Seven things Apple needs to fix in iOS 12 (but probably won't)
#1: Why do voice calls need to dominate the iPhone UI?
Yes, I know the iPhone is a phone, but the way calls dominate the entirety of the iOS experience when they come in feels archaic. Why are calls seemingly more important than text messages or the myriad of other ways people can get in touch with me?
Please Apple, scale back the calling screen.
#2: Stop burying settings
The Settings app now feels like the Windows Control Panel - a confusing, disorganized mishmash that no one wants to fix.
Some settings - such as those related to display brightness - are now so buried that if you don't know where to look for them, chances are you just won't find them.
#3: Make the Battery Health feature more useful
Right now it feels like this uses a lot of screen real estate to say very little. I'd like to see this offer much more information related to the battery - such as the number of recharge cycles it has gone through, the current capacity, and discharge rate.
#4: Either make 3D Touch clearer, or dump it
I'm amazed how many people don't use 3D Touch. Actually, no, I'm not surprised in the least. Apple offers no user interface clues for the user as to where 3D Touch can be used. Unless you're willing to go through the entirety of iOS pressing hard down on everything, you're not going to know where you can use it.
There are rumors that Apple might drop this feature from the new iPhones, and to be honest this might be a good thing. Not only is it something that people don't use that much, apps that do make use of it hardly use it for anything all that amazing.
#5: Fix the Control Center
I think that the Control Center is a good idea in theory. In practice though, it seems to be more of a response to how awful the Settings app has become. And worse still, it's turned into yet another place that Apple uses to bury useful features.
#6: CarPlay is a mess
I will admit that I was initially excited about CarPlay, but within about 3 minutes of using it, I realized that is was just an awful hack. Not only is functionality limited, but you can do far less using CarPlay than you can using most modern in-car systems.
Apple needs to get serious about this space, or just leave it. The current implementation is embarrassing.
#7: Bring iMessage to Windows and Android
It's clear that Apple is keeping iMessage an iOS/macOS-only feature in order to keep users locked into the ecosystem, and from a business standpoint that makes sense. But from an end-user point of view, it not only feels disrespectful, but also vaguely abusive.
Come on Apple; give us iOS and macOS users a unified way to talk to people on Windows and Android.