[TescoJeans]

One thing I would like is for them to add a little function in the settings that tells you how many words, letters and overall characters you have typed on your device since it was first used. Of course, it's pointless but it would be interesting to see how many words you type in a certain time limit, like a day or a week for example.

What would you like them to add?

[GeordiePaul]

Bigger screen

Keyboard that shows lower case keys when you're typing in lower case. Also, suggestions bar, and swyping capability.

Easier ability to share ala android.

Easier to set default apps.

Some kind of native file browsing support.

Ability to drag and drop without iTunes.

Widgets, or live icons at very least.

Ability for springboard (or whatever the home launcher is called these days) in landscape.

Fingerprint scanner integration with something like lastpass (far fetched but if they give you features, I want to see some proper uses for it).

Theme support... we don't always want the cartoony 'designed for girls' theme. Even if a few different colours!

A countdown timer that allows for multiple countdowns,

Swipe away notifications,

A key (soft or otherwise) for app switching.

Long press toggles for menu (i.e. long press Wifi to go to available networks instead of just on/off.

If they did that, I might consider one again,

[Stuart_h]

Go on and add:

1) improve value for money
2) better corporate responsibility
3) rename the role of 'Genius'
4) charge realistic prices for memory increases
5) charge realistic prices for accessories
6) stop telling people what they 'need' and instead listen to what they 'want'
7) return to innovation rather than suing everyone else

ummmm. im sure i'll think of a few more to add soon (although admittedly these are improvements for 'Apple' in general rather than just the iPhone )

This thread has had a remarkably slow start considering the potential

[grumpyoldbat]

Maybe because the thread is "small things to add". The lists so far, with the exception of the OP, would be pretty major work for Apple to integrate. I can see a lot of Cupertino coders sleeping on camp beds and living off pizza and coffee to achieve those!

[BT@home]

The ability to set Chrome as my default browser would be simple to achieve ... it'll never happen though.

[Stuart_h]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grumpyoldbat

Maybe because the thread is "small things to add". The lists so far, with the exception of the OP, would be pretty major work for Apple to integrate. I can see a lot of Cupertino coders sleeping on camp beds and living off pizza and coffee to achieve those!

The more serious ones that still seem a little odd to me these days (unless things have changed recently) would be:
1) The hobbling of Bluetooth
2) The lack of drag and drop (outside of itunes)
3) The inability to define your own, preferred, 'default apps'
4) The lack of 'theme' options other than just changing the background (which is mostly hidden by your standard rows of icons anyway !?)

Things like widgets/tiles I suspect would be (a) very costly to now introduce and (b) difficult to 're-invent' without looking like they were copying Android and/or Windows - although that doesnt seem to have stopped them with their designs for the notifications area....

points (3) and (4) go back to my original (tongue-in-cheek) post that Apple seem to 'tell' their customers what they need. it all seems a little 'dictated'. Maybe some people like that, a pack mentaility perhaps ? In the past people used to purchase Apple goods be be a little different, or a little 'quirky' - but now its almost the opposite ?

points (1) and (2) are just more general criticisms. I know its the whole 'walled garden' thing but these seem like fairly standard functions on pretty much every other phone - and have been for a decade (or more).

[grumpyoldbat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuart_h

The more serious ones that still seem a little odd to me these days (unless things have changed recently) would be:
1) The hobbling of Bluetooth
2) The lack of drag and drop (outside of itunes)
3) The inability to define your own, preferred, 'default apps'
4) The lack of 'theme' options other than just changing the background (which is mostly hidden by your standard rows of icons anyway !?)

Things like widgets/tiles I suspect would be (a) very costly to now introduce and (b) difficult to 're-invent' without looking like they were copying Android and/or Windows - although that doesnt seem to have stopped them with their designs for the notifications area....

points (3) and (4) go back to my original (tongue-in-cheek) post that Apple seem to 'tell' their customers what they need. it all seems a little 'dictated'. Maybe some people like that, a pack mentaility perhaps ? In the past people used to purchase Apple goods be be a little different, or a little 'quirky' - but now its almost the opposite ?

points (1) and (2) are just more general criticisms. I know its the whole 'walled garden' thing but these seem like fairly standard functions on pretty much every other phone - and have been for a decade (or more).

Yeah, there are a few of these things I'd like - ability to swap out default apps - I'd love to have a Swype keyboard on iOS, but I suspect I'm the minority. I'm still of the opinion that whilst Android is brilliant for being as flexible as it is, the vast majority of the ordinary people who use it probably don't change much other than ringtones and wallpapers.

