What I Want to See in iOS 6

Apple have put their invitation to this year’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference on the Internet, and while Apple probably won’t announce the next iPhone, we all know they will announce iOS 6, as well as talk about some new features in OS X Mountain Lion.

I have already written about Mountain Lion and what I think Apple will do in the future, so I decided to write about what I want to see in iOS 6. I am not going to just write a top-five list like a lot of tech bloggers seem to be doing, because to be honest, I can think of lots more improvements that Apple need to add to iOS.

Dashboard
Apple need to figure out a place to put widgets on the iPhone. I know, there is Notification Centre and that has a couple of widgets, but that doesn’t count because there are only two widgets and they can’t be added in the iPad notifications.

A New Lock Screen
The lock screen in iOS is simple. Five years ago, it was an excellent idea, and everyone loved the simplicity of it. However, today, that same lock screen is a bit out of date. Apple have added notifications and a shortcut to the camera, but the lock screen in HTC Sense for Android is much better. Apple need to think of something new for the next iOS lock screen.

Online Accounts API
Android has had support for online accounts for any websites since, I think, the beginning. That basically means that I am able to sync my Facebook friends with the contacts on my phone, and since a lot of my Facebook friends share their number on their profile, when I add a friend, their number is already in my contacts list. And if I get a new phone and for some reason, I have to change my Gmail account, all I have to do is sign into Facebook and half my contacts are already saved on my phone.

Mission Control
It can be done, especially on the iPad, and it would be awesome. We might not see this until iOS 7, but hey, this is everything I want to see in the next update. Plus, this would be a place where they could fit in the Dashboard if they decide to add it.

Siri for the iPad
Before Apple announced the iPad 3 or iPad HD, whatever you call it… Anyway, everyone was expecting to see Siri, but that is not the case. I don’t know if Apple are going to add that feature, but they should.

A new colour scheme
I’m not going to lie – I stole this idea from someone else. I saw it in a YouTube comment. The toolbar in Mobile Safari at the moment is a blue-ish colour on the iPhone and iPod Touch, but a grey gradient on the iPad. I actually think Apple should replace anything that colour with the glass effect used for the toolbar in the photos app.

A better YouTube app
The YouTube app in iOS at the moment is essentially the same as it was five years ago. It has changed a bit, with the ability to sign into YouTube and thumb ratings instead of star ratings, but it hasn’t changed like the rest of YouTube has. I think Apple should simply remove the YouTube app. Then, people can start going to YouTube.com, and the mobile website is actually really good. And, if Apple removed the YouTube app from iOS, Google would probably add their own YouTube app to the App Store.

Third Party Siri Plug-ins
Siri is an excellent feature on the iPhone 4s, but it doesn’t really allow you to do much. Apple need to add the Siri API to iOS when they release iOS 6. Then, Facebook could add the “Update Status” command and Twitter could add the “New Tweet” command. Then, people might actually start using Siri.

Facebook and Google+ Integration
iOS 5 has Twitter integration, which means if you watch a YouTube video in the YouTube app, you can share it on Twitter. While I prefer Twitter to Facebook anyway, everyone I know uses Facebook and I want my friends to see the video. Apple could add that feature to online accounts if they decide to go that way, but however they decide to do it, I think this feature needs to be added.

Ability to Remove Preinstalled iOS Apps
This isn’t a big deal, but it is a bit annoying to have icons on the home screen that you never use. The Game Center icon isn’t a big deal as it can be hidden away in a folder. However, the News Stand icon can’t be hidden away and it’s quite annoying. We don’t need to delete these things, but we should be allowed to turn them off in the settings.

I may add more to this blog post later on, so if you want, you can go back to this website. Otherwise, I’m sure you can also think of stuff that needs to be added in the next software update.

Posted on Wednesday 23rd May 2012 - Leave a comment