iOS 7 Expectations & Wants

Fillado

Fillado

Fillado

Associate
Joined
19 Jul 2004
Posts
2,039
Location
West Yorkshire
Well it's been an interesting time for Apple of late.

Apple's stock has tanked due to what investors see as "flat growth". In other words while Apple still makes a load of money and had record revenues, their margins shrunk to make it a flat quarter in terms of profit. This has made investors run to the hills as they think Apple has peaked.

Phil Schiller talks down Android and the Samsung GS4 - and gets things a little incorrect.

Samsung launch the GS4

Apple launch a new "Why iPhone?" campaign which is very similar to their "Why Mac?" campaign

The CEO of RIM has some interesting words to say:

“Apple did a fantastic job in bringing touch devices to market ... They did a fantastic job with the user interface, they are a design icon. There is a reason why they were so successful, and we actually have to admit this and respect that,” Mr Heins said.

“History repeats itself again I guess ... the rate of innovation is so high in our industry that if you don’t innovate at that speed you can be replaced pretty quickly. The user interface on the iPhone, with all due respect for what this invention was all about is now five years old.”
Click to expand...

And, well, pretty much every news outlet or blog starting to compare Apple to its competitors and for the first time Apple isn't coming out spotless. Android has certainly caught up to iOS and manufacturers are producing some incredible designs (HTC One).

I don't think Apple have a "problem" exactly. The iPhone is still very desirable, making them a load of money and nobody can argue it isn't good. It just seems like at the moment they've dug their ground and reckon their product is the most awesomest thing out there by a mile. Without actually taking into account what Android/WP/Blackberry are doing and more importantly which products people are buying. Those large-screened Android devices are against most Apple design ethics yet are being sold in massive numbers. Even the Note line.


Anyway the point of this thread is to discuss iOS 7. Simply because the iPhone 5S is pretty much a known entity (spec bump, better camera, maybe NFC) the only way Apple is going to bring back the excitement is with iOS 7. At least with the Apple/tech fans (myself included) many will be dismayed if it's just a couple-of-features-here-a-couple-of-tweaks-there kind of update.

Personally I think they're going to have to do something quite radical with it. Certainly not what they limited iOS 6 to. Now that Jony Ive is head of design-everything and Craig Federighi is heading up iOS development I sure hope it makes for something special.

What would make me happy:

Make The OS More "Alive"

The way data is encased in each individual app is seeming very dated now. I'm not exactly talking widgets everywhere, but it would be nice if Apple figured out their own take on me being able to view say the next few days weather, next five calendar appointments and current to-do list in the same view. Open to developers obviously.

Sort Out Those Notifications

Badges, Lock Screen, Banners, Notification Centre, Alerts. Arrgggghhhh. They're all over the place. It's a bit odd that Apple keep talking about simplicity yet over on Android all notifications go neatly into the bar.

Stop Over-Justifying Messages

It really does waste a lot of room!

Offline Maps/Navigation

Despite Apple improving Maps the damage has already been done and offline maps (like how Nokia does it) is pretty much the only way to sway me back from Google. Just a simple selection to download an entire country's street map and keep it updated is all that's needed.

Get Rid Of All That Silly Skeuomorphism

Jony Ive probably took care of that before Christmas...

Data/WiFi/Brightness Toggles Easily Accessed

Brightness is the most important. Nothing more annoying that wanting to watch some video and having to come out, go into settings, change the brightness up, watch the video and then remember to turn it down again.

Photo Stream Upload Over Data

At least give me the option! Unlimited data needs using.

Automatic App Updates

Seems a bit silly asking me these days.

A Better Keyboard

Due to the open nature of Android's keyboard implementation (letting anyone at it) this was probably always going to happen. SwiftKey utterly creams the iOS keyboard in every possible way. I'd suggest a purchase or an "inspired" update in this area.




I think the "Alive" system, new Jony Ive inspired design and full offline navigation would be enough headline for me to see Apple as back in the game.

