We’re just barely getting started with May, and already there are people who are eagerly anticipating the second week of June. For good reason, though. On June 13, and running for a few days, Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference for 2016 kicks off. As is par for the course, Apple is more than likely going to have a lot to talk about, both from a hardware and software perspective.
One of the things that Apple isn’t going to talk about is a new iPhone. That will happen later in the year. However, before Apple gets around to announcing their new flagship, the company will talk about the software that iOS users will use when they finally do get around to releasing the handset.
iOS 10, or iOS X, or whatever Apple decides to call it, has the unenviable task of being the software update following Apple’s less-than-stellar second quarter FY2016 earnings report. Thanks to timing, a lot of people are already talking about “what Apple needs to do” and how the next version of iOS is a big part of that.
What Apple plans on doing, and what Apple has planned on building into its next iteration of iOS, remains a mystery for now. And it probably will remain that way up until the start of June, when the Rumor Mill will probably start working aggressively to ruin any kind of surprise the Cupertino-based company might have in store for those who plan on watching the keynote speech on the 13th.
It’s an interesting thing, really, because Apple’s next flagship, aptly named the iPhone 7, is already being discussed and rumored. And if you listen to those rumors, and you also weigh in the growing consensus from analysts out there in the wild, then this year isn’t going to be huge for Apple in terms of noteworthy hardware upgrades. Word has it that the iPhone 7 will look quite a bit like the iPhone 6/6s, except that the antenna lines will be moved. And the iPhone 7 Plus might get a dual-camera system. There are a few more changes here and there, but overall it’s beginning to sound like the iPhone 7 might not be the big change many people are expecting from a non-“S” upgrade year.
Many of those same analysts believe Apple is taking 2016 lightly with its hardware department because the company has a ton of changes planned for 2017. So many, in fact, that the company is rumored, once again, to skip the “S” variant of the iPhone 7 and just go with the iPhone 8 in 2017. A new design, perhaps with an all-glass body, water resistance, wireless charging, and much more.
So if 2016 isn’t going to be a big year for hardware from Apple, then one could argue that it’s up to iOS 10 to make up the difference.
And they could be right.
The obvious question is, then, what can Apple bring to iOS 10 to make it worth upgrading to later this year? For me, I’d like to see Siri continue to improve, and maybe Apple can figure out a way to make the digital personal assistant somewhere near the same level as Google Now or Microsoft’s Cortana. I know that’s hard considering how focused Apple is on keeping Siri’s accessible information on-device only, and there’s no search engine like Google or Bing (people use this apparently!) to bolster it, either, but I’m hoping Apple can figure it out.
I think the one thing that Apple has to do at this point, and this is me requesting this feature for everyone who has ever told me they want this, is launch the ability to change/select default apps. I know a few people who would actually like using iOS (in these cases, they have to for different reasons), and probably not be tempted so much by the competition.
Do I see that happening? I’ll say this: I don’t think it’s as impossible as it was just a few years ago. Apple’s shifting in very subtle ways, and letting users select which app they want to use by default doesn’t feel completely out of the realm of possibility anymore.
But, what would you like to see Apple add/change/remove from iOS 10 to make it even better? Let me know!