Letter to Apple for iOS 7

[Lightey]

I sent Apple some Feedback on http://www.apple.com/feedback/ for what I want to see in iOS 7. Just thought I'd share it here as well. Apple says they read them, so I hope they use some of these ideas.

"Many people I've talked to that use iPhones that used to love them, even the older people I've talked to, are getting very annoyed that a few simple features are missing from the operating system. These features have long been implemented on desktop operating systems and are now being used on other mobile OSes. If you truly want to call iOS "the most advanced mobile operating system", then some work needs to be done to it.

My requests are the following:

1. Allow users to delete default apps (Newsstand, Weather, ect.) and redownload from the App Store. This will also make it easier to update these apps, as the updates can be done through the App Store instead of pushing out an iOS update.

2. Widgets in Notification Center/Home Screen. Stocks and Weather are a great start, but developers should be able to sell widgets in the App Store to make it easier for users to do the tasks they want to do. For example, when I get in my car, I turn the Bluetooth on my phone on. When I get out, I turn it off to save battery. This process takes way too long to accomplish, and if Widgets were available, I could download a bluetooth toggle widget that would allow me to swipe down the notification center and turn off bluetooth. These widgets should also be able to be used on the home screen, assuming the user has enough space on their screen for it.

3. Weather/Widgets in Lock Screen. The lock screen on iOS has so much wasted potential. It's great that as of iOS 5, you can see your notifications on it, but you should be able to install widgets similar to those in Notification Center.

4. Quick Reply for Messages. It's great that iOS has the banner notifications. What's not so great is when you get a text message and don't want to stop what you are doing and completely switch to the Messages app to reply to the message. A better system for doing this would be:
User receives banner notification for text
User can tap on notification and reply right there, within his/her current app
User can send the message from that app, or choose to switch to the Messages app.
This should also be included in the SDK so apps such as Facebook Messenger can use it.

5. Ability to place apps anywhere on the screen. On the homescreen, the user is very limited as to how apps are placed. Users should be able to place apps wherever they like on the screen. For example, if a user has three apps installed on the phone, they should be able to place those three apps wherever they please, in whatever order they please. Right now, if a user has three apps on a page, those three apps will always be in the upper left corner of the "grid" no matter what.

6 Ability to pick default apps. I understand that you guys very much like the apps that ship with the phone. But let's be honest, some people need more features than are included in some of them. Such as adding a photo to a threaded conversation in Mail. It isn't possible. Some people need that feature, so they download apps that can give them that feature. The App Store is a great place for solutions like this, but the problem is that the stock apps are always defaulted and there is no way to change them. Allowing for the user to default apps would mean that people can pick which app best suits them in a particular situation. For example, someone that prefers Sparrow over the normal Mail app could choose to have all Mail functions route to Sparrow (of course, developers would need to program this in). This way, if the user taps on an email address, they are brought into Sparrow to compose a new mail message instead of Mail.

These improvements would really make iOS work better for many people and make the iPhone the best phone on the market once again. I hope that you guys at Apple consider these requests and try to add them into iOS 7.

Thanks,
----------"

 

[El3ctronics]

Good letter and good start. But iOS 7 needs a bunch more features to once again be a state of the art mobile OS.

 

[FatPuppy]

You guys are a bit naive,don't you think Apple wants these features but they can't add them because they can't make A BETTER BATTERY,that's the problem for all these missed features.Sure Android has all above but you saw how it laggs and how slow it is.

 

[irDigital0l]

Sure Android has all above but you saw how it laggs and how slow it is.

Have you ever used a Nexus 4 on Android 4.2 or Galaxy SIII/Note 2 on Android 4.1.2 or any other Android phone on Jellybean 4.1 or 4.2?

Yes, Android ran like crap in its inception until ICS, it was ok. Now with Jelly Bean its a lot, lot better. Tried out many of them.

I still prefer iOS, but what you said its just bonkers.

 

[Squilly]

Nice letter. I think you hit it spot on. Maybe they'll listen to one of their customers.... (for once).

 

[stevelam]

Very sensible requests and pretty much the only things I jailbreak my iPhones for.

 

[FatPuppy]

Have you ever used a Nexus 4 on Android 4.2 or Galaxy SIII/Note 2 on Android 4.1.2 or any other Android phone on Jellybean 4.1 or 4.2?

Yes, Android ran like crap in its inception until ICS, it was ok. Now with Jelly Bean its a lot, lot better. Tried out many of them.

I still prefer iOS, but what you said its just bonkers.

You said it to yourself,android is running good now on 4.1,truth but so much time and so many updates just to stop lagging?by the way,I used once an empty Galaxy SIII and just scrolling in menu makes the OS to lag.

