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

[Alan Gordon]

2. after Face-ID recognizes you, go directly into the phone home screen. You shouldn't have to swipe up after the phone recognizes you. Or at least make it possible to turn this off and on.

An option for that if folks want it is good. I actually don't want it to go directly to the phone's home screen for me, as I want to see the notifications on my phone BEFORE I go the home screen.

 

[George Dawes]

I'd like a dumbed down ultra simple version of ios for kids and elderly people that can't be trusted with even an ipad - messing with settings etc...

( from personal experience )

 

[Macative]

I started to say you can already do this, but then I realized you weren't talking about Up Next, but your library. Yes, this would be nice. It's a feature on iTunes (on PC and older Macs). It'd be nice if it was available on the TV app as well.

Of course, my library on the TV app stopped updating on my ATV, so I signed out, and NOW my library simply doesn't come in at all., so that would have to be fixed for me and others with that problem before it'd do us any good.

The entire "Library" portion of the TV app has been forgotten about because of Apple pushing AppleTV+ in every imaginable way. Even Channels and Up Next and Universal Search have all fallen by the wayside in favor of Apple pushing AppleTV+ content.

 

[Alan Gordon]

The entire "Library" portion of the TV app has been forgotten about because of Apple pushing AppleTV+ in every imaginable way. Even Channels and Up Next and Universal Search have all fallen by the wayside in favor of Apple pushing AppleTV+ content.

Apple did make ONE cool change regarding Channels and Up Next in the newest public release. ?

It may be a moot point now that Discovery+ is intended to merge with HBO Max, but I'd like to see Discovery+ added to Apple TV Channels since it's now available via Roku Channels.

Of course, as I said, my primary concern right now is that they fix the TV app's long-standing bug of large libraries not updating after you get to a certain amount.

 

[brofkand]

yes - and it still isn't very good. :-(

I actually like it a lot, at least as far as split screen and slide over. Background processes need improvement.

 

[randyhudson]

Who is asking for a redesign?

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Who is asking for a redesign?

People who refuse to realize that for the majority of people, the iPhone is a tool, not a toy, and “new icons” don’t add anything functional.
It’s so weird that you rarely ever hear these kind of complaints about the Mac, despite it basically featuring the same basic layout since 10.0 21 years ago.

 

[nordique]

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 would be great

 

[bluecoast]

don't they promise major notification improvements with every release??

Agreed!

2021: We’ve made significant enhancements and improvements to notifications.

(Note to WWDC presenter: try and give the impression that someone other than Apple was responsible for the previous work on this).

2922: Because the significant enhancements and improvements to notifications in 2021 were confusing awesome!, we’re making significant enhancements and improvements to notifications!

(Note to the WWDC 2023 team: rework this section for next year’s changes. See also: focus modes).

 

[Karma*Police]

all those successors have the same ability to continue bringing in the money. That’s what the board wants.
Also I don’t think most people understand what the word “innovation” actually means.
An innovation isn’t always something huge and earth shattering like the original iPhone.
The original Apple Watch was innovative. It took the watches that existed on the market, which all sucked or just weren’t wily used, and turned it into a household product.
AirPods were innovative, they took Bluetooth headsets, which were complicated, annoying, and unpopular, and made them easy to use, sleek and everywhere.
Apples unparalleled advancements in custom silicon are innovative.
Innovations can also be absolute failures, the trashcan MacPro was innovative. It was a flop, it wasn’t sustainable, but it was innovative.
So to say just because Tim’s Apple hasn’t come out with that device that’s gonna cannibalize the iPhone yet, they aren’t being innovative isn’t really true.
Also, if your definition of innovative is entering a new product category and absolutely reinventing it, what company has done that in the last 10 years?
What product category needs to be reinvented?
Folding phones aren’t it

I agree innovation doesn’t mean earth shattering but when you look at the history of innovation under Jobs vs Cook, there’s no comparison... iTunes, iPod, iPad, Mac OS X, ATV, iBook (the first wireless laptop), unibody Macbook, magsafe, glass trackpad, Siri, iMac, iCloud, iPhone, Apple designed silicon, retina display, iWorks, Garageband, etc. and all while spending less than $2B/year on R&D vs over $22B last year alone under Cook.

Apple Watch is essentially a glorified fitbit and was not any better than Google’s when it launched. In fact, it took several iterations before Apple even figured out its main purpose, and Apple’s demographics certainly helped.

Airpods are the same earbuds introduced by Steve without the wires and similar products were already on the market. Granted, they weren’t as well integrated or implemented but Airpods were not nearly the breakthrough product that some Apple fans think it was, the way iPod was over existing MP3 players at the time.

