What Should iOS 7 Look Like?

What Should iOS 7 Look Like?


So what can Apple to do make sure its next big launch creates that gotta-have-it foam at the mouths of consumers? The next hardware upgrade (this summer's rumored iPhone 5S) will likely be pretty minor: slightly better cameras, a faster processor and so forth. Hopefully the model after that leaves room for substantial improvements, but in the meantime Apple has to flex its product development muscle with software.

Perfect timing. With iOS chief Scott Forstall out and superstar industrial designer Jony Ive given more authority over the visual design of Apple's products, iOS may now be poised to take some seriously bold steps forward. To the excitement of many, Ive's oversight is likely to mean less skeuomorphic design, but those changes probably won't be made overnight. Let's hope it also means a deeper retooling of the broader user experience.

Things like wireless charging, NFC and changes to the form factor may have to wait, but there are plenty of software-based enhancements that Apple users are clamoring for. Multi-user sign-in, AirDrop file-sharing, dynamic app icons that display live data, a radical expansion of Siri (by opening up an API to third parties), better app management and, of course, improvements to Apple's Maps app are all common requests.  The ability to set one's default Web browser, maps app and email client (at the very least) would go a long way toward making iOS more user-friendly in the way that Android users already enjoy.

To get an idea of iOS's true potential, we can just do what Apple does: Look at the jailbreak community. Many of the platform's most celebrated features were borrowed from developers who built new concepts without Apple's initial approval. Multitasking, copy and paste, Notification Center and data tethering are just a few examples.

Even though Apple has adopted popular jailbreak features, there remain plenty of compelling reasons to circumvent Apple's controls. Many of them, as commenters are quick to point out, are things that Android does out of the box. They're right. If it wants to keep Google at bay, Apple might consider letting users customize iOS more.