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We were so busy begging for copy and paste, that we forgot all those other features we'd love on our iPhones. Fortunately, the last few days with the iPad and OS 3.2 has given us a bit of inspiration about what we'd like to see when OS 4.0 begins infiltrating our precious iPhones. Read on for our wishlist of what we hope Apple will announce on Thursday at the iPhone OS 4.0 townhall gathering in Cupertino. And make sure to stay tuned, as we'll be live blogging the event.
Custom iPhone Backgrounds
What is it about the iPad that gives it that glossy, graphically superior look that it has dominating over all other tablet devices? Is it the oleophobic-coated glass and high resolution display? Or is it because its a ease of use? Whatever the reason, we're definitely impressed with the simple little fact that we can add in our own wallpaper from the Photos app. It seems just a tad ridiculous that we have to jailbreak our iPhones for such a simple function.
Multitasking 
We were wondering how the heck we'd get any work done on our iPads if the iPhone isn't even ready to offer multitasking. Since this is an operating system tweak, we would appreciate Apple utilizing the iPhone's powerful processor to allow us to run a multitude of applications at the same time. For example, keeping an eye on our Twitter feed while playing our favorite game.
A new user interface
Source Milkham's weblog
iPhone faithful everywhere are used to the tap and slide interface that the mobile device has had for years now. However, it's about time that the iPhone OS had a bit of a facelift. For example, we'd love if it Apple could squeeze in a bit of extra room for another app icon in the dock at the bottom of the home screen. It's incredibly tough to pick and choose just four apps that are of the most use to us. Enabling users to bookmark a fifth app would at least let us dock the Weather Channel app.
Additionally, we'd also love to see some more aesthetically pleasing elements added to our iPhones, like a cover flow flip-through implemented in our Contacts, so we could recognize our buddies and associates with photos.
The ability to remove certain first party apps from the home screen
Honestly, none of us here at Mac|Life headquarters are really into the whole idea of investing your money and losing it dramatically. I mean, if we were really in the mood for that kind of scene, we'd just head over to Netflix and queue up Wall Street. For that reason, we'd really wish that Apple would reconsider locking in Stocks on our iPhone home page--some of us can't even recall ever firing up that app for sheer curiosity. We feel we would fare so much better in the obsessive relationship we have with our mobile devices if we could just remove unwanted apps from the home screen. And it would add accessibility to third-party apps we truly favor--did we mention the Weather Channel app?
Customize Icons
Via Quality Icons
Our jail-breaking brethren have the ability to do all sorts of customizable stuff with their phones and devices. It might not seem like a really big deal to some, but think about how much more personal our devices could be. For example, we'd love if the iPhone OS had the same drag-and-drop icon changing capabilities as our Macs. That way, we could download icon packs from the internet and install a matching icon theme set for all of our most utilized applications.
blntskul
April 27, 2010 at 7:22pm
I haven't had the iPhone for very long, and it's only for testing at this point. I'm primarily a Blackberry user, so maybe I'm missing some things about the iPhone, but so far, I would like:1. The screen locking timer should be separated from the screen dimming timer. I want to preserve battery life, so a short screen off timer is good, but if I interact with the phone ever several minutes, I have to unlock it time and again. Disabling the lock disabled the screen dimmer. Not good.2. Ability to disable the slide to unlock feature. Once a phone is locked, the only two buttons that bring it to life are the home and lock buttons. It's not easy to accidentally press those buttons, particularly since the home buttin is recessed. If you disagree, whatever, but make it an option.3. Home screen wallpaper. Some have posted so far that it doesn't make sense because the screen is obscured by icons. Personally, I would have an empty home screen with the four most often used apps across the bottom, and the rest are a quick swipe away. I love having home screen wallpaper.4. Bluetooth track controls. My Blackberry responds to my car stereo's next and back track commands. Maybe the iPhone does it and it doesn't like my stereo. Anyway, that's really nice to have because while playing music and driving, I have to wake up the phone and interact with it to skip a song. I love bluetooth in the car.5. While the screen is locked and playing music, you can adjust the volume, but you can't skip tracks. I know you can double-click the button on the earbuds, but when streaming to the car stereo or not using those earbuds, it doesn't seem possible. From what I can tell, you have to wake up the phone and interact with the screen. A double-click of the home button gives you a quicker way to do this, but the screen is on, killing battery and making you interact with it. Blackberry handles this by registering a quick volume button click as a volume command and a long click as a skip. No screen involved.6. Quick access to things like WiFi on/off, bluetooth on/off.
