Apple is expected to announce iOS 8 on June 2nd, it'll initially roll out to developers only, and then become available to everyone in September. If you're not a developer but would like to get iOS 8 early then email me as I'm considering to sell licenses for a very low price if enough people are interested.
Anyway, back to the wishlist. Below are 5 things I would like to see in iOS 8:
1- Customization
After the redesign of iOS 7, the iOS looked more beautiful than ever. However, something which received many complaints is the inconsistency of the icons. Simply put: people didn't like the icons. Apple may redesign the icons for iOS 8, or even better, Apple could announce theming of icons in iOS 8.
It's not as impossible as it sounds. Apple isn't exactly the best company when it comes to customization of its phones, but there's no harm in announcing a Theme Store. That way, Apple can restrict how much a theme changes. Perhaps, only the option to change icons will be seen in iOS 8, but more theming options in the future.
Also, the ability to customize the Control Center in iOS would certainly be beneficial. I would rather have Tweetbot than the Calculator, or a cellular data toggle rather than airplane mode.
This is something I would really love to see, and it's not as unlikely as it sounds.
2- Improvements to Siri
Siri is good for setting up reminders, calendar events and searching up things in general. What it is not good at is 3rd party integration.
Apple still hasn't allowed third party apps to take advantage of Siri. It would be great to reply to Whatsapp messages, or post to Google+ via Siri. Additionally, third party integration means we don't need to use Bing as the search engine since Google Search will almost make use of Siri.
It is reported that Shazam will be integrated into Siri. If that's true, then it could mean third party integration may open up to all developers, if not in iOS 8 then maybe in iOS 9.
3- More Storage in iCloud
iCloud was announced by Apple with iOS 5. Since then, Apple has been pushing for more iCloud integration in its apps and services. This has encouraged more iCloud usage by users. The problem is most people don't want to pay for iCloud, and the free storage didn't increase from the 5 GB ever since.
Apple's push for heavier iCloud usage is evident by iCloud backups, iWork in the cloud, and the integration of most of Apple's apps and services with iCloud. I have to use Dropbox for my pictures since I don't have enough storage space to backup my camera roll to iCloud.
It's about time we get more free storage.
4- Improvements to Notifications
Pre-iOS 5, notifications would come as annoying pop-up alerts. Apple made notifications less distracting with iOS 5 after introducing banners which slide in elegantly from the top and then slide back up a few seconds later. However, users complained that the notification banner covered a large proportion of the on screen buttons in the top bar making it hard to use these buttons. So what did Apple give us in iOS 7? Notification banners that cover the WHOLE top bar making the buttons completely unreachable unless the notification is dismissed. Good job.
This lead to a designer coming up with great concepts to avoid this problem. The second GIF is actually in the work to become a Cydia tweak called Zen Notifcations, so keep an eye out for that if your device is jailbroken.
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| Banners below the top bar |
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| Zen Notifications aren't distracting |
I really liked the second concept and would love to see Apple changing the way new notifications come into the iPhone. I'm not happy with oversized banners that cover up my buttons and take up a huge area of my screen when I'm playing a game. Zen Notifications are the way to go!
Oh and also, the volume HUD needs to get a bit more transparent!
5- Multiple Users
Apple should be working on a very elegant system for multiple users which I hope we see in iOS 8. Users currently have two different methods to unlock their iPhones: Touch ID & Passcodes. Why can't we use these unlocking systems to log into our own profiles on an iOS device.
So when someone comes to use an iOS device, they simply rest their finger on the home button and the device will log into their profile. This will make the iPad so much better as a shared family device. This will also help prevent kids from messing up with their parents' files and just have their games and apps accessible.
Additionally, iOS 8 could also feature a guest profile. This will need a profile owner to use Touch ID to confirm that a guest can use their device.
Now I am aware that several complications will arise from a guest mode system such as everyone's notifications mixing up from multiple accounts. But I'm hoping that Apple finds a way to make it just work.
Bonus
Another possible announcement is Apple releasing apps such as Facetime and iMessage to Android users. This will be important to help Apple expand. Blackberry would be in a much better position if it had released BBM earlier to iOS and Android so perhaps Apple should learn from Blackberry's mistake.
That's it for my iOS 8 wishlist. Some of them are more likely than others. But I would really love to see all of them. For a summary here are my 5 wishes:
- Customization: theme store & control center
- Improvements to Siri
- More iCloud Storage
- Improvements to Notifications
- Multiple Users
What is in your iOS 8 wishlist?
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