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irDigital0l

Guest
Dec 7, 2010
2,901
0
I'm not expecting anything special like a total revamp, widgets, better multitasking, new API, etc.

Judging by previous iOS releases, these are almost certain with new features:
-Safari improvements (iOS 4, iOS 5, iOS 6)
-Mail improvements (iOS 5, iOS 6)
-Siri improvements (iOS 5, iOS 5.1, iOS 6, iOS 6.1)

I think we will see Maps 2 to fix and add a lot to Apple's Maps. WWDC would be a really good places to reshow Maps.

Camera and Photos might get new features similar to what the Galaxy S4 got.

FaceTime got cellular support in iOS 6, it might get group call in iOS 7. Would work on both OS X and iOS as Apple is bridging them closer.

Apple always announces one or two new apps. iOS 4 we got Game Center and FaceTime. iOS 5 we got Newsstand and Reminders. iOS 6 we got Passbook. iOS 7 will probably follow suite.

Apple also always has a major new feature. In iOS 4 it was Multitasking, iOS 5 it was Notification Center, iOS 6 was new Maps.

Then Apple usually has a couple smaller updates like Game Center in iOS 5 or Phone in iOS 6. Apple also begin integrating social network sites into iOS like Facebook and Twitter.

So the ten major new features so far:
1. Safari improvements
2. Mail improvements
3. Siri improvements
4. Maps improvements
5. Camera/Photo improvements
6. FaceTime with group chat
7. New app like Reminders in iOS 5 or Passbook in iOS 6
8. Major feature like Multitasking in iOS 4 or Notification Center in iOS 5
9. Some sort of integration like Twitter in iOS 5 or Facebook in iOS 6, maybe Foursquare
10. Could be some features for Calendar, Notes, Game Center, Accessibility. Things like those, nothing that big.

This is pretty much my expectations.
 

WhackyNinja

macrumors 68000
Jul 6, 2012
1,840
436
Kissimmee, FL
I'm not expecting anything special like a total revamp, widgets, better multitasking, new API, etc.

Judging by previous iOS releases, these are almost certain with new features:
-Safari improvements (iOS 4, iOS 5, iOS 6)
-Mail improvements (iOS 5, iOS 6)
-Siri improvements (iOS 5, iOS 5.1, iOS 6, iOS 6.1)

....I am predicting this now. March 30th 2013. 9:42 PM EST. Someone is going to say. When iOS 7 Beta 1 comes out. "Safari seems snappier"
 

Dmunjal

macrumors 68000
Jun 20, 2010
1,533
1,542
Well, when I do unlock my phone, it is so I can go into an app as quickly as possible to do what it is I want to do. In this aspect, I feel that a grid icons is way more practical. :)

You can still have that grid if you want. Or widgets. Or a mix or both. Why limit yourself?
 

Abazigal

Contributor
Jul 18, 2011
19,453
21,840
Singapore
You can still have that grid if you want. Or widgets. Or a mix or both. Why limit yourself?

Apple has never been known for offering many options. If they do not believe a feature will be widely adopted, then they are not going to invest the resources towards implementing it.

Thus, if apple does introduce widgets, it will likely be "all-in", and less so an option if whether you want it or not.
 

WhackyNinja

macrumors 68000
Jul 6, 2012
1,840
436
Kissimmee, FL
Also something I would like in iOS is that they need to make Notification Center with a transparent background.

That backdrop in the NC really looks ugly I think. It only works with Siri and Multitasking...but not NC
 

Jimmy James

macrumors 603
Oct 26, 2008
5,488
4,067
Magicland
I've been saying this for a while now. Jony can't step into a second department and release a new OS months later. Any significant changes would have already been planned.
 

heyyoudvd

macrumors regular
May 13, 2011
218
74
Ive has a fantastic eye for design, but when it comes to aesthetics, he's no Steve Jobs. In other words, I trust Ive to make the software extremely functional and intuitive, but when it comes to making it look nice, I'm a little more worried.

Recent Apple release have worried me in the looks department, For example, iTunes 11 works extremely well, but it looks far too barren. White space is good, but I think Apple went overboard there. When I'm looking at the 'Artist' or 'Genre' views, for example, they look far too empty and plain.

I'm worried that Ive will make iOS boring to look at by going too far in making it 'flat' and removing all the visual touches. I hope he can find the right balance between Forstall's kitsch and the flat boringness of Windows 8.
 

