# The SBHonline Community Daily > Digerati Discussions! >  >  iOS 10 released tomorrow. Be prepared for some surprises.

## JEK

*iOS 10 vs iOS 9: What are the differences between iOS 9 and iOS 10, and which is better for your needs? | Why you should update your iPad or iPhone from iOS 9 to iOS 10*
*Our iOS 9 vs iOS 10 comparison outlines the differences between iOS 9 and iOS 10, and helps you decide which one is better for your needs. Here's why you should update your iPad or iPhone from iOS 9 to iOS 10 - if you're absolutely sure your device is up to the job*by David Price | 27 Jun 16
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*iOS 10 vs iOS 9 comparison*_Which is better: iOS 9 or iOS 10? What are the differences between iOS 9 and iOS 10, and should I make the update?_
iOS 10 is on its way. Having been announced at WWDC 2016, the new OS for iPhone and iPad will be rolled out to the public in autumn, replacing the current software, iOS 9, in a free update.
But which is the better option for your needs? Should you update to iOS 10 when it launches - or even earlier, if you're prepared to act as a beta tester? What are the differences between iOS 9 and iOS 10 - what design changes have been made, what new features have been added, and which devices can run each of them?
In our iOS 9 vs iOS 10 comparison, we examine Apple's current and future mobile operating systems, and help you decide which one is right for you, and whether you should make the upgrade.

Read more: iOS 9 review | iOS 10 review
*iOS 10 vs iOS 9: Design & interface*Looking side by side at iOS 9 and iOS 10 in general use, you may not be able to tell them apart - although this depends on which area of the OS you're looking at. Apple has redesigned the lock screen, the search/notification page reached by swiping from the left of the lock screen, and the Notification Centre. Other than these, it looks the same.
In landscape orientation the lock screen has the time and date set to the left instead of justified centrally (which we think looks nicer), and Apple has added useful large-type battery charge information to this text block as well - it sits under the time, and after a moment is replaced by the date. (Charge is still listed at top-right, but having it in the main text makes it easier to see at a glance.)

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You'll also note that the text cue > slide to unlock at the bottom has been replaced by Press Home to open, and indeed the way you wake up the device has changed. (Most people with reasonably up-to-date devices will still use Touch ID, we expect.) And the small camera icon previous sited at the bottom-right has got smaller still and now sits bottom-middle. This is intended to convey the fact that you don't need to swipe upwards from the camera icon to jump to the Camera app any more; you just swipe in from the righthand edge of the lock screen.
In portrait orientation, the lock screen looks more familiar - the text is justified centrally once again - but the functional differences remain.
More obvious visual differences can be detected when we swipe in from the left of the lock or Home screens, summoning the screen that, for lack of official alternatives, we've grown to call Proactive. We used to have suggested contacts and apps on the Proactive screen, as well as shortcuts to Maps searches for nearby business of various kinds and summaries of recent News stories. Those things remain, but they are (in our opinion) much more attractively laid out, in two columns, and accompanied by an editable array of widgets, which have been moved from the swipe-down Notifications Centre.

Notifications themselves continue to become more interactive with each generation of iOS. Most of them can be 3D Touched, if you're using an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus, to get a quick glance at the vital information; and iOS 10 enables live updates within the notifications themselves, so you can open an iMessage notification, then carry on a conversation there and then, with live replies appearing as they're received, without having to open the Messages app.
Bear in mind that iOS 10 is still at the developer preview beta stage, and its interface may yet evolve in ways we can't anticipate. But right now, we're happy.
*iOS 10 vs iOS 9: Features*When we compare generations of iOS, the features section tends to be a walk-over: the newer version of the OS will get a bunch of new features (which in most cases you can ignore if you don't like them) and might - might - ditch a couple that Apple doesn't think have worked out. If it were just a case of comparing features, iOS 10 would win this comparison at a canter. Yet there are downsides to upgrading, which you'll find in other sections.
iOS 10 brings a raft of new features: well over a hundred, by Apple's count, although most of these are minor tweaks. In this section we'll talk about our seven highlights. (If you'd like a broader look at iOS 10's feature set, take a look at iOS 10 release date & new features.
*1. Raise to Wake*This handy and largely self-explanatory feature (which currently works on the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus and SE only, sadly - it requires an iPhone with an M9 coprocessor) means that, like the Apple Watch, an iOS 10-equipped iPhone will light up its screen and show you the lock screen when you lift it up. Which makes particular sense given Apple's greater focus on lock-screen information and interactivity - you'll actually see the lock screen on your iPhone now, rather than blasting through to the unlocked home screen thanks to superfast second-gen Touch ID.
There's one other watchOS-esque feature in iOS 10 that we'd like to mention in passing: the ability to clear all notifications with one tap. It's a tiny but crucially convenient feature - our watches used to get utterly clogged up with uncleared notifications (particularly wicket notifications if England had been batting that day) until we discovered the old hard-press-to-clear-all trick.
*2. Maps destinations*Maps in iOS 10 uses artificial intelligence and everything it knows about your habits to proactively suggest destinations it thinks you're likely to visit at a given time. We love this idea. Setting out on a car journey is almost always preceded by a fiddly period of postcode-searching and route-checking on the old satnav, and a bit of smart assistance would be much appreciated - if it works well.
Also, Maps will automatically remember where you've parked, which is a lovely bit of lateral thinking.

