A Real-World Look at Proactive Suggestions on iOS 9 - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

A Real-World Look at Proactive Suggestions on iOS 9

Apple aims to take on Google Now with the addition of several new intuitive features on iOS 9 for iPhone and iPad, including Proactive Suggestions, which provides contextually-aware recommendations for music, email, reminders, calendar events and more based on apps that you frequently open and the time of the day.

With iOS 9 currently available in beta, ahead of a public release in September, several readers have shared their real-world experiences with Proactive Suggestions within the MacRumors discussion forums, providing a closer look at the new-and-improved assistant that will be available to all users next month.

Music and Maps

Music Proactive
When you connect your iPhone to your car via Bluetooth, iOS 9 can automatically make suggestions for you based on your common tasks while driving. For example, if you often listen to music while driving, it is likely that playback controls or a suggested playlist will be displayed on the Lock screen.

Meanwhile, if you are a daily commuter focused on getting from point A to point B in the fastest manner possible, iOS 9 can also learn to display real-time traffic updates and an approximate time it will take to reach your destination through Apple Maps notifications on the Lock screen.

MacRumors forum member penajmz:

"This is when I get in my car now every day. It's really nice and it started happening after the last beta. I get traffic and music app because I usually play music as soon as the Bluetooth connects."

Netflix

netflix-proactive
MacRumors forum member VSMacOne:

"About a week and a half ago I switched from listening to Podcasts to watching Netflix during my morning run on the elliptical and this morning when I cut on my iPad I saw the Netflix icon in the lower left corner and then again in the multitask view in the same place where Handoff shows up but with the message Good Morning! This is really awesome."

Games

Clash of Clans Proactive
MacRumors forum member XTheLancerX:

"I always wake up and check Clash of Clans in the morning. iOS 9 has noticed."

iOS 9 can remember which games you play the most and when, such as Clash of Clans every morning, place the app in your multitasking view, provide Lock screen notifications and more so that you can easily pick up where you left off.

Game-Proactive
In another real-world scenario, iOS 9 recognizes that MacRumors forum member Shirasaki often plays a Japanese game called ラブライブ! after plugging in EarPods into the headphone jack, so it automatically suggests the app and places it in the multitasking view on iPhone.

Siri on iOS 9 will also feature quick connections for finding contacts, deeper search within apps, nearby places, news and other suggestions as a more intelligent assistant on iPhone and iPad. Siri can also be searched for a wider range of topics, understands what you are saying more accurately and delivers search results faster.

Related Forum: iOS 9

Popular Stories

macOS iOS 27 Siri App Feature

Apple's Siri AI Can Be Swapped Out for Claude, ChatGPT, Code Shows

Monday September 14, 2026 4:37 am PDT by
Code sleuth "pdfu" has uncovered iOS 27 and macOS Golden Gate private frameworks that show Apple has designed its new Siri architecture to work with third-party AI models at what appears to be a surprisingly deep level. One mechanism called Model Delegation allows Claude to appear as a Siri extension in the same way as the existing built-in ChatGPT extension. In pdfu's video, shared on X,...
iOS 27 Out Now Thumb

Apple Releases iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 With Siri AI and Liquid Glass Update

Monday September 14, 2026 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, the newest operating system updates for the iPhone and iPad. The software is available for free on all compatible devices, and can be downloaded over the air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. It can take several minutes for the updates to propagate to all users due to high...
apple watch series 12 siri recap

Apple Explains What Happens to Conversations Siri Recap Hears

Thursday September 10, 2026 4:38 pm PDT by
The Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 have new Audio Intelligence features that include Sound Recognition, Music Recognition, Live Rewind, and Siri Recap. When these features are activated, the new Apple Watches are always listening to what's going on around the wearer. With Siri Recap, the Apple Watch listens to your conversations throughout the day and takes notes. It uses Apple...

Top Rated Comments

BeefCake 15 Avatar
145 months ago
Can it detect when I go to the restroom?
"I noticed you've taken longer to pee than usual, here is a list of urologists in your area" Siri
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
145 months ago
Google does this best. Apple please focus on removing the endless bugs in iOS.
Google does this best on an iPhone?

Quit trying to make Apple Maps happen.
Right, Google should be the only one allowed to do these things forever and we should all suck it up and like it. That will really drive competition!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Popeye206 Avatar
145 months ago
Quit trying to make Apple Maps happen.
???? In my world they have "happened". I use Apple Maps all the time and it performs just as good as Google Maps from what I can see.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nazaar Avatar
145 months ago
Google does this best. Apple please focus on removing the endless bugs in iOS.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FightTheFuture Avatar
145 months ago
Google does this best. Apple please focus on removing the endless bugs in iOS.
So they should just give up and not develop new software to improve the user experience on their own platform? By your logic, there would be no Apple Maps, Apple Music or even Siri integration.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
145 months ago
Google does this best. Apple please focus on removing the endless bugs in iOS.
? Apple is much better than Google at adding features to iOS 9!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)