Apple’s “unparalleled innovations in custom silicon” started with Steve.

As for new product categories/markets, smart speakers, EVs and streaming video are just 3 that Apple missed the boat on.

As for what product category needs to be reinvented, that’s Apple’s job. It’s silly to suggest customers should be the ones to come up with new innovations for Apple. We’re not the ones getting paid almost a billion dollars over 10 years to think about that every day, with 10’s of thousands of engineers at our disposal.

That said, folding phones could absolutely be the next breakthrough if implemented in a way that is cost-effective with universal appeal because it would have the potential of eliminating iPad. Or, how about something simpler… integrate Mac/iPad so there’s one brand new OS that scales from tablets to laptops to desktops. That’s already been done by MS, but it could be so much better.

 

[Macative]

Who is asking for a redesign?

It seems like blogs like to fan these flames about a redesign by saying things like "still no redesign" as if this is something that is expected or anticipated, and is somehow overdue and a disappointment. This of course gets some of the more easily manipulated followers to start foaming about a redesign.

Meanwhile in the real world, no one is asking for a redesign of iOS in general.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

I agree innovation doesn’t mean earth shattering but when you look at the history of innovation under Jobs vs Cook, there’s no comparison...

OK but most of the innovations that you listed were either things that already existed, or were far from as impressive as you think they are.
Let’s go down the list…

iTunes: already existed as an application called sound jam MP, Apple literally just purchased it and integrated it into Mac OS X. Granted I’ll give you the iTunes Store help revolutionize the music industry, but just iTunes as an application already existed long before Steve stuck his fingers in it.

iPod: while the iPod became an industry standard, when it first launched it was not received very well. It was expensive, it was Mac only, and the first generation was not popular. It was really The second generation, which introduced windows support and lowered the price, and the third generation, which was introduced alongside the iTunes Store and iTunes for windows, that really helped it find its footing. It was not automatically a earth shattering device at first.

iPad: I’ll give you that one.

Mac OS X: again took years to get right, The first three versions were not received very well because of slow performance, unreliable app support, interface inconsistencies, and plenty of other reasons. So once again, it was not Earth shattering out of the gate. It took a while to get there.

ATV: under Steve Jobs the Apple TV was a failure. The first generation was too expensive and not very useful, and the second generation didn’t have App Support so became limited extremely quickly. He had to apologize for the first generation lackluster software twice, once during MacWorld 08, and once when they introduced the second generation in 2010. At the end of the day he still resorted to calling it a “hobby” because he didn’t see it as a flagship product. And I think most would agree that, even though I love my 4th gen Apple TV, Apple has lost that battle to smart TVs and cheap streaming sticks.

iBook (the first wireless laptop): I’ll give you that

unibody Macbook: I’ll give you that one

magsafe: I’ll give you that one

glass trackpad: i’ll give you that one

Siri: which was again purchased from another company but did help usher in the era of machine learning.

iMac: I’ll give you that

iCloud: which was originally .mac which not a lot of people used, and then became MobileMe which was an absolute failure that Steve himself made fun of. Given that he had to launch Apple‘s cloud service three different times, I wouldn’t call that an instant innovation. also, I think it’s pretty fair to say that Amazon and Google got their first long before Apple, iCloud, even when it was first introduced, was really just playing catch-up to the other players.

iPhone: I’ll give you that, but with the caveat to say that the thing that really catapulted the iPhone into the public consciousness was the introduction of third-party applications, something that Steve Jobs was *very much against* for the longest time.

Apple designed silicon: while the beginnings of this started under jobs, Apple didn’t actually release their first completely in-house chip until 2012, and their biggest innovations have happened long after his death, first 64-bit smart phone chip, switching to their own in-house GPUs in 2017, neural engine, secure enclave, moving it all to the Mac… none of that was under Jobs.

retina display: i’ll give you that

iWorks: I wouldn’t really say an Apple version of Microsoft office was one of Steve Jobs most innovative moments. It’s literally just a prettier Microsoft office I’m sorry to say. Also it’s very much losing to google drive, despite me preferring iWork.

Garageband: i’ll give you this

etc. “and all while spending less than $2B/year on R&D vs over $22B last year alone under Cook.

