Apple iOS 9 to add new security, music features; may support older iPhones including 4s: Report

At the Apple WWDC, taking place June 8-12, developers will get a chance to discover the newest features for Mac OS and iOS. The latest mobile operating system is expected to highlight home automation and offer, for the first time, split-screen support. According to 9to5Mac, Apple first wanted to improve the stability and optimize the performance of its mobile operating system before introducing new features. The report points out at a new security system called Rootless that is called a ‘huge’ kernel-level feature for OS X as well as iOS. It is aimed at preventing malware, improving safety of extensions and ‘will prevent administrative-level users from accessing certain data on the devices’. It is also said to be huge blow to the jailbreak community. Apple also wants to ensure its syncing apps are more secure and reportedly plans to convert several of its core applications to an ‘iCloud Drive backend’. Some of the apps use IMAP-based back end for syncing content across devices. With iOS 9 and OS X 10.11, Apple is looking to transition this sync process to iCloud Drive. “Apple is also upgrading its iCloud Drive and CloudKit servers to sustain the expected uptick in usage when more core applications move to a pure iCloud foundation. A dedicated iCloud Drive app to view files has also been developed, but it may remain for internal use only,” adds the report. The report also reveals another security feature called ‘Trusted Wi-Fi’ that could either release later this year or maybe to next year’s iOS and OS X releases. Trusted Wi-Fi will allow Macs and iOS devices to connect to authorized wireless routers without additional security measures. It would add more heavily encrypted wireless connection for non-trusted routers. Citing sources, the 9To5Mac report highlights a rather surprising move from the company with iOS 9 support for A5-based Apple devices, which will include the original iPad mini and discontinued iPhone 4S. “Instead of developing a feature-complete version of iOS 9 for older hardware and then removing a handful of features that do not perform well during testing, Apple is now building a core version of iOS 9 that runs efficiently on older A5 devices, then enabling each properly performing feature one-by-one,” further adds the report. Apple is reportedly also working on a major upgrade to its Swift programming language. We’ve already been hearing about the **split-screen mode** for iPad and also the **home automation app** . The other definite is Apple’s new music streaming service, developed in collaboration with Beats, a highly anticipated addition to iOS 9. Most likely to be called Apple Music, the service should be directly integrated into the Music app and include social features that would be available to artists. Though it would come as standard on all iOS 9 devices, Apple Music would require a subscription. Following Apple’s usual release schedule, the launch of iOS 9 should occur in the fall, at the same time as the release of the new iPhone and a bit before the presentation of a new line of iPads. The WWDC will take place in San Francisco from June 8-12, 2015. With inputs from AFP