What feature would you have added in iOS 6

[dgree03]

Fantastic list. I want all those things plus

• Turn the search screen to the left of the home screen into a Dashboard for widgets
• Add a Documents and Downloads folder (Most people will be happy with that simple file system)
• NFC

Best realistic list I've seen. Ever.

May I add a gesture for 'multitasking' or even have it located in the Notification Center.

• Allow 3rd party apps to add things to Notification Center
• Add toggles to Notification Center for things like Wifi
• Add Phone app to Notifications so that when you get a call, you get a pane with 2 buttons: answer and reject so you can continue what you are doing without interruption
• Revamp Messages app with quick reply feature. Answer texts while you're in another app, if you want.
• Revamp Messages app to be equal to the one on OSX by adding support for AIM, Yahoo!, Google Talk, and Jabber accounts.
• Allow Email app to attach any file from any app.
• Allow Safari to upload any file and download files to supported apps.
• New feature: iCall. Call any iOS device via Wifi or 3G with all the features of carrier calls. Instead of voicemail, you can have a caller send the other iOS user an iMessage instead if the other party isn't available, and the iMessage will show up the next time they are connected to data or Wifi.

There, that would have been enough to satisfy nearly everybody this year but Apple decided to milk the public a little more and squeak out a lackluster iOS6.

To add to these excellent suggestions

- Break out pre-installed apps and put them in the apple store. This would make it easier to get app functionality updated without updating the entire OS.

- Cart system for App Store

- Better app data sharing. Why spoon feed us Twitter, then Facebook integration? Give us the ability to to install an app and have it talk to any related app

- More information on the lockscreen please... give us the option

- get rid of the facetime app and contacts app.. find a way to better integrate them into the phone app

 

[The Phazer]

The phone should be smart enough to lower the power of the radios when not in use and the battery should last long enough for it not to be an issue. I have noticed that people who come to the iPhone from Android are much more likely to turn their radios on and off constantly. One guy told me it was a necessity with his Android because of poor battery life and was just a habit when he switched.

My iPhone barely lasts seven hours as it is. Leaving the wifi turned on while outside of the house cuts a third off.

More importantly, the phone constantly tries to connect to hotspots that appear "open" but have web based logon screens. In many cases these only work with http requests, so if you're in a non-webkit based app your data connection entirely fails for a reason that's invisible to you.

I'd say I come across 40+ such hotspots a day.

 

[GreyOS]

get rid of the facetime app and contacts app.. find a way to better integrate them into the phone app

Unless I'm being thick, there isn't a separate FaceTime app? Also, contacts is already a tab in the phone app.

 

[BornAgainMac]

If we can't have Google Street View then I want someone from Apple to drive around to get their higher resolution version of it to match Google.

 

[nuckinfutz]

Even if Siri does get this, I don't always want to use Siri to do it for me - what if I'm on the train in a tunnel and want to turn off data / cellular signal to save battery - I won't be able to do this because Siri requires data. So I'll be back to Settings -> General -> Network....

Also when I'm in an app, it's SO easy to invoke the notification centre and turn on/off WiFi or Data etc. etc. I just cannot see why they haven't included it.

Because most people don't constantly toggle their setting on or off and adding more buttons is an anathema to developers because they add yet another thing to manage for consumers.

For instance I saw a nice Twitter exchange between a developer for Tapbots and a user. The user asked why a simple button wasn't created to do "x" and the developer said "that would lead to more support" and he's right because the more you make a UI look like a cockpit the more confused some users will be. Minimalism works in this area.

As far as using Siri. With iOS 6 it launches apps so that shouldn't require a broadband connection since it's probably leveraging app urls. BT/Wifi/etc are certainly feasible and Siri give you the advantage of not even having to pull the phone from your pocket.

 

[AustinIllini]

- Better app data sharing. Why spoon feed us Twitter, then Facebook integration? Give us the ability to to install an app and have it talk to any related app

Allow every app to be integrated, but by default, notify the user they can integrate, but they don't have to.

 

[AdamskiUK]

Not breaking Maps would've been a good start. I personally need a Cellular Data Off Switch, because in my area I can get good 3G and then drop straight to circle, and I just can't use it so I might as well turn it off to conserve power.

A lot of the fancy Android features are unnecessary but 'helpful'. These include the SGS3's ability to just raise the phone to your ear whilst in SMS 'mode' to instantly call whoever you're texting. I know this would conflict with Siri, but then make it an OPTION in the settings. Also, the concept of unlocking by scanning your face sounds great to me.

