Apple’s week-long developer conference is nearly here. From June 9–13, the company will unveil the tech developers will use to build the next wave of apps. But it’s not just for coders. The opening keynote will also reveal many new features – big, small, and divisive – heading to your iPhone.
Here’s what’s on my personal wish list.
Meaningful design changes
Rumors suggest Apple will once again revamp the look and feel of its operating systems, this time drawing from visionOS. That means glassy visuals, floating panels, and heavy blur. Also, tab bars on iPhone may be replaced by a single search bar and tabs that expand on demand.
This sounds ‘brave’ in a world where Vision Pro flopped and radical app redesigns have gone down badly. Apple’s recent UI designs haven’t exactly prioritized clarity – or putting controls where you can actually see them. So I’m hoping we don’t get change for the sake of it – and that usability wins over aesthetics.
I’m unconvinced visionOS is a great visual foundation for iOS and iPadOS.
AI that works for everyone
In every sense. Apple Intelligence should help the average person, but not at the expense of creative livelihoods. So I don’t want an integrated Midjourney clone that churns out complex but anodyne plasticky images from a prompt. But I’d love machine learning that collates events in my photo library in useful ways. In other words, help me rediscover real moments but don’t generate fake ones.
Smart App Library sort options
I previously wrote about ditching the Home Screen grid in favor of other launch methods, like App Library. It already does smart things, like grouping apps by category, surfacing recent additions, suggesting apps based on usage patterns, and offering an alphabetized app list under Search.
But that list could do more. Let me sort by install date or last use. A view of apps I haven’t touched in years would make precision decluttering simple, helping me to reclaim storage without second-guessing myself.
App Library could do with more – or, really, any – sorting options.
Split Screen for iPhone
iPhones aren’t small anymore. Even the standard model has a huge screen compared to the one on the 2007 original. So why can’t I run two apps side by side?
The iPad’s had split screen for years – but so too have Android smartphones. And, sure, this feature might seem fiddly or niche, but it would be great for quickly copying info between two apps or keeping an eye on one while using another.
Desktop mode for iPhone
Modern iPhones are powerful enough to handle desktop-grade tasks. So let them. I want to plug an iPhone into a display and have it take full advantage of all that space, while navigating apps with a Bluetooth trackpad.
Android’s had this for a while, with the likes of Samsung’s DeX. Naturally, Apple would sooner sell me a Mac for desktop tasks – and probably also an iPad. But the idea of one device to rule them all? It’s long overdue.
Samsung DeX – in 2017!
Some love for tvOS
Apple TV always feels like Apple’s forgotten child. It barely gets a mention at WWDC. And while it’s not a massive seller, it is the best streaming box out there.
But it needs smarter software. I’d love to see Apple ditch the app grid and turn the TV app into a true hub that lets me jump back into shows, movies, games, and third-party apps like Infuse. That would sidestep Netflix’s Up Next snub. And if Apple wants one more stab at gaming on Apple TV, I’m up for that too.
Better idle battery life
I downgraded a first-gen iPad Air to play 32-bit offline games. With Wi-Fi off, it lasts weeks between charges. Meanwhile, my modern iPad Pro drains in a couple of days.
Sure, it’s a more capable device, but the difference is stark when these tablets are doing nothing. So I’d like Apple to heavily optimize its software to radically cut battery usage when devices are idle. I’m tired of dead black screens when picking up any device not plugged in 24/7.
The iPad Pro. Amazing. Powerful. And I’d like it to last longer while idle.
Fewer broken promises
Apple is a giant company with many moving parts. But that doesn’t excuse recent WWDCs touting feature delivery dates that quietly slip by – or never materialize.
Maybe it’s time to stop naming exact dates and just say updates will roll out over the next six months. Underpromise and overdeliver. Because if Apple again promises a Siri revolution that still hasn’t come to pass by the next WWDC, that’s a problem.