Tyrion

macrumors 6502a
Oct 15, 2002
508
5
Well, when I do unlock my phone, it is so I can go into an app as quickly as possible to do what it is I want to do. In this aspect, I feel that a grid icons is way more practical. :)

There's an easy solution that would please everyone: Apple could turn the spotlight area into "Dashboard", i. e. make it a place where you can put live-updating widgets. They should allow users to completely disable this feature if they'd rather stick with the classic spotlight page in springboard, BUT they should also allow users to set the Dashboard as their actual home screen, so that they'd have to swipe left after unlocking to get to the app grid. That way, everyone can customize their experience to their liking: those who don't care about widgets can turn Dashboard off (just like I can turn off Siri, for example), those who do care can use Dashboard but stick to the classic app grid as their home screen, and those who prefer widgets to static icons can set Dashboard as their home screen.

Ooooor Apple could just implement that "resizable icons" concept I posted, which would even negate the need for a "Dashboard". That would be a very elegant solution.

----------

Apple has never been known for offering many options. If they do not believe a feature will be widely adopted, then they are not going to invest the resources towards implementing it.

Thus, if apple does introduce widgets, it will likely be "all-in", and less so an option if whether you want it or not.

Then why can I toggle Siri? Come on, it's not like they never offer any choice at all. They just usually do it in a very seamless way.
 

sulpfiction

macrumors 68040
Aug 16, 2011
3,075
603
Philadelphia Area
iOS works. It's not stale. Does it need some upgrades? For sure! But the overall UI isn't going to change for a long time. People just get bored and want something different for no good reason. Expect the same basic layout in iOS 7, 8 & 9 with smaller updates & new features along the way.
 

maxosx

macrumors 68020
Dec 13, 2012
2,385
1
Southern California
iOS 6.1.3 is working quite well for me. When Apple consistently improves & refines its products, everyone benefits.

Conversely it's when they get scattered as it seems they may (or may not) be at the present, that results in uncertainty for the enthusiast, but huge profits for Apple.

It seems that no matter what, Apple keeps raking in the money. It's amazing how skilled they are when it comes to influence & profit taking.
 

Brother Esau

macrumors 6502
Jun 30, 2010
277
0
Flat design is the worst thing that they can do to the iPhone. As a website designer and coder, I think that flat design sucks!
 

charlituna

macrumors G3
Jun 11, 2008
9,636
816
Los Angeles, CA
i've said it before in other threads. i highly doubt we'll see ios7 this year. not enough time...
if apple plans to release ios 7, i'd assume they'd want to make major changes to the OS, so as to give some justice to the "7".
my prediction - an ios 6.X version... maybe 6.2.
ios 7 = 2014

They have had no issues not making major changes the years they released iOS 4, 5 or 6 so your assumption could be wrong.
 

charlituna

macrumors G3
Jun 11, 2008
9,636
816
Los Angeles, CA

Don't see anything in those three that is really that needed or amazing. So when they aren't included, I won't be bummed out

----------

I think people don't realize forestall could have made some big changes in IOS7 even before Ive. -

That's a good point, we don't know what the plan was before Forstall got the boot so who knows how much is sticking to that plan, or changing it

And remember that geeks like the folks around here are not the target audience. The other 95% are. And they tend to love consistency cause they get scared of having to relearn things. So total overhauls are unlikely. Under the hood stability etc is more likely
 

jaymzuk

macrumors regular
Jun 1, 2012
222
46
Well, when I do unlock my phone, it is so I can go into an app as quickly as possible to do what it is I want to do. In this aspect, I feel that a grid icons is way more practical. :)

But the flip side of that would be that the average user probably only uses a limited number of apps on a regular basis.

Showing user defined information feeds from facebook, twitter, new sites etc. could potentially be quicker than the current grid system.

I'd kill for that cool settings widget from Android to switch on/off wifi, bluetooth etc. It was a shame that the HTC desire was pretty meh.

The point is 'is choice bad'? At what point does having a grand creative vision of how people should use technology become treating customers like idiots?
 

charlituna

macrumors G3
Jun 11, 2008
9,636
816
Los Angeles, CA
Who said Apple will call them widgets? What ever they call them, they will come to iOS at some point. Whether it is widgets, live tiles, etc, Apple has to bring live information to the homescreen.

No they do not have to. And if they feel it is the wrong move for their target audience they won't.

