Io 5 may partake the stage with Mac OS X Lion during next Monday’sWorldwide Developer Conference tonic , but Apple ’s two operating systems arrive at the developer get - together in very unlike states . The in vogue Mac OS X update has already gottenits own on - stage previewand seen multiple developer handout come and go . iOS 5 , in contrast , stay shrouded in Apple ’s habitual invisibleness cloak . The mobile group O update is what a former government official might call a “ have intercourse unknown . ”
We ’ve detail what you may likely expect from Lion ’s entry , but for iOS 5 , we ’ve had to assume our deductive logical thinking caps and venture surmise as to what , on the dot , Cupertino has in store — and whether the new version will address any of Io ’s current shortcomings .
In the yesteryear , we ’ve written aboutthe bad picture show items we ’d like Apple to rove out , as well assome of the subtler change , but as we all know , Apple will do what it want to . And so , in advance of the enceinte show next hebdomad , we reckon we ’d black market down ten lineament that we think might be coming to iOS , along with their proportional luck for making Apple ’s cut .
Notify the family: iOS’s modal dialog boxes feel decidedly old school these days.
notification : Make no bone about it , if there ’s one thing we hope to see in the next major version of iOS , it ’s an improved presentment system . iOS ’s current use of warning signal and notifications is functional — but only just . The one - dialogue - at - a - time approach can precede to a cavalcade of alerts , when all you want to do is learn your e - ring armour . Not to cite that all too often you happen yourself accidentally having dismissed that one note you wanted to read .
give notice the family : iOS ’s modal dialogue boxes palpate emphatically honest-to-goodness school these day .
Palm ’s webOS and Google ’s Android operating system have both dealt with this challenge in a better — if still imperfect — mode , supply unnoticeable and expandable trays to keep course of notifications and allow users to deal with them when they see primed .
Notify the family: iOS’s modal dialog boxes feel decidedly old school these days.
The question is what such a system will look like on the iPhone . Far be it from Apple to merely ape what its competitor have done . In true Cupertino fashion , we expect to see a cagey solvent that fits with Io ’s design ethic , though we ’d also wager there will be a few slipway in which it falls light of our hopes and dreams . chance : in all probability .
Cloud integrating : As we ’ve already heard , at least part of the WWDC tonic will be devoted to Apple ’s new swarm Robert William Service offering , cleverly dub iCloud . We ca n’t reckon the caller would hustle out any sizable initiative of this sortwithouttying the service to its insanely democratic mobile political platform , but the question persist what that integration will look like . The inclusion of some sort ofmedia streamingseems a no - brainer , but will it also includefile sync potentiality ? We ’d certainly hope so ; lot with make a motion data file between your iOS gadget and your Mac feel by all odds last century , and if iCloud is even partially the MobileMe heir that we ’re hoping for , then it will replace Apple ’s blemished iDisk with something that looks a lot more like the top-notch - successful Dropbox . prospect : calculate on it .
Portrait of discontentment : mail service ’s portrayal orientation course in iPad is inept . Why not a split - pane view ?
Portrait of discontent: Mail’s portrait orientation in iPad is awkward. Why not a split-pane view?
Mail melioration : Of all of the Congress of Racial Equality iOS apps , Mail has arguably gotten the most love over the old age . It seems like every major Io update has improved Mail in some fashion , and that ’s no shocker ; not only is checking Es - mail one of the most common tasks people utilize their iPhone for , it ’s also probably the one included app for which there really is n’t much in the fashion of third - party competition .
So what ’s leave to tot to Mail ? Well there are pot of candidates , including the power to swag messages , the ability to punctuate multiple messages as read , send messages to contact radical , and the comprehension of multiple signatures . An overhaul of the portrait view for Mail on the iPad would n’t go wrong either .
While not all of these will find their way into iOS 5 , given the history of Apple ’s frequent revisions to Mail it ’s a good bet some of them will . chance : Some Mail updates in all likelihood .
Now tweet this: If rumors are true, expect to see Send to Twitter joining the ranks of these options in iOS 5.
Now tweet this : If rumors are true , carry to see Send to Twitter joining the rank of these option in iOS 5 .
Systemwide Twitter integration : A late submission to the airfield , inspire by hearsay last week , is that systemwide integration with social - networking Robert William Service Twitter will appear as part of iOS 5 ’s implicit in applied science . This might manifest in a couple of elbow room : As an option in the Camera app for sharing pictures and videos to the servicing , for representative , and also as an API for developer to add Twitter integration to their own app . decent now , that process requires programmers to reinvent the wheel every time , and with Twitter ’s new , more tight third - political party node rules , it ’s only go to become more onerous . But if Apple and Twitter strike up a business deal , it might become easier for everybody all around . Chances : sundry .
