The first beta version of iOS 9.3 indicates that Apple intends to deploy key feature upgrades in time for its next software update, which a new report said is likely the new course the tech giant will take in the future. In terms of updating its mobile operating system, there'll be no more incremental bumps.
As hinted by beta one of iOS 9.3, Apple plans to deliver substantial feature upgrades such as the introduction of device Night Shift mode and Touch ID-based security protection for in-house iOS apps like the Note. These are indeed major jumps from version 9.2 and as noted by BGR in a report, Apple even dedicated an exclusive website for iPhone and iPad users to take note of the fresh functionalities to come.
Essentially, the iDevice maker is breaking a new ground and telling the world that beginning with iOS 9.3 unloading giant software leaps would become regular fare. Apple fans don't need to wait for the company's annual WWDC event for the big iOS features to arrive. If Apple feels like or sees the need to change, revise or expand the existing iOS features, it will and the new exciting features will drop.
This according to a new reading shared by Macworld contributor Dan Moren, who further wrote that as the global smartphone market matures and specifically Apple's iPhone business, the platform it stands on must take on the same path. The old model of using a 12-month cycle for massive load of feature upgrades no longer applies.
"The goal now seems one of sustainability - keeping the iPhone and its users updated and happy, possibly with a steady stream of smaller updates rather than a single major tentpole release every summer," Moren said.
And the impending shift that iOS 9.3 will mark should again push Apple's mobile OS steps ahead of Android, which remains hopelessly plagued by fragmentation. As 9.3 when released will likely be absorbed by millions of compatible iPhones and iPads in matter of few months or even weeks, Google's Android Marshmallow is yet to be enjoyed by hundreds of millions of Android device users, many of which still trapped with Android 4.xx or later versions.
Apple's iOS 9.3 is expected to be last major software update from the tech giant before iOS 10 is introduced likely by June 2016.