Apple Watch is essentially a glorified fitbit and was not any better than Google’s when it launched. In fact, it took several iterations before Apple even figured out its main purpose, and Apple’s demographics certainly helped.”
you can say the exact same thing about the iPhone. When it came to features, it lost every competition to the blackberries, and Nokia‘s, and Samsungs of the time. It took years before most people could see it as an actual replacement for a blackberry. Same with the iPod, it took years and lots of customer feedback before they got it just right to dominate the market.
“Airpods are the same earbuds introduced by Steve without the wires and similar products were already on the market. Granted, they weren’t as well integrated or implemented but Airpods were not nearly the breakthrough product that some Apple fans think it was, the way iPod was over existing MP3 players at the time.”
Jobs did *not* introduce the EarPods, those also came after his death. But more to your point, the integration is exactly what makes them special. Sure there were similar devices on the market, just like there were similar devices to the iPod. It was the way it worked with other devices that made it special, not the fact that it existed. The same exact thing is true with AirPods. To say any different is to be ignorant of Apple’s Philosophy, both under jobs and under Cook.
“Apple’s “unparalleled innovations in custom silicon” started with Steve.”

Not really, the two custom Apple chips introduced under jobs, the A4 and A5, were just modified chips from other manufacturers like Samsung, not actual in-house CPUs. Those wouldn’t come until the A6.
“As for new product categories/markets, smart speakers, EVs and streaming video are just 3 that Apple missed the boat on.

As for what product category needs to be reinvented, that’s Apple’s job. It’s silly to suggest customers should be the ones to come up with new innovations for Apple. We’re not the ones getting paid almost a billion dollars over 10 years to think about that every day, with 10’s of thousands of engineers at our disposal.

That said, folding phones could absolutely be the next breakthrough if implemented in a way that is cost-effective with universal appeal because it would have the potential of eliminating iPad. Or, how about something simpler… integrate Mac/iPad so there’s one brand new OS that scales from tablets to laptops to desktops. That’s already been done by MS, but it could be so much better.”

“Could be.” Everything you’re saying is “could be,” not “is.”
Folding phones “could be” The next big thing, but if current trends are any indication, they won’t be.
Apple “could” combine iPadOS and macOS, but from everything They’ve said and everything I’ve heard from Mac customers, no one actually wants this. People want the iPad to improve, but no one wants the Mac and the iPad to combine.

 

[InValensName]

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

Definitely useful that.

Also would quite like multi user profiles on iPadOS. I often loan my iPad to my friend's kids and would prefer they are sandboxed away from my stuff. It's available for schools. I'm sure corporate settings as well as multiple people at home could make use of too.

 

[Hkfan45]

I mean if you want to be fair, pretty much all of the operating systems below iOS are still just iOS.
And, as Steve Jobs pointed out during the original iPhones introduction, the iPhone operating system (iOS) is just a dramatically downscale version of macOS.
Internally, iOS is actually called iPhone OS still to this day. I’m surprised they didn’t change back to iPhone OS in their marketing materials after introducing iPad OS, but I guess iOS is just so recognizable today that it wouldn’t be a good move.
Either way, Apple can introduce features to the iPad, the Apple TV, the Apple Watch, the HomePod, and the Mac without changing them on the iPhone. They’ve done it before, they can do it again.
Redesigned multitasking coming to the iPad does not mean that it’s coming to the iPhone

Lol no. iOS is not a simplified version of Mac OS.

 

[Hkfan45]

In what ways?

Are you serious? Night and day.

 

[Razorpit]

Didn't you just describe the Weather widget?

No, I described a single icon for an app. You are talking about a widget that takes the space of four icons.

 

[Kierkegaarden]

Are you serious? Night and day.

I am serious. If you think the differences are that stark, you must have examples — name them.

 

[Karma*Police]

OK but most of the innovations that you listed were either things that already existed, or were far from as impressive as you think they are.
Let’s go down the list…


































Not really, the two custom Apple chips introduced under jobs, the A4 and A5, were just modified chips from other manufacturers like Samsung, not actual in-house CPUs. Those wouldn’t come until the A6.
“As for new product categories/markets, smart speakers, EVs and streaming video are just 3 that Apple missed the boat on.

“Could be.” Everything you’re saying is “could be,” not “is.”
Folding phones “could be” The next big thing, but if current trends are any indication, they won’t be.
Apple “could” combine iPadOS and macOS, but from everything They’ve said and everything I’ve heard from Mac customers, no one actually wants this. People want the iPad to improve, but no one wants the Mac and the iPad to combine.

I’m not sure what you’re trying to say… that Apple has been just as innovative under Tim Cook as under Jobs? That iTunes didn’t revolutionize the music business by being the first to seamlessly integrate with an MP3 player and a music store where you could buy single tracks for .99? Or that by Steve buying PA Semi to bring chip design in house wasn’t a big deal because it took several years for Apple to ramp up its designs?

Also, you seem to confuse innovation with sales success. The vast majority of new products take several years to go mainstream. Just look at history of pretty much any technology, from TV’s to VHS players to CD players to walkmans to computers to MP3 players. Just because a breakthrough product like iPod wasn’t a a smashing sales success out of the gate doesn’t mean it wasn’t truly innovative.