*3. Messages*Messages gets a huge overhaul, and now features a wide range of visual - often animated - effects and gimmicks.
Now, we like only a small proportion of the effects (invisible ink, which scrambles messages and images you wish to render mysterious until the recipient swipes them with a finger, is one of the nice ones), but that's not quite the point. Most of this stuff is aimed at younger users, for one thing (particularly the emoji stuff - although we know plenty of older emoji addicts), and Apple's opening up of Messages to third-party apps means a wave of additional features should follow, catering for every possible taste.

*4. Home*Apple's finally ready for the internet of things, and Home is the portal app that iPad and iPhone owners will use to control their array of HomeKit-enabled smart-home appliances.
The mere fact of having a universal HomeKit device controller app on iOS is something to celebrate, but it looks great and seems well thought out. We've mentioned elsewhere how much we like the execution of Scenes, an admittedly obvious but neatly designed feature that groups together settings for multiple appliances under a single button: "goodnight", for instance, might dim the lights, lower the thermostat, close the curtains, switch on security cameras or motion detectors and so on.
*5. The ability to delete preinstalled apps*This is something we've looked at in far more detail elsewhere (How to remove, delete or hide any app on iPad or iPhone) but yep, iOS 10 will allow you to ditch Stocks and lots of other Apple-made apps if you don't want them clogging up your Home screen.

It's not quite the concession you might think: the app isn't deleted as such, although associated user data _is_ deleted, ties to the app from Siri and so on are severed, and the icon is removed. And we've still not seen how Apple is going to resolve the 'default app' arrangement if you delete an app like Maps or Mail and then tap on an address or mail link on a website. But it's a partial victory that we've been seeking for many years.
*6. Advanced predictive typing suggestions*QuickType, the predictive-text system used by iOS's keyboard to offer words it thinks you're in the process of typing, is getting cleverer. It can now access location or contact information held elsewhere on the system and roll this in with the rest of its suggestions, responding, for example, to messages saying "Where are you?" or "What's Donald's email address?" with its best guess at the correct answer.
We don't use QuickType much - generally only when we're typing a word that's _really_long and our fingers get tired halfway through. (Oddly enough, the often annoying forced corrections of TextEdit have ended up a far more integrated aspect of our working routine.) But things like this could make it genuinely useful.
*7. Third-party shenanigans: Siri, Messages apps*Apple went against type and talked extensively about 'openness' at the iOS 8 keynote in 2014, and iOS 10 continues the company's increasing coolness with the user or their third-party software developer friends customising the way iOS behaves.
Siri has been opened up to third-party development, which means you'll be able to ask non-Apple apps to do their thing - Uber was one that Apple highlighted in its keynote. And Messages and Maps will also allow developers to work within the system: iMessage apps could allow users to book takeaways and play games within message threads, and you'll be able to book a ride with Uber (and pay for the ride using Apple Pay) without leaving Maps.
Apple is always at its best when it sheds the straitjacket and allows third-party devs to (with careful supervision in order to safeguard security and privacy) mould the user experience. Apple's huge developer community is its greatest strength.
*iOS 10 vs iOS 9: Compatible iPads & iPhones*We'll get to our verdict on iOS 9 and iOS 10 in a moment, but you may have already detected that we feel pretty well-disposed towards the new update and its new features and interface tweaks. It's in this section that we talk about the potential down sides.
iOS 10 is Apple's most demanding mobile OS yet. Some of you will discover that your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch isn't rated as iOS 10-compatible, and you'll have to either upgrade to a newer device or miss out. Potentially worse, however, is the situation faced by those who just squeeze on to the list of iOS 10-ready devices, make the update, experience noticeable slowdown and then find themselves unable to downgrade to the older OS. In the past Apple has sometimes been overgenerous in its compatibility lists, allowing updates by devices that aren't really up to it
Here's what you need to know. The following devices are officially rated as capable of running iOS 10:

iPad 4, iPad Air 1, iPad Air 2, iPad Pro 9.7-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inchiPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SEiPod touch (sixth generation)
But if you've got one of the older models in any of these fields - if you're on an iPad 4, iPad mini 2, or iPhone 5 or 5c - then we'd counsel caution. Wait until launch date and don't update until you've got confirmation from a trusted source - a friend, colleague or media pundit - who explicitly tells you they made the update on exactly the same model as you, and that it hasn't caused any loss of performance.

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## andynap

Good grief. I don't need to read that. I update always.

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## JEK

You may have a few problems navigating. Just saying.

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## andynap

Comes with the territory.

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## KevinS

No rush.  The update servers will be busy.  I'll be surprised if all of my iDevices are updated by this weekend.

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## andynap

It would be good if they updated Tips too with 10

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## JEK

Tips?

https://www.apple.com/ios/ios-10/

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## andynap

image.jpeg

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## stbartshopper

Overall it sounds very positive!

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## Bart -my real name-

So I haven't done the last update yet.  I'm on 9.1 (I think) and my phone keeps telling me to upgrade to 9.3.5.

Will the phone blow up if I go right to the 10 upgrade without the incremental upgrades?

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## JEK

Yes and your might explode as well  :cool:

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## JEK

Seriously, I'd do 9.3.5 and then 10

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## JEK

Screen Shot 2016-09-13 at 1.05.53 PM.jpg

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## JEK

Download took about 10 minutes total time. They are getting better with server management  :cool:

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## JEK

Started download at 1301 and iPhone restarted at 1329 with iOS 10 installed

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## Bart -my real name-

> Seriously, I'd do 9.3.5 and then 10



I'll be home around 6.  Please meet me there.  Hand holding will be required.

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## JEK

I'm cooking on the BGE at that time whilst drinking a martini

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## JEK



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## KaraBrooks

> I'm cooking on the BGE at that time whilst drinking a martini



 :thumb up: 
When you come up for air let us know what you think of 10.

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## JEK

So far so good. Like the camera swipe from the lock screen and notifications from lock screen.

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## Dennis

> I'm cooking on the BGE at that time whilst drinking a martini




Not deplorable.

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## JEK

Decided on an early Ti Punch.

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## andynap

All done.

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## JEK

You had a Ti Punch too?

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## andynap

No. But all of a sudden I'm having to update several apps.

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## andynap

> image.jpeg



And Tips has been updated too.  :thumb up:

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## Bart -my real name-

> So far so good. Like the camera swipe from the lock screen and notifications from lock screen.



I don't understand this.  You could always open the camera with a swipe from the lock screen, couldn't you?   You also got notifications on the lock screen too, didn't you?

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## MIke R

It was a very easy download / install

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## KevinS

Yes, it was an easy download/install for me too.  As JEK noted, the download servers seem to be performing much better than for prior iOS upgrades.  I updated three devices last night, including an iPhone which only had about 1.7GB free, and which I anticipated having trouble with.  Everything went smoothly.  Even though I had updated all Apps prior to the iOS upgrade, as Andy noted, I had a bunch more to do afterwards.

As with any iOS upgrade, the best thing that you can do is take a fresh backup of your iDevice before starting the upgrade.  Having a PC with iTunes and a fresh backup handy are invaluable if something goes wrong.  

Three more device upgrades to go...

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## JEK

I put it on 2 phones and 4 iPads yesterday  with good luck . The Watch OS 3 was slow, maybe an hour total time, but love the new changes to the watch functionality.

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## JEK

> I don't understand this.  You could always open the camera with a swipe from the lock screen, couldn't you?   You also got notifications on the lock screen too, didn't you?



You need to try it. Much better.

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## KevinS

I've accidentally opened Split Screen View in Safari a few times when I was instead intending to open a hyperlink in a new tab.  It'll take a day or two to get used to having that feature, and avoiding it when I don't intend to use it.

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