mp3ziyafeti
April 20, 2010 at 4:57am
i hate widgets screen. even disabled it on my mac. wished i can remove it completely. although im a linux guy, i hate the android UI. if iphone gonna have this, hoped there's a disable setting.
wallpaper? unless you have 4 icons in a page or an empty page totally, then that would be nice.
Mp3 Dinle
more icons in the dock? please. the icons are already small enough. squeezing more in a row would make them smaller!flash support? i know a lot of people wants this. but trust me, you same people will be complaining if this ever came true. and if it does, i hoped this will also have a disable setting.
unlockedcellphones
April 10, 2010 at 2:33am
Whatever it is, to me, multi-tasking tops my list of things I want in iPhone OS 4.0, without which it's kinda lack the ooomphh.... imagine switching out of tweetering half way to check mail and when you're back to tweeter, you gotta wait for the new tweets. Cheap Unlocked Cell Phones
mob1278
April 08, 2010 at 6:54am
I would like to have an option to have mobile Safari on the iPad. Why you ask because with the mass number of sites out their already optimized for the iPhone it would make since to me since the iPad does not support flash, for example I take online college courses at the University of Phoenix and the interface used for posting assignments and class participation is all done with Flash. The good thing is they optimized the site for the iPhone since so many people used there iPhones for mobility, how ever since I have a full browser on my iPad I can not use the site for posting assignments nor participating in class discussions because there is not any Flash support on the iPad, the site literally freezes my iPad to the point where I have to do a hard reset just to be able to use the browser again. Using my iPhone works like a charm, it just has that smaller screen, sad to say this was the #1 reason I went with the iPad so that I could have the larger screen to do the assignment on. There is no way around this other than using mobile Safari bcz flash will not come to the iPad period. Another hope is that they ad a cursor icon to the keyboard, this would make things so much easier when making corrections or trying to put the cursor in between words with a finger. UI elements such as color to the browser bar/bookmark bar, it looks dull and boring it needs some spice to it. On the iPad, an option to download certain files such as PDF, I know there's plenty off apps that do it for us but this is a wish list right? Last but not least iPhone tethering option to the iPad! I would really hate to jailbreak when it comes out just to tether to my iPad, I refuse to pay the extra 15 or 30 on a new device to do it especially since it has no contract involved!
halmsx
April 08, 2010 at 6:19am
i hate widgets screen. even disabled it on my mac. wished i can remove it completely. although im a linux guy, i hate the android UI. if iphone gonna have this, hoped there's a disable setting.
wallpaper? unless you have 4 icons in a page or an empty page totally, then that would be nice.
more icons in the dock? please. the icons are already small enough. squeezing more in a row would make them smaller!
flash support? i know a lot of people wants this. but trust me, you same people will be complaining if this ever came true. and if it does, i hoped this will also have a disable setting.
if i am steve jobs, i too will not open iphones to other stores than itunes and apps store. why should i? monopoly? no. its mine. you dont like it? dont buy it.
im still using the 3g. havent tried 3gs yet. but on this thing, extensive multitasking will be heavy on it.
i just hoped apple will have a disable setting for any new function they gonna introduce later.
sjdev
April 08, 2010 at 12:19am
Ok so I absolutely hate Apple announcements because all these wild ridiculous rumors go flying around that 9 times out of ten, don't have a snow balls chance in hell.
Let's get this out of the way now: YOU WILL NEVER SEE FLASH ON THE IPHONE OR IPAD. PERIOD. None of this: well maybe this time they'll do this... NO. To play a flash game on a device without a mouse is PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE. Now if you were to say something more like: I would like to see more video stuffes built into Safari like YouTube is, that would be acceptable.