 

[techRho_AppleLOVER]

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

That would be amazing. Such a seamless integration of the apple ecosystem. great idea! i would love to see notificationso from my iphone on my mac and ipad and vice-versa. i can't imagine how amazing this kind of feature would be. apparently their doing something for the notification center this year... fingers crossed

 

[MacAddict1978]

Can we please make it so that if I have 10 notifications for messages in an app, if I open that app the notifications go away? One of the few things I really miss from Android is how much better it is with notifications..... and its done this exact thing forever on most devices.

 

[MacAddict1978]

Sure would be nice if Left Behind notifications didn't sound like every other notification. As I drive away, leaving a valuable behind, it'd be nice if my iPhone/watch blared out a siren or alarm or something instead of a ding like I already hear a 100 times a day.

I lied.... a second thing I miss from Android... the ability and ease of customizing notification sounds by apps, people, etc. Where Apple does let you change a sound or ringer, they make it hard to do without buying a sound byte from them.

 

[MacAddict1978]

Major changes to health and notifications is not a good update, we need a huge Ui change we have had the same look for years it’s boring now

Agree. Beyond puking pastels on the screen once upon a time, IOS doesn't look much different than it did on day one.

The Apple version of an App drawer is awful and I never use it. (and half the time that screen or the widget screen freezes half itself overtop of the main UI.... for years.... across multiple versions of IOS and phones so another reason not to swipe right or left too far). The "smart" auto categorization of apps is mostly only point but not always, and I'd prefer my own folders and not to have screen after screen of apps. It's so 2007.

 

[MacAddict1978]

I want notifications to work right when you have airpods, an apple watch and an iPhone. It's glitchy, inconsistent and beyond terrible.

Or beats.... Every FREAKING time I get a "you closed your ring" notification, it kicks my earphones off Bluetooth, sends the volume out of the iPhone speaker, and then takes 30 seconds to reconnect if at all without manual effort.

 

[MacAddict1978]

I don’t know a single person in my real life who’s like “you know what my biggest problem with my phone is right now? The icons are boring.”
It’s not a real concern, the vast majority of iPhone customers do not care.
Like I said, they want their phone to look, feel, and work the same way that it did yesterday, today.
iOS 7 already caused A bit of controversy when it was released, I don’t think Apple wants to do that again when their customer base is much, much bigger than it was in 2013.

That's totally your opinion. Many IOS users do not agree... and many don't care like you. But if I owned a company and wanted to grow my user base with users of a competing platform, knowing that these are the exact reasons why I can't convert them and have lost lots of users to that platform would be a reason for me to care.

No Android skin or major version every did a huge swap of the UI and features in one push.... they sprinkled great changes over multiple versions and updates so that it wasn't so polarizing. They also made changes people wanted that were improvements (Notifications, gestures, copy/paste, App drawer elements).

Apple on the other hand, threw gestures and crap at people in a major way and did a really ugly easter bunny vomit color update to IOS that people just didn't like, and has stagnated in innovation for ages. And the reason those changes were so hard to swallow is because Apple doesn't let the end user customize anything. On an Android phone, no one would care because they could change their colors, fonts, even put a skin on their phone for a different UI all together.
The updates IOS has gotten have been Apple's butchery of copycat features from Android that have not been well received. Keyboards.... awful. They still have to follow the IOS keyboard.... god forbid Apple lets someone resize the keyboard to be bigger. Notifications...awful... app drawer....awful... swipe down menu.... why have one.... let's make two different swiped down menus to annoy the **** out of everyone because we can't manage to create a UI for the swipe down menu that makes any freaking sense.

Not everyone is a sheep.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

That's totally your opinion. Many IOS users do not agree... and many don't care like you. But if I owned a company and wanted to grow my user base with users of a competing platform, knowing that these are the exact reasons why I can't convert them and have lost lots of users to that platform would be a reason for me to care.

Apple on the other hand, threw gestures and crap at people in a major way and did a really ugly easter bunny vomit color update to IOS that people just didn't like, and has stagnated in innovation for ages. And the reason those changes were so hard to swallow is because Apple doesn't let the end user customize anything. On an Android phone, no one would care because they could change their colors, fonts, even put a skin on their phone for a different UI all together.

no idea what you’re trying to say here.
Apple not changing the icons is not stifling innovation.
I’ve never said iOS couldn’t use improvement, of course it could. What I am saying is that new icons are not important. Customers do not care about the new icons.
Apple changing the Safari icon is not gonna make an android user go “oh wow, that’s a nice phone right there.”