Five Features iOS 8 Needs To Move Forward

Apple’s iOS 8 is set to be released to the public in the fall of 2014, and most likely to be showcased at WWDC next month. Apple’s flagship mobile operating system is good with new features being updated every year, but it seems to be lacking finesse lately. Apple brought a major redesign last year, giving a “fresh” look to the operating system, but Apple needs to continuously evolve their operating system to stay competitive in the market.

Widgets:

One of the features lacking in the iOS system is the lack of widgets, which allows users to give a more personal touch to their phones, and is something I have been hoping Apple would introduce for many years. Allowing for third party widgets, something which Android strives well to do, will elevate the operating system Apple currently has. With the introduction of their fresh new look, further enhancing the system with widgets will be a welcome feature (if they do introduce this) to many users. Giving users the ability to quickly check their emails, SMS messages, or even the weather directly on their home screen without opening an app would be embraced greatly by users. Apple has been known to be quite restrictive in terms of the core design essence of iOS, and if they were to introduce this, I believe they would only allow their stock apps to have widget designation.

Better Siri Integration:

Siri has been on Apple devices for a while now. While Apple is slowly adding new features and abilities, allowing developers to integrate a Siri SDK within their apps would be a good step forward. Just allowing you to check sports scores, open apps, or look up locations on a map is good, but opening it up to developers would be necessary to move this feature from a “gimmick” to something with actual purpose. And Apple should change Siri quickly to risk being left behind with the expanding features of Google Now and Microsoft’s Cortona.

Expanding the Capabilities of Touch ID:

The fingerprint scanner introduced in the iPhone 5S by Apple last year could also be evolved with more capabilities. It seems really kind of pointless if the only features of Touch ID is to unlock your phone and purchase items from Apple’s stores. And while I do see the challenges of integration into third-party apps, it would be nice if Apple will expand the capabilities in future iOS builds, as well as integrate it into more of their devices in the future.

Multi-User Support: 

Especially with the iPad, most families find this device as a more shared device rather than an individual one. Allowing user accounts will give that touch of personalization for each person of the family, and will allow for more privacy of apps. Simply adding multi-user support for iPads should help to improve the software. Even the iPhone do with multi-user supports by adding a “kids” mode.

Pick Your Own Default Apps:

One of the ways Android has shined is the ability to choose your own default apps, and Apple has always been restrictive about this issue. For example, opening a link from an email app will open in Safari, yet I choose Chrome as my browser of choice on the iPad. For me, I don’t even utilize the default mail app on the iPad; I use the Gmail application. So Mail isn’t my default mail app…Gmail is. Allowing to pick your default apps would be something nice Apple could include in the next version of iOS. Forcing default apps on users is something Apple should stop doing in the near future, and opening up control to the user by allowing them to choose their own default apps would allow for a better and more intuitive user experience.

What do you think Apple should include in their next version of their operating system? Leave a comment below. Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter & Google+ also!