Customizable icons really go against that crisp clean feel and patterns that Apple likes to evoke in their products. You should be able to pick up an iPhone, click the unchanged Mail icon and be done, that's what Apple is going for; it looks crisp and clean like the fact tat 90% of all navigation bars are blue, or all scrolling windows have the same dark gray bar.
Hiding and foldering Apps is also another thing we will probably never see, Apple releases their devices for simplicity, to get rid of file navigation in the same way that windows explorer/finder replaced the command line method of navigation.
Widgets on the home screen: I honestly just can't see this one, it goes back to my argument on the customizable icons. We may some day see this kind of thing to an extent on the lock screen but never on the springboard.
Multitasking: This is an odd one, on one hand its convenient, on the other you have inexperienced users and developers who end up creating an unnecessary amount of traffic in the background and it would slow down the device and become all shitty.
A new UI: If they were going to change the UI they would have in the iPad and unless they decide to change it less than a week after its release, it is not happening.
A lot of what else is mentioned in this article is not completely impossible, people set their hopes too high and get disappointed.
Be reasonable internet.
mattc986
April 07, 2010 at 10:03pm
I really don't see why everyone wants a wallpaper behind 16 icons. You cheat in your picture and use the iPad mockup to make the icons smaller than they really are. Sure, that looks great. But if you put the icons as the actual size they are on the iPhone, 95% of wallpaper images look like crap because they clash with icons and obscure the text names. I would never want that. My friend has hers jailbroken and did that and it's so garish and distracting.
That said, I'm all for Apple giving you that OPTION as long as I can keep it black (or perhaps a solid color or gradient), then go ahead and just give people the option. That's my biggest pet peeve about Apple, is their refusal to put even a small settings checkbox for some things just because they think they know the best way to do things. You can see this throughout OS X and iPhone OS.
sdouget
April 07, 2010 at 9:09pm
I would like to see the ability to delete songs directly from the iphone instead of having to go sit in front of a computer and click on each song to listen to a little of it and then decide if you want to keep it or not. Sometimes we load a whole album and while on the go, we hear a song that we don't like and would like to just get rid of it. Or, like my wife and I, we share the same itunes library and both have different preferences in music.
bllewisii
April 07, 2010 at 5:23pm
I'm actually getting tired of people commenting on forums saying that features that are rumored to be announced tomorrow are available now by jailbreaking their devices. Not everyone WANTS or CAN jailbreak. Telling people to jailbreak their devices to gain access to specific features is not a good argument anymore. So, please, stop already.
hoppies1
April 07, 2010 at 4:09pm
What I think would be cool is to have more of a 2-d page layout. Now you can have however many pages of apps that you swipe right and left to page through, but it would be nice to be able to 'stack' the pages so you can swipe up or down too. It would make for quicker access to all of your screens at any one time and it could also be a way of organizing. For example this 'stack' is games so you swipe all the way to the right and then you know you have three pages full of games that you can swipe up and down to see. Not necessarily like scrolling, basically the same as it is now but instead of just swiping left and right to bring new pages up and you can swipe up and down.
ppuu
April 07, 2010 at 3:29pm
With the exception of multi tasking, you get can get everything else on the list RIGHT NOW if you simply jail break your 3G or 3GS. All I want on the 4th Gen Iphone is the ability to change the battery without a complete disassemble!
Lou
www.anon-resources.at.tc
jagged97
April 07, 2010 at 12:48pm
allow the option to put on/off toggles for WiFi, Bluetooth and Airplane mode on the desktop. i'm tired of having to drill down into the settings to do those quick little things that i seem to need to do all the time.
IMFSHN
April 07, 2010 at 12:19pm
To this list of suggestions I'd add to those great suggestions above:
1. System-wide Printing
2. File sharing with my Time Capsule over the internet, similar to "Here File, File," that doesn't require an atached, running computer.
3. Pull down, fast access menu for things like Bluetooth on/off, etc. like the Pre.
4. A radio like the new iPod Nanos. It's already built in, and it would be nice to catch my hometown pro teams when a TV isn't around(A second choice would be ESPN creating a game player like they have on their site).
