6 things I really hope Apple adds to iOS 18

Main points

• Apple’s iOS has come a long way over the years.
• The overall operating system is mature and feature-rich.
• Having said that, there is still room for improvement.

It’s no secret that we’ve come a long way since the first fateful release of iOS (formerly iPhone OS) 1.0 in 2007. The first version of this now ubiquitous operating system came with the original iPhone.

“Right now, software on phones is like baby software. It’s not that powerful. Today we’re going to show you a software breakthrough that’s at least 5 years ahead of any other software on phones. Now what do we do? Well, let’s start with a solid foundation. iPhone runs OS X.” That’s what Steve Jobs announced to a cheering MacWorld keynote crowd at the launch of the first iPhone.

Apple made a smart decision to leverage the foundation of its existing Mac software to give its phones a competitive edge over existing models on the market. Jobs emphasized the iPhone’s inherited multitasking, networking, power management and security capabilities.

The same original version of software that launched on the iPhone didn’t have an App Store. It also has no copy and paste functionality, or even support for wallpapers.

The company quickly iterates on its new platform, enhancing its features each year to keep up with year-over-year performance improvements brought about by new iPhone releases.

Today, iOS is a mature, highly complete operating system. While the days of rapid mobile innovation are over, there’s always room for improvement in operating systems. Apple’s annual developer conference WWDC is about to kick off on June 10, where we expect Apple to preview iOS 18 and other Apple software updates. With that in mind, here are 6 iPhone features (in no particular order) that I hope to see in iOS 18 when it releases this year.

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1 Customizable lock screen shortcuts

I already have access to my camera in other ways, but why not a calculator?

This feature has been present in various versions of Android for years. It may seem like a small thing, but the ability to customize shortcuts on your phone’s lock screen is really handy. The iPhone currently offers a flashlight shortcut in the lower left corner of the screen and a camera shortcut in the lower right corner.

Since there are already so many different ways to launch the camera throughout the system, I’m tempted to swap out the redundant shortcut buttons for something else I use regularly, like a calculator. Quick Access will also benefit the accessibility of other utilities, including timers, alarm clocks, and digital wallets.

2 Supports application icon packs

Another pillar of Android, the ability to customize the look and feel of home screen icons would be a welcome addition to iOS. The appeal of this feature is obvious, and the market for the concept is already booming.

Existing, well-crafted icon packs such as Leather Icons and Vision iOS App Icons are already on the market, but Apple has made it difficult to implement them into the system. It requires using the Shortcuts app, which is a haphazard workaround. Apple can and should support this feature natively, allowing us to customize the interface to our liking.

3 Less invasive, more customizable Action Center

Why does it take so much work to rearrange my quick settings?

Apple’s Action Center is well designed. In fact, many Android OEMs essentially emulate this experience on their custom interfaces. However, it can definitely be improved.

I’d like to be able to rearrange more of the various shortcuts and quick settings to my liking, and be able to do this as needed without having to jump to the Settings app.

I also want Action Center to be less intrusive when called. As with most iPhone apps, multimedia is immediately paused when swiping down to access the quick settings menu. This is very jarring and unnecessarily frustrating when I want to adjust media volume in real time.

While we’re at it, I’d also like to be able to pin the Quick Settings module directly to my home screen. After all, they follow the same basic grid system as app icons.

4 Persistent notifications on lock screen

Android solved this problem years ago

The biggest growing pain I experienced whenever I switched from Android to iPhone was the management of notifications. The way Android handles incoming alerts seems to suit me better.

What I particularly like is that on Android, notifications remain on the lock screen until an action is received. A simple toggle that enables this behavior in iOS would make me happy without upsetting those who like Apple’s way of doing things.

There are tons of other improvements Apple could implement to sync its notification system with Android, but a simple “Keep Lock Screen” toggle is enough for me.

5 Stage manager, just like on iPad

Let me make full use of the computing power of my phone

The iPhone’s biggest missed opportunity remains its inability to take full advantage of its capabilities. Apple brags about the performance of its A-series chips every year, but when browsing TikTok and Instagram, much of the CPU and GPU sound gets lost in translation. I wish Apple would adopt its own “desktop mode”, like Samsung’s DeX.

In my opinion, this is the one Apple is least likely to adopt. By the same token, the iPad isn’t yet a full-fledged Mac replacement—if users can do more with less, the company could lose hardware revenue.

That being said, all the building blocks are in place. The underlying code of iPadOS is the same as iOS, supporting external displays and displaying application windows on the screen through Stage Manager. I’ll continue to pray that one day I’ll be able to plug my iPhone into a USB-C monitor and get some serious work done.

6 App icons placed anywhere on the home screen

Either add this feature or make the phone smaller again

There are rumors that the last one will be released in iOS 18, and I certainly hope the leaks prove to be accurate. As soon as we were able to rearrange the icons, the system automatically aligned all apps to the upper left corner of the screen.

It doesn’t need to be this way. Apple can continue to maintain a simple and consistent design language on the home screen while letting us place apps wherever we choose.

It’s an accessibility issue, and it’s a customization issue – one that didn’t arise until smartphone sizes started getting really big. It’s really difficult to reach the top corners of modern displays when using a phone with one hand.

Some users have even started inserting blank widgets on their home screens to force apps closer to the (reachable) bottom part of the display.

With less than 2 months left until WWDC 2024, I sincerely hope Apple adds at least some of these features in iOS 18. If there’s one thing we’re sure of, it’s that we’ll have answers soon.