Messaging is slow in the iPhone. iMessage is a pain in the ass if you're in low-coverage areas and your messages stall for ages without you being able to stop them from being sent (no delete option). Even if Apple can't provide Widgets on a separate screen, there are two bars on the Notification Centre screen dedicated to Weather and Stocks. Why can't they be interchangeable? Or even make one of those the multi-tasktray bar that you usually have to double click to access? That frees up double click for perhaps turning cellular on and off - AGAIN, give us the option. One of those bars could even be used as a secondary quick start menu, for apps that you keep on the 4th or 5th page of your iPhone that are a pain to swipe to.

A button in the multi-task tray that closes everything that's open would be helpful. More than 4 quickstart apps in the bar? These are Jailbreak options that shouldn't *have* to be. I'd like things in the lock screen too! Throughout Exam period, I'd enjoy having my calendar exam additions stay on the lock screen. Hell, weather would be a good addition to the screen. There's a big empty space for Pete's sake!

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Unless I'm being thick, there isn't a separate FaceTime app? Also, contacts is already a tab in the phone app.

The Facetime app is iPad only, so no, the one you were responding to is the one being thick.

 

[AIP5]

I'm pretty sure apple's position is that the user shouldn't have to turn on and off the radios so much that it requires more accessibility than being in the settings. I mean really, it's now at the top of settings in iOS6.

I literally never turn off my 3G or bluetooth as it is what makes the phone work like a *smart*phone. When I get in the car, the bluetooth automatically connects without me touching a thing, the wifi automatically disconnects, 3G takes over, and data continues to be processed without missing a beat.

When I get back home, the bluetooth automatically disconnects, the Wifi takes back over, and I save bandwidth on my 3G data cap.

The phone should be smart enough to lower the power of the radios when not in use and the battery should last long enough for it not to be an issue. I have noticed that people who come to the iPhone from Android are much more likely to turn their radios on and off constantly. One guy told me it was a necessity with his Android because of poor battery life and was just a habit when he switched.

That is quite an unfortunate case then. At my house, the wifi signal is sometimes weak upstairs, and the iPhone is not smart enough to realize that the wifi signal has been severed. In fact, even when I leave my house, it keeps trying to connect to the wifi router even when there is only one bar of wifi signal, and I'm obviously out of range. If apple wants its users to not worry about the radios, then they really need to fix wifi settings so it disconnects a lot faster. Also, walking around in malls or campuses, an iPhone connects to wifi routers with ease. But it fails to disconnect when you are obviously out of range, taking its sweet time to keep reconnecting.

Until they fix this, leving wifi radio on and not worrying about it for people who travel or walk around is simply not a good option.

Bluetooth on 4S is low power usage so I guess it makes sense to leave it on through the day. However, I only use my Bluetooth with my car, and on some weekends I use a different car which doesn't have Bluetooth. In that case, I don't need Bluetooth and would much like an easily accesdible setting to turn it off. Or if someone else uses the car, and if you're in range, it will connect to the car's bluetooth inadvertently.

It's really for continence's sake to include those options in an easily accessible place.

 

[saberahul]

An umbrella.

 

[ah123]

Because most people don't constantly toggle their setting on or off and adding more buttons is an anathema to developers because they add yet another thing to manage for consumers.

For instance I saw a nice Twitter exchange between a developer for Tapbots and a user. The user asked why a simple button wasn't created to do "x" and the developer said "that would lead to more support" and he's right because the more you make a UI look like a cockpit the more confused some users will be. Minimalism works in this area.

As far as using Siri. With iOS 6 it launches apps so that shouldn't require a broadband connection since it's probably leveraging app urls. BT/Wifi/etc are certainly feasible and Siri give you the advantage of not even having to pull the phone from your pocket.

Fair points. Maybe Apple could leave it up to the user as to which toggles are displayed. This seems a really simple toggle which would be very self explanatory.

Also - in terms of ease of use (and subsequently, speed), a quick toggle is massively easier (and faster) for the end user than going into menu item after menu item.

Siri - Any use of Siri will require some sort of data connection and in London (right now, anyway) hardly anywhere on the Underground has any data connection. So then you'll be forced to go through Settings etc. for the toggles.

I'm not bashing Siri completely, I use it quite often (to its limited capacity in London) and using it turn on/off WiFi/BT/etc. are useful (currently using a JB tweak) if I'm above ground.

But there are also times when I am using the phone (playing a game or using some app) at home when I don't want to come out of the app I'm using just to turn on WiFi, or to bring up Siri, talk to it, then let it do its thing. It's much faster to use a toggle.

 

[dontwalkhand]

Better cross integration of apps!