Finally, the biggest event on Apple’s calendar is imminent. (Some people might argue that the biggest event is the fall of the iPhone. Those people are wrong!) Apple executives will soon come on stage — in a live or pre-recorded fashion, we don’t know yet — and take care of stopping the latest updates to the company’s major software platforms. Perhaps, if we consider ourselves lucky, even some new hardware, too.
As we prepare ourselves for the keynote speech for the annual Global Developers Conference, there’s just enough time left to get some expectations (and let’s be clear, some desires).
Of course, predicting certain features, well, this is just a call to responsibleSo instead, I’m going to talk more generally. I’ve organized my thoughts for each platform around a topic, so this is what I hope to see from each of Apple’s big releases.
iOS: Your Phone Your Way
Two years ago, Apple finally allowed iPhone users to put widgets on their home screens and everything exploded. People were changing their phones settings left and right, using widgets for all sorts of purposes that Apple certainly didn’t mean. So, if anything, it should be the theme for iOS 16 Personalization.
It looks like Apple could allow users to do a lot more with the iPhone lock screen.
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Now that Apple has had some time to absorb and evaluate the response to gadgets, I hope they’ll take a lesson from it and introduce some additional customization features in iOS. In the early days of the smartphone, it made sense to maintain the universality of the user interface: these were, after all, completely new devices that people had to come to terms with. But it’s been 15 years since the iPhone arrived and we’re more than comfortable — we’re bored. There is clearly a thirst for personalization and Apple would be wise to capitalize on it.
This could take a variety of forms, including a more customizable lock screen with widget functionality (because, sure, notifications on the lock screen are easy to use, but it always seems like these apps decide what we should see there rather than users choose) or themes which can be applied to change the look and feel of the system. Some will take advantage of the idea of Apple easing its “we know best” restrictions, but it won’t be the first company Abandon the traditional rules of the game.
iPadOS: Power to the People
Is there any Apple device with more wasted capabilities than the iPad? The hardware is miles ahead of what competitors offer, but it always feels like you’re trying to drive a sports car on a small car track. It’s time to unleash the true power of the iPad, and recent rumors suggest it could already be this year. Yes, the theme for iPadOS 16 is Energy.
iPadOS 15 has done a great job of bringing multitasking into shape, making it more intuitive and capable. But it’s still a far cry from what’s available on Macs. You’re telling me that a device with exactly the same RAM and processor as the MacBook Air can only run two and a half apps at a time? Nonsense.
The iPad is a powerful computer. It’s time for iPadOS to unleash that power.
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Recent reports suggest that a new windows system is in the works, which is promising because not only should the iPad Pro be able to run a lot of apps, but Apple now offers a very nice screen that a tablet can run, but it’s only limited to mirroring an iPad or running an app. one at a time. This is honestly a banana.
macOS: Think Different
The powerful old macOS has seen some revival thanks to the combined effect of Apple’s silicon transition and the undone of some previous pitfalls (butterfly keyboard, we’re looking at you). With the Mac approaching its 40th birthday, maybe it’s time for this old dog to learn some new tricks. So the topic for the next version of macOS is Cooperat.
In recent years, macOS has been at least on par with new iOS versions. But there’s no reason to put your Mac into a slump: it might use a few revolutions.
This can be anything from redesigning the aesthetics to rethinking some built-in apps to rethinking entire UI models. (These savers were great in the past—but how useful are they now? Are people minimizing to the Dock a lot?) In particular, I’d like to see a big focus on improving shortcuts to allow users to come up with special ways to tweak the system and perhaps take a closer look at the Finder , who is beginning to feel his age.
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watchOS: Get up to date
The Apple Watch got short attention at WWDC last year, so this year it should be the topic Modernization. Like the iPad, the Apple Watch is a great piece of hardware, but software sometimes gets in the way. There are a plethora of great watch faces…but only some of them are really designed for the latest watch screens. It looks like the side button could be useful for more than switching between apps. And there’s definitely a better way to organize all those apps we installed (or, if you’re like me, you didn’t because they’re so crowded).
tvOS: Watch it!
The Apple Watch wasn’t the only platform that didn’t change much last year: the Apple TV has also remained largely the same. And he is not bad Really, but as our streaming future has coalesced, Apple TV is starting to feel like it’s missing its promise to bring everything we watch into one space, which is why my theme for tvOS 16 is cooperation.
The TV app was a good start, but it became a confusing ground for highlighting Apple’s own content as well as trying to accommodate other players. And yes, I’m talking about the elephant in the room here: Netflix. It’s time for Apple to cut a deal with the streaming giant and figure out a way to get it and any other forays built into the one-stop-shop that your Apple TV should have. The unified interface is as good as missing links and Netflix is great.
It might require swallowing some pride, but again, an apple of the day is hardly the apple of the past. As the old saying goes, yesterday was the best time to make a change – the second best time is today.
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