 

[nuckinfutz]

1. Just allow me to hide default apps that I do not wish to use. I don't really care about having to delete them but if I choose not to use them make it a preference setting to hide them.

2. Widgets and Toggles aren't going to happen. Apple doesn't want you to micro-manage your phone. Only Android users are in constant need of shutting down features on their phone in order to make their phone last longer. While it was great to brag about having LTE when the iPhone 4S came out the fact was the 4S lasted longer than most of the LTE phones in battery life. A dead phone is a paper weight.

3. The problem here is clutter. How many people really need to constantly see weather or some other small bit of data. I think a lot of people are succumbing to information overload.

4. Quick reply is a no-brainer. I use shortcuts and in conjunction with quick reply would speed my ability to communicate.

5. I don't think Apple should allow for default apps for anything that already comes with the system. Thus Safari, Mail, Maps and more would have to be the standard default. This is key because Apple can provide a consistent experience across these vital apps.

Other apps like Twitter and other apps it would be nice to be able to set defaults.

 

[irDigital0l]

You said it to yourself,android is running good now on 4.1,truth but so much time and so many updates just to stop lagging?by the way,I used once an empty Galaxy SIII and just scrolling in menu makes the OS to lag.

The point is that its NOW runs fine, really good.

Your first comment is still flawed. Its not laggy or slow by any comparison.

I think Apple could add those features without killing the battery, but they choose not too, not because they can't.

 

[buddybd]

Lag won't be a problem because Apple has one HUGE advantage, limited variations in hardware. So they themselves can optimize the OS according to the hardware in the phones, whereas that's very difficult on Android phones.

So yea, those features surely won't be performance killing. I would love to see Quick Reply/Compose, that was the ONLY reason why I used to jailbreak my phones.

You can get a very good idea of how the iPhone is lacking on the software side once you jailbreak it. You can install tons of stuff before there is even a hint of a slowdown. Obviously themes would have performance impacts, but if Apple made it, they can surely make it better. Don't care about themes though, I just want my convenience features.

 

[falkedup]

you can add a photo to a threaded conversation in mail...
just tap any where in the message box and hit the right arrow to insert photo or video

 

[maflynn]

Given this thread and the general life cycle of these releases. I'd say any request for major changes for iOS7 is too late. Its probably already in a feature freeze point now. If we want to request new features to iOS, then we need to reach further back in the pipeline like iOS 8 or 9.

 

[kolax]

I'd love to be able to pick default applications. Maps is the big one.

I'd also like to be able to share my location independent of any map source. All it needs to be is metadata. Right now if I share my location on iOS 6, it is an Apple Maps link, regardless of who I send it to. It would be nice if it were just metadata as well as a link to view on the web. So if a user clicks on the metadata on their phone, it'll load in whatever maps application they have by default (e.g. Google Maps on Android). Then, if they don't have any maps application, they can open the link in a browser.

Given this thread and the general life cycle of these releases. I'd say any request for major changes for iOS7 is too late. Its probably already in a feature freeze point now. If we want to request new features to iOS, then we need to reach further back in the pipeline like iOS 8 or 9.

Doubt it. A lot of these features can be added in a point release.

 

[torana355]

Apple will need to do a whole lot more then that to compete with phones like the Note 2 and Nexus 4. Apple is cashing in on previous success, ios6 was a complete failure and certain people at Apple getting the boot shows that Apple realize this. I bet ios7 is much better then most people think it will be, it has to be for Apples mobile sector to continue to lead the market. If not Apple could go the way Microsoft did, years ago Microsoft was very reminiscent of Apple right now...

 

[maflynn]

Doubt it. A lot of these features can be added in a point release.

To it looks like these feature requests would require some serious updates and thus fall outside of point updates.

2. Widgets in Notification Center/Home Screen.
...
3. Weather/Widgets in Lock Screen.
...
4. Quick Reply for Messages.
...
6 Ability to pick default apps.

Besides apple typically does not really add features to point releases, sure there are exceptions (like the addition of multitasking) but generally speaking iOS point releases have been bug fixes. Which goes back to my point any new features needs to be addressed far enough back in the pipeline to actually plan for them.

Apple cannot just add them, there's a lot of pre-work, and analysis that needs to go into the process even before a single line of code is written. Since iOS7 is already some sort of alpha stage its not likely that apple will make any major changes which will effect the stability and release date of iOS7.

 

[gpsouza]

I just want the Quick Reply... I really don't care about the rest...

 

[kolax]

To it looks like these feature requests would require some serious updates and thus fall outside of point updates.

I can't name any off the top of my head without having to Google, but Apple has introduced some new features with a point update.