So what do you guys think? Is iOS as good as it can be and Apple should concentrate elsewhere? Jumped ship to Android already? Want other things out of iOS or Apple in general?

Discuss :p
 
i jumped to Windows Phone, and i miss a lot about the Apple stuff - mostly how seamlessly it works (cliche i know...)

However the contacts integration into the WP OS pulling in, and linking, peoples phone/email contacts, facebook, linked in and twitter - all there and available to be contacted directly, without going into an app to me is the biggest improvement over iOS; which sort of sits with your alive notion.

Also, i prefer the live tiles on my WP8, constantly updating, previewing photos for each group, notifications and updates - just a better experience.
 
A camera app that can rival my One X please. The iPhone camera is awful, although whether this is hardware, software, or a combination of both I'm not sure.

It's the only reason I still prefer my One X.
 
Just don't break or remove anything I currently use would be a start.

I'd be quite surprised if iOS7 is the big sea change some people expect following the departure of Forstall. If that was the watershed moment, then not enough time has elapsed if we expect to see a release in the coming months.

Still, I don't see why some of the suggested changes cant be part of the normal incremental update.
 
I'm just an average user, make calls, texts and look at facebook. Check the odd email. I never play games on the phone since getting a pad. So all I really use additonal is Audible and a few camera apps.

I'm probably like 3/4s of the people out there that buy these phones and have no issues with any of the IOS's as it works well for the limited functions we actually use.

So I can't think of anything I actually want or need, until an update comes along and I find a nice feature :D There's nothing I find frustrating or wishing I had right now :)
 
Fillado said:
Get Rid Of All That Silly Skeuomorphism
Click to expand...

Does that include things like making the notes app look like a pad of paper, or the maps app having an effect like turning a page?

If so I like those, to me it's what sets Apple stuff apart and gives it character over the blandness of other platforms.
 
We've been through four hardware designs yet iOS is broadly unchanged from Day 1. Sure minor things have been added, but it's still essentially rows of icons requiring you to access each app individually so see it's data.

I think compared to Android widgets and Windows phone tiles this approach is distinctly old fashioned. Apple needs a redesign, perhaps following the principes of Google Now of pushing the data you want to see to you rather than waiting for you to go looking.
 
Last edited:
please please please don't turn iOS into Android

The reason I bought an iPhone is because its plain, simple and just works. No widgets, no tiles, no animated icons. Keep it plain please!

eye candy is great for the first 30 seconds. Whoooo look at that. Once the novelty has gone you just want it to work and do its thing
 
I don't think we'll see the Ive touch on iOS in terms of drastic changes just yet, but the fact is we have a different person working on the UI now which wasn't the case before.
 
I'd like a shortcut which takes me to the bottom of a web page, just like tapping the top of the screen takes you to the very top. As for the looks I'm not that bothered if there aren't any radical changes, I like iOS how it is already. Apparently they are supposedly working on making Apple apps look a bit cleaner, instead of them trying to replicate real life counterparts such as Contacts being a mock of a diary/phone book.
 
Last edited:
I thing it just needs some polish. Generally the OS is nice but its a little dull but the bigger problem for me is when you see things like the time/date selector wheel and so on, they just look horrible, when your inside some beautiful app like Mail and then u see that thing.

Apart from that I think Apple needs to adopt a faster update cycle for their 1st party app, I think the need for apple apps are getting less and less, and in most categories the best app isnt an apple versions, e.g mail, maps, web browser (For some), and many others. Instead of having to wait for a major OS update to include something like pull-to-refresh they could include it in the minor ones or just push app updates like Google. I feel more then the OS being boring they need to keep up with all the latest innovation with UI in apps.

I think changing the look of the OS radically is stupid, you never want to change your UI, and you dont want users to think its different, iOS looking the same all these years I think is one of its major strengths. When you pick up a iOS device you know what your getting right away and how most thigns works.

