As Siri has told us, WWDC will be held from June 13 to 17 this year, but even though the event is just two months away very little is known about iOS 10.
It is thought that Apple will unveil the latest update to its iOS operating system at the event in June, and in the absence of official information a concept video has appeared. Federico Vittici of MacStories has teamed up with Sam Beckett to put together a video and a written piece which explores the features that he would like to see in iOS 10.
Concept video features thoughtful iOS 10 improvements
While many concept videos are fanciful and full of unrealistic features, Vittici has some good ideas that are actually quite practical. We aren’t expected to see the new operating system until the release of the iPhone 7 in the fall, but it is likely that Apple will unveil iOS 10 at WWDC.
The first feature suggested in the video is a customizable Control Center, which has been largely unchanged since iOS 7. Vittici argues that the Control Center is ripe for an upgrade, with obvious additions including user customization and 3D Touch shortcuts.
While the existing Control Center is useful, making it customizable would save users huge amounts of time by letting them put in shortcuts to the apps and features they use the most.
New Dark Mode would improve display performance
Vittici also suggests that a System Dark Mode should be introduced. While Night Shift and the True Tone display should help displays perform in different light conditions, a Dark Mode would be even better.
Apple could take inspiration from the Apple Watch app for iPhone and dark themes in iBooks. This would allow for higher levels of contrast and better legibility in iOS 10.
Another possible change is an upgrade to the most used iOS app, namely Messages. It was last refreshed some two years ago. Among the proposed changes are the ability to share any kind of file and the ability to log into your Messages account from other devices.
Vittici also envisages upgrades to iCloud Drive and Document Picker, which would see the iOS features borrow heavily from Finder on Mac OS X. He believes that Apple has the capability to improve the functionality of file management on iOS 10.
Siri needs an overhaul to keep up with competition
The concept video also imagines how improvements could be made to the iPad multitasking features. Vittici bemoans the bad app picker and a lack of drag and drop functionality between apps in Split View, and proposes improved versions.
Next up is Apple’s digital assistant Siri, which Vittici says is being outclassed by Google and Amazon rivals Now/Voice Search and Alexa, respectively. He says Apple needs to improve intelligent speech recognition, third-party app integration and the ability to make requests using the keyboard.
The last main improvement relates to the Proactive Page. Vittici says that the whole thing could become a lot smarter by offering more personalized suggestions. He believes that this would be possible without sacrificing the company’s principles on data collection.
There are plenty of other small improvements mentioned in the video but those are the main areas. As you can see there are no outlandish sci-fi style features, just solid and practical improvements that could make the Apple mobile operating system so much easier to use.
Hopefully Apple takes some of the ideas on board!
