WWDC 2019 is just around the corner. And you know what that means – a brand new version of iOS will be unveiled and it will ship this fall. Like every year, we have some wishes, thoughts, and expectations from the upcoming update. But this time, we’ve already seen some features leaked. Looks like Dark Mode and floating panels for iPad are finally shipping. So we’re taking this opportunity to talk about some of our wishes that are not on the leaked features list. Here is our iOS 13 wishlist!
iOS 13 Wishlist for iPhone and iPad
1. Always on Display
Thanks to the OLED displays, the hardware for this feature is already available in the flagship iPhones. All Apple needs to do is work on the software. And we’re being reasonable here. We don’t want an always on display which shows the time and notifications at all times (like some Android phones do).
Just an ambient display that always shows the time and an icon for notifications would be enough. Apple can even implement so that it only shows up when you pick up the phone. This way, it won’t be a huge hit on battery life.
2. Customizable Complications in Lock Screen
This is a watchOS feature that desperately needs to come to the iPhone. And the thing is, the foundation for this feature is ready, they just have to port it. Apple can have a panel below the time and date which can be dynamic icons, similar to complications of the Apple Watch.
They can show the weather, playback controls, or they can act as shortcuts to open the app itself, or a particular feature in an app.
3. Customizable Control Center with Third Party Support
The new Control Center in iOS 11 brought the customization features. You can choose to add additional controls like Apple TV remote and Screen Recording if you wish. But it’s high time that Apple opens this feature up to third parties. And Apple can severely limit the use cases if they want. Even if Apple lets third parties put up their icon and a list of actions, it can be of great service.
This change can let you take notes from the Lock screen, or access reminders without unlocking the iPhone.
The default layout of Control Center can also use an upgrade. An option to access Wi-Fi networks would go a long way. So would the ability to individually connect and disconnect Bluetooth devices. iPhone users who don’t use AirPods and prefer third-party Bluetooth alternatives will end up saving a lot of time and frustration with this simple addition.
4. Siri and Siri Shortcuts Overhaul
To be honest, Shortcuts app still functions like a reskinned version of the Workflow app. While Apple has added some native hooks and has tried to integrate it into the OS using Siri Shortcuts, it’s still quite basic. Siri Shortcuts needs true automation, especially on the iPad.
Just like on the Mac, you should be able to trigger shortcuts automatically. Right now, you have to manually press a button or ask Siri to run a shortcut for you.
Siri itself needs a UI overhaul. Right now every time you invoke Siri, it takes up the entire screen. Instead, it should only show up as small notification dropdown. Then, if needed, it can expand down. This way you can continue what you were doing while still talking to Siri.
5. Desktop Class Safari for iPad
Based on the latest leak, it looks like Apple is implementing a feature that will automatically ask for the desktop version of a website on Safari for iPad. This is certainly a step in the right direction but it’s not enough. This is something you can do manually on the iPad already. And if like me, you’ve tried it out, you know that this is not enough.
The problem with browsing desktop websites on Safari is the Safari engine itself. It just isn’t robust enough that it can handle complex websites. For example, when you’re dealing with WordPress admin websites or Google Docs on the web, it just doesn’t work well on the iPad. What Apple needs to do is a complete rewrite of Safari on the iPad. It needs to actually port the macOS version of Safari to the iPad. We know that the new iPad Pro is more powerful than some of the Macs, so it can surely pull this off.
6. Mac Apps Easily Ported to iPad
Marzipan is supposed to make it easy for developers to port iPhone and iPad apps to the Mac. But I think Apple needs to do something that works the other way around.
If you’ve used pro apps like Affinity Designer or Pixelmator on the iPad, you know that feeling that’s always in the back of your head. The feeling that there’s something lacking here. It’s either a feature or how it’s implemented. You just don’t have a complete experience. But if Apple can create a system that lets developers easily port a Mac app to the iPad, it would make the iPad way more appealing to some users.
7. iPad Features Come to iPhone
Some of iPad’s gesture-based features need to make their way to the iPhone. The Picture in Picture mode is especially needed on the iPhone XS Max. The iPhones can also benefit from drag and drop feature that works across apps.
8. Customizable Home Screen
It’s been more than ten years of the same Home screen. And it’s getting old, especially on the iPhone XS Max and the iPad. We should be able to customize and arrange the Home screen in a way that we want. And on the bigger devices, we need a denser grid system. The 12.9 inch iPad Pro’s Home Screen just looks ridiculous with the empty space.
Apple already has a panel for widgets. At least on the bigger iPad, it can combine the widget screen with the Home screen to make it more functional. It would also be great if Apple would let us remove icon labels and if we could arrange icons in a freeform manner.
9. More Versatile USB-C Support for iPad Pro
The new iPad Pros come with a USB-C connector. That is a big upgrade over Lighting. While USB-C is amazingly versatile, Apple has restricted its use cases via software. For instance, when you plug in a USB-C flash drive, nothing happens. The Files app can’t read or write data to it. In iOS 13, Apple should add official support for external storage. This will go a long way in turning the iPad Pro into a real computer.
The same goes for the monitor support. iPad Pro can connect to a 4K monitor at up to 60 Hz. But the experience of actually running the monitor at 4K is limited to a handful of monitors. But even 1080P output is okay if Apple let the iPad Pro treat the second screen as a real second screen.
By default, the iPad Pro will only mirror the display. And the app has to write custom code to show something specific on the external monitor. Still, the monitor is for viewing only. Even if you’re using a touch screen monitor, you can’t interact with what’s on the screen. With the looming mouse and trackpad support, adding in real second screen support would kind of complete the productivity setup of the iPad Pro.
10. Files Becomes a Real File System for iPad
Files app was released in iOS 11 with a promise that it would be a new kind of file management system for the iPhone and iPad. It would bring together cloud storage services and local storage in the same app. But the experience hasn’t exactly panned out.
Using the FIles app is still not as good or reliable as the Dropbox app. Plus, the local storage part is still to barebones. There’s no easy way to create folder systems and add files from apps for local storage (which is possible to do for iCloud Drive).
If Apple wants the iPad Pro to be taken seriously and they want it to be used for creative and productivity projects, they need to acknowledge that most of the work revolves around files. Whether text files, audio files or video files. And users need a reliable, understandable way of storing and sharing files.
Not just between devices but between apps as well. The workflow of editing a file in one app, saving it, and opening it in another app is just too complex compares to the Mac which has an open file system.
Your iOS 13 Wishlist?
What are some of the features that you really want to see in the next iteration of iOS? As iOS gets more mature, how should it adapt to the growing differences between iPhone hardware and iPad hardware? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
