vivien discourage: WWDC 2013 wish-list: iMore's top iOS 7 wants!

WWDC 2013 iOS wish-list

From notifications to gestures, sharing to support, here are our number one iOS 7 wishes -- what are yours?

What do we want to see in iOS 7? That's a question I've been trying to answer since pretty much the moment after iOS 6 launched last year. But this being the final week before WWDC 2013 it's the last chance everyone here at iMore, staff and friends alike, have to stretch our imaginations and let our number one wishes for iOS 7 really fly.

So, up, up, and away!

Peter Cohen, managing editor of iMore

Notifications that I can actually do something with. I'd also like to see Apple loosen the reins on core apps like Mail and Safari so users can more easily install and use alternatives if they wish. One size should not fit all on iOS any more than it does on OS X.

Ally Kazmucha, how-to editor of iMore

My number one request in iOS 7 is a quick reply feature for Messaging.

My number one request in iOS 7 is a quick reply feature for Messaging. It's long overdue and has been on bucket lists of many, tech enthusiasts and normal folks. It's irritating that I have to leave what I'm doing in order to reply to a message. Seeing it implemented in a way that developers could use an API to integrate it into other kinds of apps would be even better.

Beyond that, a more refined Notification Center experience. I want more powerful options when it comes to editing Notification Center. I also have never liked how if I unlock my phone, all my lock screen notifications are gone. They should remain there unless I dismiss them.

My only other item would be better design through apps such as Game Center and other apps. Rich textures need to die already.

Richard Devine, senior editor of iMore

For me, one of the biggest things I'd love from iOS 7 is broader support for share sheets. One of my favorite parts of Android is that I can share anything to any app that supports the content I'm sharing. I spend a lot of time in Google+ for example, and sharing photos requires me to be inside the Google+ app. I'd much rather be able to send things there from whichever camera app I'm using, or even just the stock camera roll.

I'd also love to be able to swipe things away within the Notification Center tray. The two-tap method of hitting the cross, then clear doesn't please me. Partly because my fingers never hit the cross first time anyway, and partly because a single swipe to dismiss each individual notification would be a much preferential way of handling what's in there for me.

Marc Edwards, co-host of Iterate

Rather than suggesting likely features, I'm going to be selfish and list things I want, even if I don't think they'll happen.

I'd love to see better ways of locally sharing data between apps. Maybe that would look like Contracts and Extensions on Windows 8. iOS? URL schemes work well for basic handovers, but not much more. Replicating every function you may want inside an app ? like the mail and tweet controllers ? isn't going to scale indefinitely as apps get more powerful. Keeping everything in silos ignores the benefits we've enjoyed since the days of pipes in Unix.

Introducing heavier use of gestures would be good.

I'd like developers to be able to remove apps from sale, but be able to provide updates for existing users. As it stands now, we can't do that, which makes discontinuing products and treating customers with respect very difficult. And while we're talking about the App Store rather than iOS itself, I think trials, or automatic refunds within 15 minutes, a la Google Play, would be a great idea.

I bet we'll see an interface refresh as well, but I don't think radical change is needed. Introducing heavier use of gestures would be good. I know it has received the most amount of speculation for iOS 7, but reskinning the system interface and in-built apps is the part I'm least interested in.

Seth Clifford, co-host of Iterate

Although an interface refresh would be most welcome, I want deeper inter-app communication to streamline the way we do things on our devices. It sounds like we're getting the look-and-feel nudge, so my wishing is squarely focused on removing the kludgy share sheet integrations and having a way for developers to sign apps together.

we're running up against functional walls now

I understand as well as anyone why iOS is partitioned off within itself, but we're running up against functional walls now and need to move the ball forward to allow the devices to grow with the user base.

I think you can accommodate the general users and give this to the power users without breaking anything, just like with fast app switching, Notification Center, et. al.

Chris Parsons, editor-at-large of Mobile Nations

I'd like to see a fresh new take when it comes to iOS 7. Sure, that seems inevitable, but I want to get it in there just in case. There are a lot of others things that need to be improved as well, most especially Notification Center. It needs to become more powerful and even more elegant. For example, let me swipe things out of the tray, item by item, instead of wiping it out entirely with that tiny little "x"...

I'd also like a real file browser. I know Apple is against it, but for power users like me, it's irreplaceable.

Anthony, videographer

I'd kill for bluetooth controls that are easy to get to on home screen. And to have Bluetooth proximity lowered so that if I am more than 6 feet away from connected device it will disconnect.

Nick Arnott, security columnist

An updated Home Screen. The layout and appearance of the Home Screen has remained largely the same since the iPhone first came out. Android and Windows phones both have the ability to give users information right on their home screens without the need to launch an app. With Notification Center came the ability to get some information at a glance, but so far this has been limited to push notifications, with no API for apps to push live data to the screen.

The trouble with content that updates in realtime on the Home Screen is the toll it can take on a device?s battery life. Apple has always prioritized battery life on their devices, especially in mobile, and simply won?t add the features if it means a huge sacrifice to the battery life users have come to expect. I?m hoping that Apple has had enough time to figure out how to make this possible without requiring users to constantly be recharing their phone.`

Georgia, senior editor, iMore

I would love to have active icons that show me the information I want to see, so I don't have to tap into an app unless I want more details or information. Being able to look at my iPhone and see the local weather on the icon, or the current time, wouldn't only save me taps, but let me be discreet. I could get what I need with glance, and without obvious distraction.

That, and BiteSMS-like active notifications. When I'm playing Candy Crush, and I have to switch to Messages and back to reply to a text, it makes me want to crush a lot more than candy. I'd like a ton of jailbreak functionality, to be honest, including folders in folders, themes, and quick access to settings.

I'd like to be able to do all that. I'd like Siri to be able to do all that as well.

Rene Ritchie, editor-in-chief of iMore

I want something I won't get, at least not for a while. I want what's next. I've talked about it ad nauseam already, so I'll keep it brief, but the gist is this: iOS was the last major leap forward in terms of human interface. It was the Mac to the resistive-touch screen Treo's Lisa.

I'm ready for some special blend of Siri, Google Now, active notifications, and dynamic interface.

That was 2007. This is 2013. I'm ready for whatever comes from natural language, advanced gestures, a push interface. I'm ready for data to come to me, wherever I am on a device, not only when I ask for it, but when the device knows I need it. I'm ready for some special blend of Siri, Google Now, active notifications, and dynamic interface. I know it'll take time, and be messy, but I'm ready for those first awkward steps. I'm ready for that Lisa.

The rest of my iOS 7 wants

What's your number one iOS 7 wish?

So that's what everyone here at iMore wants to see! Well, almost everyone. You're the most important part of the site, so your opinion matters to us the most! Tell me, what's your number one wish come iOS 7 and WWDC?