By Clara Gilleland

Recently, Apple has provided two new updates: OS X El Capitan for Apple computers, and iOS 9.3 for iPhones and iPads. Since Shenandoah University provides Apple products to its students, these updates will affect our technology on campus.

OS X El Capitan, according to Apple, was created in order to “build on the groundbreaking features and beautiful design introduced in OS X Yosemite” to “refine the experience and improve performance in lots of little ways that make a big difference.” This basically translates to a few key features in the update.

One of the first features El Capitan highlights is the Split View option, which allows users to fill the screen of their computer with two apps of their choosing. This makes it possible to have two apps running on the screen side by side without having to manually resize everything to fit. This feature is especially convenient for college students, who can run Pages or Microsoft Word to write a research paper while also having Safari or Google Chrome running to keep up with their actual research.

Another feature includes updates made to the Safari browser. It now offers a Pinned Sites feature, where you can keep sites like your email, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest “pinned” up in the top left corner of the browser, where they will stay active, updated, and easily accessible. Safari also has a new “mute tabs” option, where you can easily mute any tabs that are playing background noise without having to search to find which tab is the source of the noise.

Beyond those two major features, OS X El Capitan has also made improvements to mission control, Spotlight search, mail, notes, photos, maps, and fonts. Overall, performance on Apple computers will now generally be faster and more responsive because of the El Capitan update and enhancements.

When it comes to iOS 9.3, there are many new features and improvements as well. One of the biggest new features of the update is the “night shift” ability. Night shift basically shifts the colors in the display of your iPhone or iPad to appear warmer, so that the bright lights aren’t as harsh when you are using your phone at night, which has been proven to have an adverse effect on the user’s ability to fall asleep. The display automatically reverts back to the original setting at 7:00 a.m.

Another new feature allows the “Notes” app to be locked with the fingerprint ID touch option or a traditional password, so that it is safer and more secure to store things like passwords without people being able to read them.

The iOS 9.3 update also made the Apple news app better tailor articles to your interests, and the articles will now update faster to make it easier for you to stay updated on the topics you’re interested in. CarPlay has also been updated, to include a New and For You section with songs and artists picked out based on other music you’ve liked, and a Nearby feature to find things like gas stations or restaurants when you’re traveling on the road.

Because SU uses Apple technology on campus, Apple updates will always affect students in some way. OS X El Capitan and iOS 9.3 are both geared towards helping people’s computers, iPads, and iPhones to run more smoothly, quickly, and efficiently, which will benefit us all.

Feature image courtesy of 9to5Mac