Apple gave us an official date for this year's 2024 where the next major version of the iPhone's software, likely called iOS 18, will debut. We have a few ideas for features and fixes that Apple should include in its next major update to the iPhone.
For seven months, most of us have lived with iOS 17. There have been high points like the introduction of StandBy Mode, Check In and iMessage stickers. And there have been low points like the whole overheating software bug that hit iPhones running iOS 17, which has since been resolved. For months we've Journal-ed, NameDrop-ed and casually sworn in Messages without the fear of being Autocorrect-ed.
So what's next for the iPhone? What will my iPhone be like this fall? Now that the Apple Vision Pro is out will it change things?
I have no idea.
Sure there are rumors about iOS 18 and how it'll be a big deal, maybe even a bigger deal than the iPhone 16. And yeah, Apple, like other phone makers, will likely flex its hype muscles and try to impress us with some AI magic.
Forget
all
that.
Instead
of
us
trying
to
guess
what
Apple
will
do
next
to
our
iPhones,
I
thought
I'd
assemble
some
of
CNET's
best
iOS-ers
and
iPhone-nitians
to
tell
Apple
what
we
want
in
iOS
18.
--
Patrick
Holland
The iPhone Pro Max's screen has ample amount of room for a Slide Over panel.
James Martin/CNETThe Dynamic Island is a great start, but I wish Apple would find more ways to take advantage of the Pro Max's large screen in particular. As I've written in the past, I'd love to see a version of Apple's Slide Over feature optimized for its larger-size iPhone.
Slide Over lets you view a second app in a floating panel along the side of the screen. This feels more useful on a smartphone-size screen compared with split view. If Slide Over were available on the iPhone Pro Max, you'd be able to dedicate most of the screen to a single app, while checking another. I could see this being useful for browsing through my email inbox while keeping an eye out for new Slack messages, for example.
-- Lisa Eadicicco
From top-to-bottom: Action button, volume up button and volume down button.
James Martin/CNET
One
of
the
new
features
on
the
iPhone
15
Pro
and
15
Pro
Max
is
the
Action
button,
which
replaced
the
silent/ring
slider
button
found
on
every
prior
iPhone
model
since
it
debuted
in
2007.
In
its
current
setup,
I
can
set
the
Action
button
to
trigger
one
shortcut
at
a
time.
By
default,
it
does
exactly
the
same
thing
as
the
mute
slider
did
before
it:
it
can
toggle
between
turning
on
the
ringer
and
putting
your
iPhone
into
silent
mode.
There
are
a
number
of
other
options
for
it
like
being
able
to
use
it
to
open
the
Camera
app
and
take
a
photo.
You
can
even
have
it
run
a
specific
shortcut/automation
in
the
Shortcuts
app.
Perhaps
my
favorite
use
is
someone
who
uses
their
location
to
change
what
the
Action
button
does
like
turn
it
into
an
order
now
trigger
for
a
Starbucks
latte.
The
Action
button
works
with
a
single
long
press,
no
matter
what
you
choose
for
the
button
to
do.
Currently,
you
either
need
to
change
what
the
Action
button
does
to
get
more
use
out
of
it
or
make
some
elaborate
automations
in
the
Shortcuts
app.
But
I
feel
there
is
a
lot
more
that
the
Action
button
could
do
if
Apple
would
let
it
support
multiple
input
clicks.
Like,
I
could
still
have
it
be
a
toggle
for
ringer/silent
mode
with
a
single
long
press,
but
do
something
else
(like
turn
on/off
the
flashlight)
with
a
double-long
press.
I
think
this
would
add
so
much
functionality
to
the
button
and
as
a
result
open
it
up
to
even
more
people
taking
more
advantage
of
it.
-- Patrick Holland
iOS 17 turned my iPhone into a mini-smart home display.
Patrick Holland/CNETStandBy Mode was one of my favorite new features Apple introduced with iOS 17. I use the feature on my work desk daily, and it's nice having easy access to the weather, time and podcasts. But I want Apple to develop this feature more.
For starters, I'd like Messages and Mail to take advantage of StandBy Mode. Right now, if your iPhone gets a text while it's in StandBy Mode, you get a notification, and if you tap the notification in time, you see a preview of the message. Otherwise, you have to remove your iPhone from StandBy Mode to read the full message and respond.
It would be great if Apple developed a StandBy Mode widget for Messages that lets you see full messages and respond to them without exiting StandBy Mode. It would also be nice if there was a Mail widget for StandBy Mode that lets you read emails (like newsletters) and shows you new messages. That way you can keep an eye on your inbox and know if you need to respond to an email immediately or if your latest email is just spam.