Being able to remove default applications won't require much, neither will allowing users to change the default application association. Widgets in the notification drop down exist already, though the time consuming work would be the SDK for widgets, but they'll already be working on that I'm sure.

 

[stevelam]

1. Just allow me to hide default apps that I do not wish to use. I don't really care about having to delete them but if I choose not to use them make it a preference setting to hide them.

2. Widgets and Toggles aren't going to happen. Apple doesn't want you to micro-manage your phone. Only Android users are in constant need of shutting down features on their phone in order to make their phone last longer. While it was great to brag about having LTE when the iPhone 4S came out the fact was the 4S lasted longer than most of the LTE phones in battery life. A dead phone is a paper weight.

3. The problem here is clutter. How many people really need to constantly see weather or some other small bit of data. I think a lot of people are succumbing to information overload.

4. Quick reply is a no-brainer. I use shortcuts and in conjunction with quick reply would speed my ability to communicate.

5. I don't think Apple should allow for default apps for anything that already comes with the system. Thus Safari, Mail, Maps and more would have to be the standard default. This is key because Apple can provide a consistent experience across these vital apps.

Other apps like Twitter and other apps it would be nice to be able to set defaults.

there was a day when using the default mail, safari and maps app was just fine because they were pretty much the best at the time. nowadays, vastly superior apps provide WAY better experiences than the built-in, stale as hell safari/mail/and obviously the failed apple maps app. providing a standard and consistent experience is one thing. providing a subpar ****** experience for everyone is another.

 

[CTHarrryH]

First I agree with someone who said - probably too late for IOS7. That is probably in some internal alpha testing now and I'm sure features won't be added at this date. A great deal of changes to IOS has been to support hardware and I'm sure that this will continue. I don't agree that IOS 6 has been a failure just because it didn't contain some of the changes some people wanted.
Although I don't disagree with most of what the letter states, I also don't want too much freedom of choice. Consistent experience is what has let Apple become what it is and if everyone had a different experience it would become increasing difficult to maintain that experience. Most people that I know who have iPhones or Android devices don't want to change things on them other than adding the stuff they use most to the front screen.
Some of the flexibilty you want will also increase the developer's work significantly - they will have to program for and support all sorts of interfaces.
Large companies restrict what they let users put on and modify on their work computers for many of the same reasons - they need to support and be able to update and thus understand what is on each.

This is a phone or a tablet and although it may have replaced many full size computers it can't replace all the functions of one.

I'd love to see built in apps be able to be hidden. I'd love to have the ability to easily do things such as turn on and off bluetooth. I'd rather have longer battery life and faster processing.

 

[jonnyb098]

I sent Apple some Feedback on http://www.apple.com/feedback/ for what I want to see in iOS 7. Just thought I'd share it here as well. Apple says they read them, so I hope they use some of these ideas.

"Many people I've talked to that use iPhones that used to love them, even the older people I've talked to, are getting very annoyed that a few simple features are missing from the operating system. These features have long been implemented on desktop operating systems and are now being used on other mobile OSes. If you truly want to call iOS "the most advanced mobile operating system", then some work needs to be done to it.

My requests are the following:

1. Allow users to delete default apps (Newsstand, Weather, ect.) and redownload from the App Store. This will also make it easier to update these apps, as the updates can be done through the App Store instead of pushing out an iOS update.

2. Widgets in Notification Center/Home Screen. Stocks and Weather are a great start, but developers should be able to sell widgets in the App Store to make it easier for users to do the tasks they want to do. For example, when I get in my car, I turn the Bluetooth on my phone on. When I get out, I turn it off to save battery. This process takes way too long to accomplish, and if Widgets were available, I could download a bluetooth toggle widget that would allow me to swipe down the notification center and turn off bluetooth. These widgets should also be able to be used on the home screen, assuming the user has enough space on their screen for it.

3. Weather/Widgets in Lock Screen. The lock screen on iOS has so much wasted potential. It's great that as of iOS 5, you can see your notifications on it, but you should be able to install widgets similar to those in Notification Center.

4. Quick Reply for Messages. It's great that iOS has the banner notifications. What's not so great is when you get a text message and don't want to stop what you are doing and completely switch to the Messages app to reply to the message. A better system for doing this would be:
User receives banner notification for text
User can tap on notification and reply right there, within his/her current app
User can send the message from that app, or choose to switch to the Messages app.
This should also be included in the SDK so apps such as Facebook Messenger can use it.

5. Ability to place apps anywhere on the screen. On the homescreen, the user is very limited as to how apps are placed. Users should be able to place apps wherever they like on the screen. For example, if a user has three apps installed on the phone, they should be able to place those three apps wherever they please, in whatever order they please. Right now, if a user has three apps on a page, those three apps will always be in the upper left corner of the "grid" no matter what.