I believe there are a load of people out there who have come from feature phones to smartphones and still only change the things they did on those. A non-techy colleague of mine was complaining about the keyboard on her Nexus 4 since the update (I suggested that phone for her BTW) and I said, "well change it for another one". She wasn't aware you could and hasn't ever looked at the Play Store for anything other than games. I think she's not an unusual case.

The point I'm trying to make is that whilst there are a load of us here who would like to change things, I think as a percentage of the overall user numbers of smartphones of any platform, we're definitely a minority. The majority probably aren't that bothered, which is why the iPhone continues to sell well!

[clonmult]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grumpyoldbat

The point I'm trying to make is that whilst there are a load of us here who would like to change things, I think as a percentage of the overall user numbers of smartphones of any platform, we're definitely a minority. The majority probably aren't that bothered, which is why the iPhone continues to sell well!

You're right; for most people iOS is "good enough", which tends to be the Apple mantra. They rarely excel in any area, just produce something that is good enough for most people. Techies are (thankfully?) not most people.

Although I do believe that Apple are too restrictive - no bluetooth file transfer is damnably irritating.

I also think that MS seems to have struck a pretty good balance between the restrictions of iOS and the open nature of Android, WP is a much better platform than a lot of people believe. But MS have a huge image problem to overcome.

[grumpyoldbat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by clonmult

You're right; for most people iOS is "good enough", which tends to be the Apple mantra. They rarely excel in any area, just produce something that is good enough for most people. Techies are (thankfully?) not most people.

Although I do believe that Apple are too restrictive - no bluetooth file transfer is damnably irritating.

I also think that MS seems to have struck a pretty good balance between the restrictions of iOS and the open nature of Android, WP is a much better platform than a lot of people believe. But MS have a huge image problem to overcome.

I think iOS is better than it was. In my opinion they listen to requests more than they did in the Jobs era. It's not necessarily about Apple though. This issue of "enough" applies to most platforms, because the vast majority of people who are Android users won't use even the tiniest percentage of its features.

I remember a few years back everyone was buying the Nokia N95 which was a very capable phone with loads of features. Nokia even marketed it as the computer in your pocket. Of at least a dozen friends who owned one, not one of them used it for anything other that calls, texts and picture messages. One was complaining that her sat nav had broken. I asked why she didn't use the excellent Nokia Maps for navigation, and she had no idea it could do GPS navigation.

I do think people are a bit more savvy these days, but I know loads of people with Android/Windows Phone/iPhone devices who still aren't doing anything except phoning, messaging (text/Whatsapp), taking photos and updating their Facebook. Oh and playing that stupid Candy Crush game.

[Three]

SMS delivery reports

[clonmult]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grumpyoldbat

I think iOS is better than it was. In my opinion they listen to requests more than they did in the Jobs era. It's not necessarily about Apple though. This issue of "enough" applies to most platforms, because the vast majority of people who are Android users won't use even the tiniest percentage of its features.

I remember a few years back everyone was buying the Nokia N95 which was a very capable phone with loads of features. Nokia even marketed it as the computer in your pocket. Of at least a dozen friends who owned one, not one of them used it for anything other that calls, texts and picture messages. One was complaining that her sat nav had broken. I asked why she didn't use the excellent Nokia Maps for navigation, and she had no idea it could do GPS navigation.

I do think people are a bit more savvy these days, but I know loads of people with Android/Windows Phone/iPhone devices who still aren't doing anything except phoning, messaging (text/Whatsapp), taking photos and updating their Facebook. Oh and playing that stupid Candy Crush game.

Thats the way with most people I know and their various phones.

Nokia almost literally threw everything possible into the Symbian devices. OSB OTG, FM Transmitters, HDMI output .... I used the USB OTG and HDMI once or twice, basically to see how it coped with my multiple external drives, keyboard, mouse and a 32" monitor. And it all worked pretty well. Utterly useless features for 99.9% of users. Similarly I occasionally used the FM transmitter, but hated the sound quality (same goes for every FM transmitter I've used in car). But with a complete lack of management direction, they just went nowhere.

For most people "good enough" is more than sufficient.

[grumpyoldbat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by clonmult

Thats the way with most people I know and their various phones.

Nokia almost literally threw everything possible into the Symbian devices. OSB OTG, FM Transmitters, HDMI output .... I used the USB OTG and HDMI once or twice, basically to see how it coped with my multiple external drives, keyboard, mouse and a 32" monitor. And it all worked pretty well. Utterly useless features for 99.9% of users. Similarly I occasionally used the FM transmitter, but hated the sound quality (same goes for every FM transmitter I've used in car). But with a complete lack of management direction, they just went nowhere.

