The Cool New Features in iOS 9’s Photos App

Apple unveiled iOS 9 during the WWDC 2015 Keynote address with a number of new features and improvements such as enhanced multitasking for the iPad, Proactive Assistant, transit directions in Maps, Low Power mode and lots more.

In addition to the major new features, the Photos app gets some cool new features, which should improve the user experience. Here’s a look at the hidden features in the Photos app:

1. Swipe to Select
In iOS 8, you have to tap on the image one by one to select multiple photos. It can be a pain if you want to select lots of photos.

You can now tap and swipe your finger over a photo to select them. You can slide your finger vertically or diagonally to select a row of photos. This feature was available in iOS, but for some strange reason Apple removed it in iOS 4. You can watch the video below to get a better idea how it works.

2. Scrubber
The Photos app gets a scrubber which can be accessed at the bottom between the photo and the toolbar. It allows you to quickly flip through the photos in your camera roll.

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3. Swipe down to go back
You can now swipe down on a photo to go back to the Camera roll. It is more convenient than tapping on the “<” back button. Check the video below to get a better idea how it works. Thanks Lliya for the tip!

4. Email more than 5 photos
As we reported a few days back, you can finally email more than 5 photos. In iOS 8, if you selected more than 5 photos, the Mail option isn’t available in the share sheet. You may check our article for more details.

You can finally email more than 5 photos using the Photos app

5. Mail Drop support
iOS 9 brings Mail Drop support to iPhone and iPad. It was introduced last year with OS X Yosemite. Mail Drop allows you to send large attachments up to 5GB in size via iCloud. You may check our article to find out how it works.

I am glad Apple has brought back the swipe to select feature. It was frustrating to select multiple photos when you wanted to create a new album or share many photos using the iCloud Photo Sharing feature.


We’ve been finding quite a few gems in Apple’s upcoming mobile operating system, so don’t forget to check our iOS 9 page for the latest coverage.