6 Ability to pick default apps. I understand that you guys very much like the apps that ship with the phone. But let's be honest, some people need more features than are included in some of them. Such as adding a photo to a threaded conversation in Mail. It isn't possible. Some people need that feature, so they download apps that can give them that feature. The App Store is a great place for solutions like this, but the problem is that the stock apps are always defaulted and there is no way to change them. Allowing for the user to default apps would mean that people can pick which app best suits them in a particular situation. For example, someone that prefers Sparrow over the normal Mail app could choose to have all Mail functions route to Sparrow (of course, developers would need to program this in). This way, if the user taps on an email address, they are brought into Sparrow to compose a new mail message instead of Mail.

These improvements would really make iOS work better for many people and make the iPhone the best phone on the market once again. I hope that you guys at Apple consider these requests and try to add them into iOS 7.

Thanks,
----------"

Totally agree with all of this.

Most of it doesn't have to wait till iOS 7, but of course Apple will push them as NEW, AWESOME, AMAZING, BEST THING WE'VE DONE features. The ability to pick default apps needs to happen though. These apps were really good before the app store and even the infancy of the app store, but we have reached a point where a lot of apps are now better than the default apps. I personally would love to switich my default photo app to Camera+. We all love the apps on the app store and just want the ability to pick the apps we want. And PLEASE let us dump the useless apps we never use like voice memos. Who the hell uses voice memos? I would guess less than 1% of all iPhone users.

 

[Ddyracer]

I sent Apple some Feedback.

My requests are the following:

1. Allow users to delete default apps (Newsstand, Weather, ect.) and redownload from the App Store. This will also make it easier to update these apps, as the updates can be done through the App Store instead of pushing out an iOS update.

I would love this. Problem is, it's not even available on OS X unless you sudo it out of there. So, if Apple is taking design cues from the desktop to mobile and vice versa (which they are btw) i don't see it happening.

But, maybe it won't be this way. Perhaps Apple will let us get rid of it. But, you know, on android it's the same story (i think) unless you root.

 

[nuckinfutz]

there was a day when using the default mail, safari and maps app was just fine because they were pretty much the best at the time. nowadays, vastly superior apps provide WAY better experiences than the built-in, stale as hell safari/mail/and obviously the failed apple maps app. providing a standard and consistent experience is one thing. providing a subpar ****** experience for everyone is another.

I still think Apple needs a consistent experience regarding their communication apps. I don't think Chrome on iOS is superior and Google Maps is more mature but I see Apple catching up quickly enough.

 

[cyks]

Google Maps is more mature but I see Apple catching up quickly enough.

Yeah, because it's shown such tremendous progress these past few months.

 

[DreamLand]

Have you ever used a Nexus 4 on Android 4.2 or Galaxy SIII/Note 2 on Android 4.1.2 or any other Android phone on Jellybean 4.1 or 4.2?

Yes, Android ran like crap in its inception until ICS, it was ok. Now with Jelly Bean its a lot, lot better. Tried out many of them.

I still prefer iOS, but what you said its just bonkers.

I bought Nexus 7 when Google released it. I bought it because the hype that bloggers created about the device and OS. I was disappointed after using it for 2 months. Simple tasks like browsing the net with default browser (Chrome) were terrible compared to what I have used to in iOS. Android 4.1 isn't buttery IMHO.

 

[tech4all]

You said it to yourself,android is running good now on 4.1,truth but so much time and so many updates just to stop lagging?by the way,I used once an empty Galaxy SIII and just scrolling in menu makes the OS to lag.

I bought Nexus 7 when Google released it. I bought it because the hype that bloggers created about the device and OS. I was disappointed after using it for 2 months. Simple tasks like browsing the net with default browser (Chrome) were terrible compared to what I have used to in iOS. Android 4.1 isn't buttery IMHO.

Can't speak for Samsung, but while Samsung made, my Galaxy Nexus with the latest version of JB is smooth as a baby's behind.

When talking about the lagginess of JB, iOS users must be:

1) Lying/never even used it; not saying you are, but face fanboys of any kind will make stuff up about the 'enemy'
2) Have a negative bias towards it so anything will be 'bad' or slow in this case. I've done it myself with Windows when I was a Mac fanboy. Yes I admit it.
3) Are telling the truth but the hardware/software must have a bug in it or something.

I say this because I use JB, albiet in it's true form by having a Nexus, and it's very smooth. No other way around it. Now I won't say it's smoother or not smoother compared to iOS since I haven't used the latest version of iOS. But I suspect it to be the same.