I also think they need to push the tablet version of iOS, it has a few tablet UIs here and there but nothing really is pushed, like when you look at the notification, its just the phone versions stuck on the device. They could maybe have something similar to OSX when you can have your notifications on the side, maybe allow you to take action on more of them, the way android is doing it, would be very usefully if your playing a game/ watching video. Some sort of multi window would be nice too. I understand they want to keep it mostly the same to give users a very simple interface with an easy transition but I believe they need to make it a bit better in productivity.
 
I don't think we will see any major changes to the look or feel. No widgets, no live tiles etc.
We, as geeks like those sorts of things. The general public don't care.

iOS7 will just be a bit of polish here and there, a few more API's exposed for devs, maybe a better camera app.
 
One of the things with iOS is we've had it good for a long time. It's been pretty constant in terms of quality for a decent amount of time. You can't say the same about Android, its been playing catchup for a while and has only really recently got to a decent comparable stage.

Now, continuing to innovate is hard / slacks off if you've already created a great platform, only refinements seem to happen thereafter which is a great thing imo but we're not patient people, we want change and then moan about change when it happens. Apple can't do right for doing wrong, first it was 'omg no new design' and now its 'omg no new os'.

I'm not entirely sure what I want to see in iOS 7, I don't want major change! :D

It'll be more superficial things like the skin, maybe live icons? No major overhaul is needed, just a continuation of quality refinements. Perhaps at a faster rate to appease some folk. :p
 
I still don't think Android is anywhere near up to the level of iOS. That's just my personal opinion though.

Even using the latest version was laggy and it doesn't have that polished feel about it. Most of the apps haven't a clue if they are running on a phone or a tablet :rolleyes: Suppose that's down to the app devs but still.
 
After 4 years of using it, for me it is starting to feel very outdated and quite dull, focusing on a new slick look and a few more handy features would do me, else I may wander if only for the novelty of change.
 
Think it's just the GUI and easier access to toggles such as Wifi/3G and brightness.

GUI has been a constant for a long time, and it makes a product feel stale when you've been looking at the same thing for years.

not an expert but wouldnt a complete revamp of the OS be probably impossible for past generations hardware, so it would require Apple to ditch previous generations and launch anew?

Saying at Cydia and Jailbreaking shows some things are possible, personally would love to see multiple windows built into iOS for my iPad as well as widgets.
 
glen8 said:
I still don't think Android is anywhere near up to the level of iOS. That's just my personal opinion though.
Click to expand...
Android itself is and well beyond it imo, and that is coming from an iOS user. However you need to look at what Android you are comparing it to - botched Samsung Touchwiz is a mess, whilst pure android on the Nexus isn't.

Android Apps however is where it falls down. There are some top apps that compare to iOS ones but for the most part, the rest are a mess. There still isn't a decent twitter app to match Tweetbot on iOS.

We all know iOS needs changing. Apple have stuck with the same look for so long that they will be touted as uninspiring, if not already. For well over 3yrs I have whinged for a lockscreen that actually mimicked the stuff that the jailbreak app - Lockinfo (jailbreak) does, but nothing.

Notifications - I honestly have never used this because I hated it from day one. Upon moving to android last year I was blown away from day one. Every app used it properly and it is hard to live without.

How hard is it to implement quick toggles like SBSettings (jailbreak) has? Why do we have to repeatedly delve into Settings.app to toggle various setting states?

I know Apple want to keep things simple and familiar across their range but you just can't keep doing that year after year.

I can't see iOS7 being a big change and I hope Jonafan Ive's proves me wrong as my iPad3 is only used to read Reddit and Twitter these days.
 
Wasn't it Steve Jobs who said that iOS was designed to basically just be an app launcher? As it stands, it does that very well. Simple, plain UI. Android is too cluttered and convoluted for many.

About the biggest thing I'd like to see is notification syncing. So if you get an iMessage on your iPhone and open it up to reply the notification of the original message then vanishes from an iPad and doesn't just sit there like it's still new.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom