iOS 9.2 tips and tricks
Master using these five new features
Get the most from iOS 9.2
Even minor updates to Apple's operating systems can contain significant new features. iOS 9.2, for example, doesn't contain the plethora of tweaks and enhancements that a full new iOS release does, but it adds new features to popular apps like Apple Music, News, iBooks, and even Mail. Keep reading to learn how to use these new features and get more out of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. (And for a thorough list of tips for all of iOS 9, click here.)
News Top Stories
If you open up the News app after updating to 9.2, you'll be informed that there's a new Top Stories feed. This channel is specially curated by Apple to bring you the day's bigest stories. You can add it to favorites right away when prompted, but if you don't, you can look it up at any time by searching for "News Top Stories."
Mail Drop
Mail Drop was introduced in Mac OS X not too long ago to let you easily send large email attachments via iCloud. Now that same feature has come to iOS Mail. All you have to do is attach a large file (minimum size about 20GB, maximum size 5GB) in Mail, then try to send it, and you'll see a popup window giving you the option to use Mail Drop. That's all there is to it!
iBooks 3D Touch shortcuts
iBooks joins the list of iOS apps compatible with the 3D Touch functionality of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. Press down on the app icon for quick access to your recent books or the search feature, or use 3D Touch on table of contents links, bookmarks, or notes, to take a quick view of the relevant page.
Easy new playlists in Apple Music
With iOS 9.2, you can create new playlists easier than ever. While listening to a song in the Music app, tap the three dots on the lower-right side of the screen, then tap "Add to a Playlist" followed by "New Playlist." Of course, you can add the song to an existing playlist as well, just like you could in previous versions of iOS.
Download songs for offline listening
Another new Apple Music feature is the ability to download songs and albums to avoid streaming them and using up data. To do this, first play a song, then tap the title at the bottom of the screen to pull up its card (that screen with album art and play controls). Next, tap on the three dots in the lower-right corner. On the window that pops up, tap the plus icon — this will add the song to your My Music section. Now just go to My Music, tap on the song, and touch the iCloud icon to download it. Note the new iPhone-with-a-check icon that appears to indicate that a song is downloaded to your device.