5. Mounting/sharing it's hard drive via USB or bluetooth (more like a computer)
6. Combined email inbox
7. Locked screen alerts/updates (weather, email, TM) overlaid on top.
8.Great notification handling like the Pre
9. Better integrated voice commands like "Web ___________" (safari search), "Address ______________" (address book),
Non-iPhone controlled announcements (AKA: "One More Thing...")
"Hey, Hulu has converted their videos and site to automatically detect and play on your iPad/Phone!" [CHEERS]
or
Adobe has been secretly hard at work recoding a iPad/Phone version of Flash that doesn't require us to dumb down our iPhone/Pad for integration. [CHEERS FROM HULU AND FARMVILLE FANS EVERYWHERE]
and
"and did I mention these are all backwards compatible to the iPhone 3G?" [IPHONE 3GER'S REJOICING]
Nego
April 07, 2010 at 11:42am
Screen Orientation Lock just like on the iPad. I constantly find myself lying down on the couch doing something with my iPhone and the orientation will switch from portrait to landscape, resulting in everything being on it's side. If a screen orientation lock switch was there, things would be a lot easier.
pmadd
April 07, 2010 at 11:33am
Honestly, most of the items in this article are frivolous and I'd almost prefer not to have them as part of the update. Seriously, is it really necessary to have a landscape home screen for the iphone or to be able to customize the appearance of the icons. While nice for those who prefer to customize every aspect of their device, this would, IMO, detract from the clean/consistent look of the device which is an important part of its mass appeal (which, like it or not, does benefit us power users).
What I'm hoping for (in order of preference) are:
1. Multitasking (in some form) - I even think that full multitasking the way it is implemented in typical phones is overkill and likely to be a battery drain. What would be useful is powerful suspend/resume for hte typical app, sound in the background, enhanced notification system, and ability for apps to communicate with one another somehow to exchange information (maybe even wake one another up). Also, apps that run in the background should go through a special path in the app store and be approved by the user for background execution (for security purposes).
Particularly for the ipad, I'ld like to also have a way to access/call up iphone-sized apps from within other apps. Not full windowing, but somehow call up, say a twitter or IM client (that need not and should not be full screen) over the top of the app I'm currently using (dashboard-style) to quickly read/view tweets/IMs. Growl notifications would be a nice addition as well.
2. Home Screen/Lock Screen Customization - I've toyed around with the Nexus One and one of the nicer things about this compared to the iphone is the ability to use widgets on the home screen. The enhance resolution of the Nexus One does make this a bit more usable but the ability to have, say, a half-size or quarter-size "widget" version of various apps on the home (or lock) screens would be a huge improvement to the limited usefulness of the current home screen.
Of course, for the ipad, having iphone sized "widgets" would be cool as well.
Some of the jail-break apps do this particularly well and could serve as an example for Apple to follow.
3. Better App Organization - I'm not sure that folders in the traditional (or Android) sense is the right way to go here but maybe ability to slice and dice based on existing categorization, hide apps (as another commenter suggested), or maybe have flippable slider controls to simulate folders. App "suites" or "bundles" would be nice as well - sellers could then sell 3 apps at a special price and also have them organized together on the device.
4. Better calendar/Exchange integration - The exchange integration (for those of who use an iphone for business) is barely passable and far behind the Blackberry devices in this area. Particularly, better notifications with snooze, ability to show tentative appts as tentative, ability to forward invites, add attendees, and response to meeting requests with comments are all essential.
5. Flash support - Yes, I know this is not going to happen but this is the one item that I think that would push many over the edge to purchase an ipad and make 99% of the web accessible from the iphone/ipad.
6. Mac wireless synching/streaming - I would love it if Apple would combine AppleTV/MacMini/Time Capsule into a single device that could be connected to my TV with a boxee/plex style interface (not Apple TV) and contain, say, a 1TB drive (or start small and make expandable via USB or e-SATA) that would contain all of my media content and, while in my house, wirelessly stream content to my iphone or ipad (including, say, DirectTV, if i pipe this into my Mac-Mini) and allow me to select items I want to take with me (iTunes already does a lot of this). Then, if I want to access any of my content through my TV or stereo, I could control this through the iphone/ipad as well and use it as a remote. Most of this already exists...it's just a matter of putting it all together. As a plus, I would be able to view all of my content remotely over 3G or Wi-Fi - SlingBox style.
