iOS 18 needs more than just AI features
The Apple ecosystem needs more updates than just the AI features we expect to see at WWDC
Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) is on Monday and the rumor mill for months has been predicting a medley of A.I. features like a L.L.M. Siri and custom generated emojis. While it’s true that Apple has been lagging behind its competitors when it comes to developing a large language model, transformers, and generative A.I., the reality is that Apple’s software desperately needs more features than that.
Like any other year, we expect to see updates announced and new features presented for all of Apple’s operating systems from macOS, iOS and iPadOS to tvOS and watchOS. But this year all eyes are on A.I.
We got confirmation just last week that Apple had signed a deal with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT, arguably the most successful L.L.M. in the game right now, into Apple’s products. There were rumors that Apple was considering using Google’s Gemini A.I. as well.
MacRumors predicts we’ll see new A.I.-powered features on iOS including photo retouching, voice memo transcriptions, suggested replies for emails and messages, generative custom emojis, and more including, of course, large language model behavior in Siri. Of these, I’d say I’m most excited to see the new Siri while everything else sounds more like a “nice to have” rather than a must.
So, what am I really hoping for out of iOS 18 at WWDC?
New Apps
Passwords
Screen Time
Memoji Studio
Siri chat
As I was drafting this post, Bloomberg reported that Apple is planning to add a standalone passwords app for its iCloud Keychain feature. I was going to say that some features need to be migrated out of the Settings app and into their own standalone apps and password management is certainly one of those features. I’d also like to see Screen Time move out of Settings as this feature isn’t really a “setting” it’s more of a tracker.
Similarly, I think Memoji should get its own standalone app, which I’m calling “Memoji Studio.” Currently, the only way to edit your Memoji is to go to iMessage, tap the plus icon by the text field, scroll down to “more,” tap Memoji, select your Memoji and then tap the three dots at the bottom to edit it. Why would this be housed inside of Messages?
A Memoji app would be more like a studio where you can change your hairstyle, clothes, and accessories at any time and have that populate across iMessage and Contacts. And for the love of God this needs some new clothing and hairstyle options. The existing selection is way too small!
Quality of Life Improvements
Notification Center AI summaries
Control Center refresh
Simplify Lock screen customization
Features that you interact with every single day, multiple times a day need some serious refreshes. It’s almost cliche at this point to ask for improvements to Notification Center, but that’s definitely a top priority.
Apple introduced a summary feature back in iOS 15 that aggregates some of your notifications into one block rather than just flooding the zone with them throughout the day. This is a great feature for reducing some clutter and letting the system know what’s urgent and what can wait until later. I’d like to see this improved with A.I. to actually summarize the notifications instead of just hiding them in a pretty box.
Rather than a list of new followers on Threads there should be a new notification that says “You have 10 new followers on Threads including Jim, Bob, and Sally.” Missed calls can be summarized in one line as “You have missed calls from 3 unknown numbers and 1 new voicemail” instead of showing each missed call as a separate notification.
I’d like to see a completely redesigned Control Center, which was one of my favorite features when it first came out but has since grown very stale. Possibly third-party access to add some new and interesting control shortcuts or I’d even settle for just the Siri Shortcuts being added.
We are expecting the Home Screen to get the long-awaited freedom to have blank space between apps (I know how ridiculous it sounds to be excited about moving icons around eighteen updates in, but here we are!) Beyond that, I’d like to see the Lock Screen customization be streamlined. Currently, it takes 4 taps just to change my wallpaper and it feels like a chore.
Journal
The update I was most looking forward to in iOS 17 was the Journal app and it didn’t even release with the update! I had to wait months to try it out. I was hoping for something like a Day One competitor which is a journaling app I’ve been using for the past ten years.
Journal is going to need a few features to make it a more compelling alternative but beyond that it desperately needs an iPad and Mac app that syncs over iCloud. I understand that it’s more effective as an iPhone app in the sense that it can pull more data to form journaling prompts, like using your location data and recent photos, but this is only good for quick entries. If I wanted to delve deep into my thoughts and feelings, I’d be more comfortable typing with a full keyboard on my Mac or even just with the screen real estate of the iPad keyboard in a pinch.
One feature I think would be really compelling would be to pull headlines from Apple News as a jumping off point to get people journaling about the current events that affect their daily lives. Maybe this is just a cool idea to a news junkie like me?
What’s on your wishlist for iOS 18 or for WWDC in general? I’m curious what other people were hoping to see and if anyone cares about visionOS. Let me know!
Tune in to Apple’s website on June 10 to see the kickoff event starting at 10 a.m. Pacific time to see what’s really going to be in iOS 18 and all of Apple’s other systems this year.