-- Zach McAuliffe
Siri got a slight makeover on iOS 17, including two new features that will definitely change how you interact with the personal voice assistant.
Nelson Aguilar/CNETAs a working mom, I almost always have a long to-do list, and a smarter Siri would truly help make my life easier. Right now, I turn to Siri for help with basic tasks such as setting an alarm, making a reminder or checking the weather. But with rumors of large language model integration in Siri, I find myself envisioning a future in which an iPhone can get more complex tasks done. Things like reminding me to buy blueberries when I'm near a supermarket or locate nearby restaurants in Hong Kong that are both kid-friendly and dog-friendly.
Lucky for me, this doesn't seem to be far-fetched. Large language models should not only allow Siri to understand more complex and nuanced questions, but also enable it to answer those questions more accurately.
-- Sareena Dayaram
This pop-up will appear at the top of your phone, previewing both what you said and the translation.
Nelson Aguilar/CNETBilingual households may share my issue of Siri needing to do a better job of automatically detecting which language is being spoken. Because right now the iPhone will spit out gibberish, turning Spanish dictation into English, or English into Spanish, if you forget to switch your keyboard.
If a voice mail message is left in Spanish, the system can't recognize that it's not English and tries to give an English preview that looks like nonsense. Maybe these rumored AI smarts can help Siri know what language is being spoken.
My Español no es bueno, so it would be helpful if my iPhone offered an English translation of text or voice messages sent to me in Spanish. The Duolingo bird would be mad at me for not needing to practice my Spanish lessons anymore, but Duo is always mad at me anyway.
-- Bridget Carey
Apple explains Check In's features.
Apple
One
of
my
favorite
iOS
17
features
is
Check
In,
which
lets
you
share
with
a
friend
or
family
member
that
you're
heading
to
a
specific
location
(like
maybe
coming
home
from
a
late
dinner).
Your
friend
or
family
member
gets
a
ping
letting
them
know
you're
on
the
move
and
when
you
should
be
home.
They
get
notified
once
you
make
it
to
your
destination
or
if
you
make
an
unexpected
stop
along
the
way.
If
something
happens
to
you
and
you
don't
get
home,
your
friend
receives
a
message
that
also
includes
data
like
your
last
location
and
battery
level
on
your
iPhone.
I'd
like
iOS
18
to
let
me
send
a
Check-In
to
a
group
of
people,
not
just
a
single
person.
Right
now,
being
able
to
start
a
Check
In
with
just
one
person
is
good,
but
there
are
many
times
I
want
to
share
a
Check
In
with
more
family
members
or
a
group
of
friends
all
at
the
same
time.
-- Patrick Holland
You can't schedule a Message to be sent.
Apple/Screenshot by James MartinBeing able to schedule texts in Messages would be a huge plus. Texting friends and family in different time zones is always a game of math because I don't want to text them when they are still sleeping. Yeah, I might be texting them at 8 a.m. ET, but they are still asleep since it's 5 a.m. PT for them. I also used to work third shift, and there were times when I'd want to text a friend and ask them a question or just to talk. But alas, who wants to be awoken to a text message at 5 a.m.? Very few people, as I came to find out.
Scheduling texts to send in Messages would help alleviate these issues. Other messaging apps already let you schedule messages to send later, including Android, so it's time for Apple to get up to speed with others. Some people might say that there's a Shortcut you can enable on your iPhone to send messages at a later time, but I'd argue that if you have to use a workaround to get something to work, it's not actually working. Apple should take a cue from Android and let people schedule messages to send at a later time. People who live in different time zones than their friends and family or work weird shifts will thank you.
-- Zach McAuliffe
The iPhone needs a pro camera app.
James Martin/CNETIt's time for Apple to revisit the iPhone's Camera app. For years, it was the gold standard of simplicity, offering a "see what you get" preview for photos, videos and effects with minimal, easy-to-navigate controls and modes. But as Apple has added more functionality, especially for ProRaw photos, ProRes video recording and spatial videos, the Camera app has started to feel cramped. It tries to remain a one-size-fits-all app at the expense of higher-end features like manual camera controls.
I'd like Apple to make a separate pro camera app, along the lines of how it created a standalone app for classical music. Apple Music Classical tackles the special challenge of categorizing, searching for, and discovering classical music, something the default Apple Music app isn't geared toward. Similarly, the pro camera app could be a place for creative types to access camera controls, settings and features beyond those in the basic camera app. Sony has been quite successful with this sort of approach in its Xperia 1 and 5 series phones, and Samsung has a separate Expert Raw app to complement its main one.
Now it's Apple's turn.
-- Patrick Holland
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