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8 tiny-but-terrific iOS 9 features you may have missed

Published Sep 18th, 2015 10:25AM EDT
iOS 9 Best Hidden Features
Image: Apple

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iOS 9 isn’t the massive update that we saw with iOS 7 and iOS 8, but that doesn’t mean it’s bereft of cool new features. Below we’ve chronicled some small-but-significant iOS 9 changes flagged by Reddit’s Apple community that will improve the device’s overall usefulness and functionality. Check them out below!

MORE iOS 9: 15 hidden features in iOS 9 and 10 more hidden features in iOS 9

Reload a site with ad blocking enabled. If you’re looking at a website with truly obnoxious ads, you can long press the refresh icon in the search bar and it will bring up the option to refresh the page with ad blockers enabled.

Siri now vibrates instead of beeps when you long press the Home button. This is a small change that will nonetheless be useful for people who want to activate Siri without drawing attention to themselves.

Swipe out of attachments in Messages: If you’re done looking at an attachment in Messages, you can simply do a downward swipe that will bring you back to the original message.

Notification light no longer turns on when the phone is upside down: This is likely a feature you’ll never notice, but if you have your iPhone turned upside down on your nightstand while you’re sleeping, the notification light will no longer blink at you incessantly when you have an incoming message.

Easily go back to the last app you were using: If you’re in one app and you click on a link that opens up a different app, you’ll be able to go back to the original app you were using by clicking a special icon that appears in the notification pop-up bar at the top of the display.

Shuffle All makes its triumphant return: Apple for some unknown reason ditched the Shuffle All option from My Music, but now it seems it’s back, much to music lovers’ delight.

Swipe to delete alarms in the Clock app: You no longer have to ask Siri to dismiss all your alarms but can simply swipe them away.

Battery display for all Bluetooth-linked devices in the Notifications Center: This one will be good for not just Apple Watch owners but anyone who has a device paired with their iPhones via Bluetooth. You’ll now be able to see just how much power your Bluetooth-linked devices have on the iPhone’s notifications screen.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.