Though Apple first introduce the iPhone ( and iOS , née iPhone OS ) just a scant four years ago , the multitouch operating system already feels impressively mature . That adulthood does n’t intend iOS is flawless ; there ’s certainly room for improvement .
Apple says it will let out some of the details of iOS ’s next iteration during the caller ’s Worldwide Developers Conference ( WWDC ) in June . I ’m affirmative that many long - await , high profile feature article will get announced at that clock time — the kind of featuresMacworldhas devoted a caboodle of practical ink to , like an overhaul for thrust notifications , cloud - based storage , wireless iTunes syncing , and such . But I ’d find a few other , more subtle features just as exciting , and evenly able of improving the overall iOS experience .
The down-low on downloads
A few hebdomad ago , Navigon released an update to itsMobileNavigator GPS app . Since the app packs in all of the map data for the United States , the rising slope weighed in at 1.56 GB . But Navigon discover a germ : The app was cue user for their Apple I.D. too often . So the caller released an update — which weighed in atanother1.56 GB .
I have a becoming net connecter at home . But download that much data takes hours — and gobble up all kinds of bandwidth , too . It ca n’t be cost - effective for Apple to post that massive download to millions of iOS users , either .
The computer software world solved this problem a long time ago with software system bandage . patch are incremental downloads that let in only the minimum codification necessary to update to a new version — the eq of a downloading a few grammar tweak or else of grabbing a new , full copy of a rule book .
Spaced out: Auto-correct sometimes detects missing spaces, but too often does not.
Software maculation were particularly useful in the dull dial - up era , but just because we have more bandwidth now does n’t mean we ought to waste it . hundred of thousands of app updates are download millions of times . It serves both Apple and its customers to make these downloads smaller and more efficient , and I hope such a patch up approach path makes its path into iOS 5 . ( It would be great if Apple apply the same approach to iOS updates , so thatfixes for a simple location - caching bugwouldn’t require a full 666 MB download . )
Cast a spell
you’re able to bet immediate payment money that no Apple iPhone will ever sport a tactile keyboard . I ’ve previously written that the good way to become proficient on the practical keyboard of your iOS machine isby trusting it more ; tap near the letter you want , and allow car - correct take care of the remainder . But though iOS offers great car - correction , it could be even better .
space out : Auto - correct sometimes detect missing spaces , but too often does not . My most common typewriting issue on iOS devices appears when I lose the space barroom . On a real keyboard , my thumbs roost on the space prevention , but that ’s of course not possible on an iPhone or iPad . That intend I end up tap “ m ” or another letter when I intend to typecast a space , bequeath me with words thatlookmlikemthis . iOS can already detect issues like this sometimes , but I ’d like to see it get even better on that front .
Thesecondmost common typewriting error I make on iOS comes fromover - reliance on auto - correct . Sometimes , auto - correct substitutes the incorrect parole entirely , and I do n’t even acknowledge . There are two tweak Apple could make to auto - correct to help palliate this issue . The first would be to highlight — faintly — those words that iOS corrects . That way , when you ’re on a typing bout , you could more well reckon back and jazz which words to give the closest attention to before you tap Send or Save .
Spaced out: Auto-correct sometimes detects missing spaces, but too often does not.
Along those same lines , I wonder if a more modern take on a grammar chequer could facilitate with iOS typing , too . Sometimes , I mistype ( or iOS auto - corrects to ) a actual word , but one that ’s entirely out of berth . Like any self - respecting author , I detest all computer software grammar checkers , but I suspect that similar logic could be used to detect out - of - place Good Book . If iOS could play up such words — again , faintly , but differently from how it would spotlight other automobile - department of corrections — spotting and correcting those mistakes would become much simpler .
Everybody get inline
Copy that : Cut and paste is n’t hard to use — but Apple could surely refine the process more . The iPhone excellently launched without support for written matter and paste . The feature of speech in the end arrived in iOS 3.0 . It was a clever implementation — for a 1.0 sacking . To the feature ’s recognition , using copy and paste on the iPhone is no problem … for any technical school - savvy user I bed . For “ regular , ” though — my acquaintance and family , at least — it ’s inelegant , unintuitive , and sometimes undiscoverable .
The same goes for create inline text edits . Backspacing is easygoing , but tapping and holding and wait for the loupe to come along before in the end make your edit ? That ’s less awesome . ( textbook selection challenge are enceinte part of what makes copying and pasting so difficult for some . ) When you use the iPhone or iPad with a keyboard , text pick and cursor movement becomes much easier , thanks to the pointer key fruit . There ’s presently no room on the virtual keyboard for such navigational key , although some third - party apps do propose their own .
These are tough challenges to work out for , but I have no dubiousness that Apple could make the process for each easier .
Copy that: Cut and paste isn’t hard to use—but Apple could surely refine the process more.
A little less pushy
As I said at the kickoff , with each successive iOS release , I trust for a push qui vive overhaul . But besides the showier changes I ’d like to see to push notifications , I ’d like a simpler alteration , too . I require the power to schedule quiet time when push alarum do n’t bother me .
Some apps — notably push notification service Boxcar — already support such programing . My iPhone blasts a satisfyingdingwhenever I get new Direct Messages on Twitter … but only between the hours of 6:30am and 10:30pm . Outside that range , Boxcar remain understood .
I desire a systemwide way to apply that thinking toallmy push alerts . I already mute my iPhone and iPad when I go to sleep , but push notice can still be a bit plaguey . My bring out iPad covert briefly illumine up the way if an opponent plays a turn in Christian Bible With Friends ; fall apart news alerting light up my iPhone — and make it vibrate , to boot .
A simple screenland in options could let me gear up “ restrained time ” windows , and probably should include an option to order whether alarum for calls and text messages override that quiet window .
So it goes
Do n’t get me wrong : I have a long list of more dramatic , flashier iOS changes I ’d like to see . ( Better bear on alert ! Lock screen widgets ! in effect push apprisal ! Cloud - found syncing ! And did I mention better push apprisal ? ! ) With a handful of subtler , less showy changes , however , Apple could make the iOS experience — already great — markedlybetter . I ’m optimistic it will .
[ Lex Friedman isMacworld‘s stave writer . ]