If widgets or whatever they are called are that important to you then you can either jailbreak at your risk or go buy something else that has them built in for ya
 

charlituna

macrumors G3
Jun 11, 2008
9,636
816
Los Angeles, CA
On the comments about Ives only having his new duties for 6 months. It has been 6 months since Apple announced it. But inside the company, they had to have known well before the announcement what they were going to do.

And Ive isn't the issue so much as the software engineers doing the coding. It's a pretty easy game to take the shadows off the faux volume knobs etc if Ive wants them gone. Or to remove the tear from the notepad.

As for bigger changes, those could have been in the works before Jobs was gone, who knows.
 

bozzykid

macrumors 68020
Aug 11, 2009
2,430
492
No they do not have to. And if they feel it is the wrong move for their target audience they won't.

It is pretty clear they are coming. They've already been added to notification center. The home screen is the next logical step. If they don't, they risk falling behind even farther to Android and WP in terms of usability. I would be shocked if they don't add live features to IOS7 and especially IOS8.
 

Claefer

macrumors regular
Jun 1, 2011
166
0
Flat design is the worst thing that they can do to the iPhone. As a website designer and coder, I think that flat design sucks!

I hate how unsatisfying tapping a button feels on flat interfaces. Not sure if it's a good analogy but it reminds of the story of the original iPod review units that didn't make a click sound when a user plugged in the earphones.
 

DesertEagle

macrumors 6502a
Jan 10, 2012
609
8
/home @ 127.0.0.1
Update: it seems like Ive may actually have influence over a new design direction for iOS. Supposedly, he's pushing for a more 'flat' design, which means more simplicity and less skeuomorphism. What do you guys think about this?

https://www.macrumors.com/2013/03/2...eater-hardware-software-design-collaboration/

I kind of liked the skeuomorphic tape-player in the Podcast app, which was removed with the latest update. What is next? Removing the paper-flipping-feature in iBooks, or just the wooden bookshelf?
 

Dulcimer

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 20, 2012
891
688
I kind of liked the skeuomorphic tape-player in the Podcast app, which was removed with the latest update. What is next? Removing the paper-flipping-feature in iBooks, or just the wooden bookshelf?

I hope they only get rid of the stupid things like the green felt of GameCenter and the torn pages in Notes. That stuff is a little excessive.

Personally, I like the bookshelf in iBooks.
 

bozzykid

macrumors 68020
Aug 11, 2009
2,430
492
I kind of liked the skeuomorphic tape-player in the Podcast app, which was removed with the latest update. What is next? Removing the paper-flipping-feature in iBooks, or just the wooden bookshelf?

How about making things like number/time pickers actually easy to use instead of the awful spinning wheel? On Android, I can set an alarm by quickly hitting the time on a number pad. On iOS, I have to spin these stupid wheels around to set the time. My guess is Ive should be focusing on removing the skeuomorphism in cases where it is making the function more difficult instead of easier to use.
 

Abazigal

Contributor
Jul 18, 2011
19,453
21,840
Singapore
So the ten major new features so far:
1. Safari improvements
2. Mail improvements
3. Siri improvements
4. Maps improvements
5. Camera/Photo improvements
6. FaceTime with group chat
7. New app like Reminders in iOS 5 or Passbook in iOS 6
8. Major feature like Multitasking in iOS 4 or Notification Center in iOS 5
9. Some sort of integration like Twitter in iOS 5 or Facebook in iOS 6, maybe Foursquare
10. Could be some features for Calendar, Notes, Game Center, Accessibility. Things like those, nothing that big.

Very reasonable analysis overall. IOS was always envisioned as a companion to OSX, and I doubt Apple will take the Android route of turning their smartphones into mini-PCs.

I do wish Apple had been the one to buy over the mailbox app though. Those swipe gestures were actually pretty cool and useful, and it can help lock users into the ecosystem if Apple is able to develop ipad and OSX version (since mailbox pretty much screws up the mail interface of every other mail app).
 

Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Nov 14, 2011
24,083
31,014
How about making things like number/time pickers actually easy to use instead of the awful spinning wheel? On Android, I can set an alarm by quickly hitting the time on a number pad. On iOS, I have to spin these stupid wheels around to set the time. My guess is Ive should be focusing on removing the skeuomorphism in cases where it is making the function more difficult instead of easier to use.

Yeah whoever thought the spinning wheels were a good idea should be demoted. :eek:
 
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