Expanded part recognition : iOS ’s Voice Control feature debut in 2009 ’s iPhone 3GS . It was a welcome feature film , as up until that point , you had to spend clip fiddling with your sound if you want to make a call — not a peculiarly dependable practice if you were , say , push a cable car . But Voice Control is limited , and look especially paltry when stack up against Google ’s Android political program , which allows you to employ your vocalism reasonably much anywhere you’re able to type . Now , I have no desire to start whisper seductively to my smartphone , as one of my Droid - toting friends is partial of doing , but withApple ’s 2010 acquisition of personal assistant software program Siriandrumors of a wad with speech communication - recognition medical specialist Nuance , mansion do seem to point to expanded voice recognition throughout iOS — and that ’d be the talk of the town . chance : Fair to middling .
Game of the year: Game Center has promise, but fails to deliver as a social service.
Background downloading API : It sounds a bit technical , but before your heart glaze over , let me explicate how this is just what you ’re hold back for . Io 4 introduced the ability for apps to take advantage of a finite number of backcloth job — that ’s how Pandora can keep cyclosis even when you ’re checking your Mail or how you could keep talking on Skype while you check something on the Web . But the one affair that the third - party apps ca n’t do is just download selective information in the backcloth . So your tweet do n’t get update until you found your Twitter client , your provender do n’t refresh until you launch your RSS reader , and so on . There ’s no grounds Apple could n’t decide to implement a system of rules where apps register their petition for new information , and then download said entropy when the organization is idle . Does that mean Apple will really do it , though?Chances : Maybe , just mayhap .
Game of the year : Game Center has promise , but fails to hand over as a social service .
Game Center 2.0 : iOS ’s result to Xbox Live flap out in iOS 4.1 , and while it ’s finally pop to see some traction from game developers , the service ’s shortcoming have become all too apparent . A deficiency of build - in electronic messaging , no persistent location for omit invite , lackluster customization and societal features — all of these add up to a screaming motive for a major rescript . iOS has become a major game weapons platform , and Apple postulate to go beyond just notice it to outright embracing it . While the company ’s at it , it should seem to mistreat up even further and tally a military service that let you synchronise your games between iOS gadget . And , dare we even suggest the idea , how about a Game Center for Mac?Chances : Low , but fingers traverse .
A plethora of folders: Springboard was great when there were a dozen apps, but it gets unwieldy with a hundred or so.
A plethora of pamphlet : Springboard was great when there were a dozen apps , but it gets unwieldy with a hundred or so .
Springboard revisited : You might call Io ’s Home screen one of its most iconic features , but it ’s also gotten a routine long in the tooth . Even iOS 4 ’s addition of leaflet only have barely help most iPhone users tame their proliferating apps , and if you ’re a serious app drug user , then you eff this more than most . It ’s time for Apple to admit that the Springboard , as the Home screens behind - the - scene system of rules is dub , was designed for a world with just a dozen or so apps and is out of its astuteness when the App Store offer around half a million . The place to take a cue here , surprisingly enough , might be Microsoft , which has really tried to concenter its Home screen in the Windows Phone 7 OS on what people want to do when they break up up their telephone set . But rescind the sign on Redmond ’s copy machine might be a tough lozenge for Apple to swallow up , especially when it ’s already commit to bringing the same experience to the Mac OS with Launchpad . Chances : Not look good .
FaceTime 3 G : Every Apple machine has FaceTime these days , from your iPhone , to your iPad , to your Mac . But in every fount , it ’s still special to when you have a Wi - Fi connexion . When it herald the picture schmooze feature at last year ’s WWDC , Apple said it would enquire bringing the feature of speech to 3 G connectedness too , so why not now ? Then you could have lovely video recording conversations with your house and champion no matter where you are . Then again , given the sometimes shoddy connexion we ’ve reckon over Wi - Fi , 3 GB might still be a ways off . Chances : Don’t play the farm .
whatsis : You might group this with notifications or a Springboard refresh , but what the heck ? Let ’s break it out . Would n’t it be large if you could glint at your iPhone ’s lock projection screen and see an assortment of useful information ? I ’m think of thing like the weather forecast , the status of your stock , any missed vitamin E - mails or cry , the latest breaking word , and so on . intend of all the information you could earn without even delving into apps . majuscule , right ? Sounds like Mac OS X ’s Dashboard , only perhaps even more utilitarian . Well , I ’d find it handy anyway , and why should n’t Malus pumila cater to me?Chances : The same as a snowball ’s in hell .
Of course , these are only just a few selection that run down the surface of what a major iOS update might admit , and Apple has been have intercourse to follow up with a surprise or two in its time . We ’ll know a fate more about Io 5 fare Monday cockcrow — and probably have an updated wish inclination of features come Monday good afternoon .
Serenity Caldwell contributed to this story .
