Lots of people have been talking and complaining about iOS's current UI design as well as the reported flat design for iOS 7. Honestly I rather see Apple focus more on functionality in iOS and the core problems associated with it rather than trying to overhaul the entire UI and design.
A boring and out-of-date UI is a problem but iOS has a bigger problem than that and its hidden. The problem is while iOS is pretty solid it sucks at some really basic tasks.
Mail
Attaching photos and videos in Mail was painful before iOS 6. Thankfully Apple added that feature in iOS 6 but even then its still somewhat annoying to use. I don't see how a modern mobile OS doesn't have the option to attach documents easily. Organization and searching is also flawed but adding attachments is a basic feature that needs to be addressed.
Notes
Notes on iOS is really lackluster especially compared to Notes on OS X. You can't attach photos or attachments in your notes in iOS. That means even with iCloud syncing, your notes are pretty much useless if you add a photo in OS X, they won't appear in iOS. I don't want Notes to be as complicated as Evernote, but it needs at least some basic features that all notes apps have now. Rich text, folders, and tags need to be added.
Photos
Apple gets really contradicting here. All the photos and videos you take with Camera app goes into the Photos app yet you can only have photos in Photo Stream. You cannot share or stream recorded video which is hypocritical. Speaking of photos and videos, organization is a pain in the current Photos app. There's no way to sort photos and videos separately and organizing albums is painful.
Camera
Speaking of photos, I don't see how the Camera app doesn't have a timer and burst mode. These aren't gimmicks like most of the camera features in the GS4. Even Camera+ has these option so if a popular 3rd party app on the App Store can have the feature its almost impossible for Apple to not be able to do it. Think about it, Apple added panorama mode before a timer and burst mode. Its a basic feature that all cameras have. Panorama looks like a gimmick compared to a timer and burst mode.
Game Center
Probably the only app that absolutely needs a massive redesign. Other apps might have bad designs but are still unusable. The number one essential feature that Game Center is missing is an inbox for messages, friend requests, invites, etc. Apple often compares and touts on Game Center is way better than Xbox Live yet Game Center doesn't even have this basic feature for any social gaming network (a way to communicate to other players).
Files
Mentioned this in my Mail complaint briefly but iOS needs some sort of Finder or easier way to locate and access downloaded files. Using iBooks as a pdf manager is not efficient. Same with iWork, its really inefficient have to email the document within the apps. There needs to be a place where these can all be done outside of the apps.
iCloud
The hidden and real problem related to iOS is iCloud. iCloud works but also doesn't work many times. There's no interactivity between apps, developers still aren't embracing it, and syncing for iTunes Match and other things is just way too complicated. It succeeds where Mobileme failed, but fails where Apple wants to take it to.
For example, Google Docs allows for simultaneous work, something iWork suite desperately needs. iCloud isn't just about a single individual as seen with Shared Photo Streams as well as sharing options for calendar and reminders but the interactivity between these apps is completely broken. Apps suck at communicating with other apps.
Notification Sync
I honestly thought that Notification Center in iOS 5 solved this problem, but it didn't. Its really annoying when you get a notification on your iPhone but once you complete the task it disappears in Notification Center on your iPhone but NOT your iPad or other device. They don't sync. iCloud was suppose to just work, this doesn't at all.
To recap, I'm not really asking for much. This is 2013, there should be a way for me to easily attach documents in mail. Camera is one of the most used iPhone apps yet it doesn't even have the most basic features. I expect especially with Apple pushing the post PC era to have all my notifications sync properly and iCloud to work well. Most importantly, I want Apple to not stick to the past to firmly and open up apps and services and software can connect to each other. Give Siri and Notification Center APIs to developers, make iCloud easier for developers, etc.
Excited for iOS 7 but I hope Apple realizes where the actual problems and feature are.
Edit: Some of you guys had some great points that I missed, added them up on the list. Again these features aren't about customization, they're just really basic features that is lacking in iOS.
A boring and out-of-date UI is a problem but iOS has a bigger problem than that and its hidden. The problem is while iOS is pretty solid it sucks at some really basic tasks.
Attaching photos and videos in Mail was painful before iOS 6. Thankfully Apple added that feature in iOS 6 but even then its still somewhat annoying to use. I don't see how a modern mobile OS doesn't have the option to attach documents easily. Organization and searching is also flawed but adding attachments is a basic feature that needs to be addressed.
Notes
Notes on iOS is really lackluster especially compared to Notes on OS X. You can't attach photos or attachments in your notes in iOS. That means even with iCloud syncing, your notes are pretty much useless if you add a photo in OS X, they won't appear in iOS. I don't want Notes to be as complicated as Evernote, but it needs at least some basic features that all notes apps have now. Rich text, folders, and tags need to be added.
Photos
Apple gets really contradicting here. All the photos and videos you take with Camera app goes into the Photos app yet you can only have photos in Photo Stream. You cannot share or stream recorded video which is hypocritical. Speaking of photos and videos, organization is a pain in the current Photos app. There's no way to sort photos and videos separately and organizing albums is painful.
Camera
Speaking of photos, I don't see how the Camera app doesn't have a timer and burst mode. These aren't gimmicks like most of the camera features in the GS4. Even Camera+ has these option so if a popular 3rd party app on the App Store can have the feature its almost impossible for Apple to not be able to do it. Think about it, Apple added panorama mode before a timer and burst mode. Its a basic feature that all cameras have. Panorama looks like a gimmick compared to a timer and burst mode.
Game Center
Probably the only app that absolutely needs a massive redesign. Other apps might have bad designs but are still unusable. The number one essential feature that Game Center is missing is an inbox for messages, friend requests, invites, etc. Apple often compares and touts on Game Center is way better than Xbox Live yet Game Center doesn't even have this basic feature for any social gaming network (a way to communicate to other players).
Files
Mentioned this in my Mail complaint briefly but iOS needs some sort of Finder or easier way to locate and access downloaded files. Using iBooks as a pdf manager is not efficient. Same with iWork, its really inefficient have to email the document within the apps. There needs to be a place where these can all be done outside of the apps.
iCloud
The hidden and real problem related to iOS is iCloud. iCloud works but also doesn't work many times. There's no interactivity between apps, developers still aren't embracing it, and syncing for iTunes Match and other things is just way too complicated. It succeeds where Mobileme failed, but fails where Apple wants to take it to.
For example, Google Docs allows for simultaneous work, something iWork suite desperately needs. iCloud isn't just about a single individual as seen with Shared Photo Streams as well as sharing options for calendar and reminders but the interactivity between these apps is completely broken. Apps suck at communicating with other apps.
Notification Sync
I honestly thought that Notification Center in iOS 5 solved this problem, but it didn't. Its really annoying when you get a notification on your iPhone but once you complete the task it disappears in Notification Center on your iPhone but NOT your iPad or other device. They don't sync. iCloud was suppose to just work, this doesn't at all.
To recap, I'm not really asking for much. This is 2013, there should be a way for me to easily attach documents in mail. Camera is one of the most used iPhone apps yet it doesn't even have the most basic features. I expect especially with Apple pushing the post PC era to have all my notifications sync properly and iCloud to work well. Most importantly, I want Apple to not stick to the past to firmly and open up apps and services and software can connect to each other. Give Siri and Notification Center APIs to developers, make iCloud easier for developers, etc.
Excited for iOS 7 but I hope Apple realizes where the actual problems and feature are.
Edit: Some of you guys had some great points that I missed, added them up on the list. Again these features aren't about customization, they're just really basic features that is lacking in iOS.
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