his standard comment: "We look at a number of things along the way, and we decide to really put our energies on a few of those," with Colbert making sure to record the response on his iPhone 6s.

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Apple's iOS 8 is installed on 87% of iOS devices a year after its release, according to new numbers shared by Apple on its App Store developer page. The new numbers come on the eve of the launch of Apple's newest mobile operating system, iOS 9.

iOS 8 adoption has been somewhat slower than iOS 7, with iOS 8 hitting 72% adoption in January 2015. iOS 7 was at 80% adoption at the same point. Additionally, iOS 8 reached 81% adoption in late April, only growing 6 percentage points in a little over four months.

Comparatively, the latest version of Android (5.1, aka Lollipop) sits at a 5.1% adoption rate. However, Android updates often take a long time to propagate to customers, partly because cell phone manufacturers and cellular carriers must bake in their apps and interfaces into the operating system.

According to mobile analytics firm Mixpanel, iOS 9 currently holds a ~1.04% adoption rate, which includes public beta testers and developers. That number will likely increase dramatically as the operating system will push to iOS users tomorrow, September 16.