7. Remote File Sharing - Ability to use DropBox (ideally) or some other service to enable all files on my device to be accessible from a central location.
dagray
April 07, 2010 at 11:10am
1. Why can't we have an Amazon Mp3 Store app while we're at it. Keeping us locked into iTunes and the $1.29 pricing strategy seems like a bit of a monopoly to me. 2. Why can icons in the "dock" slide to the left or right like the apps do in the home screen area? If Apple would give us 4 more spaces by swiping the dock to the right I'd be happy.3. customizable tones for SMS and new Emails. 4. Also quick switching of say a minimum of two apps would be welcome ( without pressing the Home button every time, I feel like that button is going to wear out before my AT&T contract is up.)5. How about a "Spaces" type app for organizing apps according to how their used.6. Ability and/or option for Safari to display full websites instead of just mobile versions of sites. (MusiciansFriend.com and Amazon.com I'm looking at you, as well as others.)
Samuraiartguy
April 08, 2010 at 9:22am
... hold my breath for this one.Apple (read: Steve J ) has come out pretty solidly anti-Flash, and more publicaly recently. It's not entriely an engineeering problem between Apple and Adobe, but a CHOICE by apple to exclude Flash. Their stratagey, not just with Flash's technical issues, but also it woild allw users to cicumvent the all-important app store and iTunes in getting media, music, content and games onto their iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads. The other theme, ironically, as Apple has emerged as having real control freak issues, is that there have been noise and grumbles, that Flash, so widely adopted ties far too much of the otherwise "open" interenet into a proprietary protocol controlled by one company. (that would be "not-Apple") Over thepast three months, there has been a very visible acceleration of adotption of HTML 5/CSS/Javascript site standards by some rather major media players. But like IE 6 and AOL 5, I expect Flash to linger for a long time yet. Not if Adobe has anything to say about it. But Flash on the iPhone OS? i'm pretty sure it ain't gonna happen.
Islanti
April 07, 2010 at 10:54am
I'm shocked this wasn't mentioned already: new notification system.It's silly given how many apps rely on push notifications that you can only see the last one. It's also annoying that they pop up in the middle of the screen no matter what you're doing. Some kind of icon at the top of the screen you can tap to bring up a window with all new notifications is one idea. I'm sure Apple has more.
Andarian
April 07, 2010 at 10:33am
1: Multitasking
2: More customization (wallpaper, app alignment, customizable icons for apps and bookmarked web pages, sounds and alerts)
3: The ability to automatically open apps in a certain orientation. I use SMS in landscape only and the 3 second delay when rotating always annoys me.
4: Ability to hide apps, but have them installed. I use the Stock app every so often because of some friends, but I'd rather hide the icon, and search for them using Spotlight
5: Folders. I don't know how many Epic Pet Wars apps I have on my phone. It would be nice to organize those in a single folder. (Yes I know I can just sync it to iTunes then delete it from my phone, but I only sync my phone if there is a lot to be synced).
jarrellj75
April 07, 2010 at 10:28am
I think it would be cool if the ipad could interact with the iPhone and vice versa. (via bluetooth.) and for apps like maybe brushes as an example the iPhone could be the color and like brush size and shape selector leaving the whole ipad screen as a giant canvas! I also REALLY want the iPhone to be able to teather with my computer and my ipad cause I really want my 32 gig ipad to work over 3G so Ivan download apps on the go and acces the Internet.
wfurlong
April 07, 2010 at 9:24am
I know this doesn't apply but someone please tell activision to make Geometry Wars 2 for iphone!
wfurlong
April 07, 2010 at 9:22am
WIRELESS SYNCING! Having mobile me helps with most things but God forbid I am able to find a cable everytime I want to put one song on my phone.
