Gurman: iOS 16 to Feature 'Significant' Improvements to Notifications, New Health-Tracking Features, But No Major Redesign

[MacRumors]

iOS 16, codenamed "Sydney" and set to be previewed at WWDC in June, will feature "significant" improvements to notifications and new health-tracking features but will not a feature major redesign of iOS, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said today.

In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman writes that he is not expecting a major redesign of iOS but that instead, the next version of iOS will include enhancements to notification and new health-tracking features.

On the iOS side, I'm looking for some fairly significant enhancements across the board, including an update to notifications and new health-tracking features.

I'm not expecting an end-to-end redesign of iOS's interface, even though it hasn't changed much since iOS 7 nearly a decade ago. But there might be a new iPadOS multitasking interface.

Apple will preview iOS 16, alongside iPadOS 16, macOS 13, watchOS 9, and tvOS 16 during WWDC, which will officially be held on June 6 until June 10.

Gurman said today that watchOS 9 may feature "major upgrades to activity and health tracking." No details are known of what macOS 13 will include, including what it will be called. macOS Big Sur featured a major redesign and was followed by a less significant update with macOS Monterey.

Staying on the Mac side of things, however, Gurman did today reiterate that Apple is working on several new Macs, including a new redesigned MacBook Air, a revamped 13-inch MacBook Pro, an updated 24-inch iMac, and a new Mac mini. For a complete rundown of what Apple could announce at WWDC this year, see our detailed roundup.

Article Link: Gurman: iOS 16 to Feature 'Significant' Improvements to Notifications, New Health-Tracking Features, But No Major Redesign

 

[dantracht]

I don't necessarily think it needs a massive overhaul. Kinda like it the way it is. Prove me wrong.

 

[fwmireault]

I want a synced Notification Center across all my devices! If I get rid of a specific notification on my iPhone, I want the same notification gone from my iPad and Mac. That is all I need

 

[jbpiv3]

I hope no redesign means finally a stable release free of bugs… HomeKit is a mess. Siri is a mess. Hoping they are focusing on fixing those things. Having to jump through hoops or figure out what command Siri likes this week is getting really old.

 

[brofkand]

They change iPadOS’s multitasking paradigm seemingly every release.

 

[Leon Ze Professional]

Wow this is earth shattering news to power on for the week ahead...

 

[JCCL]

I hope no redesign means finally a stable release free of bugs… HomeKit is a mess. Siri is a mess. Hoping they are focusing on fixing those things. Having to jump through hoops or figure out what command Siri likes this week is getting really old.

Considering there hasn't been a major redesign since iOS 7 and there's been plenty of lackluster versions since.....I wouldn't hold my breath

A couple of Articles:

Apple will reportedly focus on stability and bug fixes with iOS 9

The Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts.

www.theverge.com

Why Apple may be saving iOS 12's biggest features for iOS 13

Blame it on all the iOS 11 bugs.

mashable.com

Why would iOS 16 be any better?

 

[now i see it]

Notifications:
The thorn in Apple’s side.
How many years have they been changing them? 12?
Kinda funny for something so simple.

 

[eilavid]

No redesign? Not even implementing the macOS Big Sur-type icons?

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

As long all the bugs get fixed that’s all it matters to me. Can we please get some new lavish wallpapers, please? Preferably dynamic ones.

 

[thislsmadness]

How many times are they going to overhaul notifications and iPad multitasking? Feels like thats the big new feature every other release.

 

[Marbles1]

Remember when universal notifications across iPhone and Mac were promised? I 'member.

 

[GreenPixel]

I want a synced Notification Center across all my devices! If I get rid of a specific notification on my iPhone, I want the same notification gone from my iPad and Mac. That is all I need

This alone would make me happy. Why do I have to dismiss the same notifications on various devices?

 

[Jason2000]

I want a synced Notification Center across all my devices! If I get rid of a specific notification on my iPhone, I want the same notification gone from my iPad and Mac. That is all I need

1000% this.

 

[The Game 161]

Notifications certainly needs an area of focus

 

[Traverse]

I don't understand some of these analysis's comments. If you look at iOS 7 and iOS 15 there are substantial differences. While they share the same general "flat and translucent" theme, the use of shadows, bold headers, animations, etc. are a far cry from the usability nightmare of iOS 7.

I also don't think you're going to see a major overhaul of iOS again. I think it's clear that Apple has gotten iOS, watchOS, iPadOS, and macOS more or less in line and will slowly iterate on each of them. Given the scale that iOS is at today even when compared to 2013 I don't think it'd be wise to do a complete flip.

 

[Traverse]

Notifications certainly needs an area of focus

I'm not thrilled with notifications on iOS, but I'll be honest that I'm not creative enough to think of another way to deal with them. Focus modes was nice, but I can't really think of additional improvements (good thing I'm not in charge of development!).

Perhaps designating a priority of sorts to different kinds or people notifications across various apps? But that puts a lot on the user and also relies on 3rd party apps to adopt it. Most 3rd party apps (and even some of Apple's apps) now spam notifications.

 

[Beltane63]

Please let me set the volume for the ringtone and notifications separately!

 

[Apple_Robert]

I don't necessarily think it needs a massive overhaul. Kinda like it the way it is. Prove me wrong.

I like the current OS but, it does need some more refinement and bug fixing. At this point in tech, I don't look for amazing. I just look for practical and stable.

 

[Corsig]

That was a very non commitment of vagueness

 

[elementalwingma]

please do something for Apple Music on iOS and macOS

 

[MallardDuck]

For the Mac, we need Snow Monterey. A bug fix and stabilization release with no new features.

 

[jsmith189]

Call me crazy, but... what else can really be done to notifications? Tweaks, sure, but there's nothing they can do that would be significant for me. Plus, how many times can you "significantly" overhaul the same thing that at its core will work the same no matter how you go about it...?

Feels like another year of cop-out "features" is on its way.

 

[Reeneman]

New app icons please.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Call me crazy, but... what else can really be done to notifications? Tweaks, sure, but there's nothing they can do that would be significant for me. Plus, how many times can you "significantly" overhaul the same thing that at its core will work the same no matter how you go about it...?

Feels like another year of cop-out "features" is on its way.

I agree. It’s just going to be another boring update like iOS 15. Nothing exciting or spectacular is expected 🥺