For most people "good enough" is more than sufficient.

Agreed, and I think that's at the root of why many here think that Apple leaves stuff out. Arguably they do, but the things that they leave out tend often to be things that the mainstream users wouldn't use anyway. I'm guessing that as Apple are firmly pursuing the mainstream majority, they think adding features those people are unlikely to use isn't a priority.

It's been a few years since phones had NFC payment abilities now, it's probably about time for Apple to include it, now it's popular enough worldwide that it's on lots of bank payment cards!

[calico_pie]

Since 7.1 came out I've switched back to using the Calendar app - being able to have a list view beneath the calendar makes a big difference.

One thing still bugs me about it though - the space under the month view isn't enough for an exact number of listed events.

At the moment there is room for a maximum of about 8.5 rows made up of a combination of calendar rows and events rows.

All they need to do is divide the total height available for the month + events, and divide by nine. So you can have 5 rows in the calendar + 4 events rows. Or 6 road in the calendar + 3 events rows etc.

Also in the Events listed under the month view, I'm not sure why there is such a large margin to the left of the time, or why the text for the event is larger in that small space than it is on the main event details page where there is a lot more space.

Surely it would make sense for:

1. Reduce the left hand margin on the events beneath the calendar.
2. Reduce the font size for the event name on that view.
3. Increase the font size on the main event details page.

And sort out the Notes and Reminders apps!

[grumpyoldbat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calico_pie

Since 7.1 came out I've switched back to using the Calendar app - being able to have a list view beneath the calendar makes a big difference.

One thing still bugs me about it though - the space under the month view isn't enough for an exact number of listed events.

At the moment there is room for a maximum of about 8.5 rows made up of a combination of calendar rows and events rows.

All they need to do is divide the total height available for the month + events, and divide by nine. So you can have 5 rows in the calendar + 4 events rows. Or 6 road in the calendar + 3 events rows etc.

Also in the Events listed under the month view, I'm not sure why there is such a large margin to the left of the time, or why the text for the event is larger in that small space than it is on the main event details page where there is a lot more space.

Surely it would make sense for:

1. Reduce the left hand margin on the events beneath the calendar.
2. Reduce the font size for the event name on that view.
3. Increase the font size on the main event details page.

And sort out the Notes and Reminders apps!

I use Week Calendar on iOS and Android. It's a much better replacement with additional views which are a big improvement over the standard one. It was on sale at 50% off earlier this week, so might be worth checking.

[calico_pie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grumpyoldbat

I use Week Calendar on iOS and Android. It's a much better replacement with additional views which are a big improvement over the standard one. It was on sale at 50% off earlier this week, so might be worth checking.

Thanks - I'll have a look. I looked at a few after iOS7 came out. In keeping with the 'small things' theme of the thread, only having space for two events under the month view on an iPhone 4 on iOS6 was about the main thing that made me want a slightly bigger screen that could fit 3/4 in there. Then iOS 7 came out and they removed that altogether.

The one I stuck with for a bit was Sunrise, which seemed the closest to the minimal iOS7 look I like. The thing that bugged me about that one was that in the list view it listed all days, even if there was no event added for that day.

[PencilBreath]

I think a few people might like to be able to install an alternative keyboard. That was certainly my only gripe with the 4s I had for a while last year. Otherwise an excellent sturdy device that just felt "right" in my hand & was built to last.

[AxeVictim]

Notification led.

[Lyceum]

Quick reply for text messages. It's completely ridiculous that I have to stop what i'm doing. Leave them app. Open the message app just to reply to a text message. Quick reply has been available with bitesms for year. It's absolutely ridiculous that this isn't standard in the iOS.

Removal of stock apps. I don't need or want stocks, newsstand, clock and a few other stock apps. I don't want them. I've just paid £550 for my phone. I should have the ability to remove them.

Themes. Again. It's absolutely ridiculous that you can't theme your phone. I despise the look of iOS 7. It looks like a three year old designed it. Let me put a theme on.

Icon labels. I don't like or need them. Let me remove them if I want. I don't need 'safari' written under the safari app. I know what it is. Along with all the other apps I have installed.

Nested folders. Why must I have three different folders? Why can't I just have one with three folders inside it?

All these have been available via jailbreaking for as long as the iPhone has been around. I never buy the latest iPhone (if I buy it) until the jailbreak is released. There's too many things that annoy me about it. But I could live with everything besides the lack of quick reply.

If apple release a big screen phone this year. IE 4.5"+ I'll be moving to android probably. I'm in the minority of not wanting a giant screen phone.

[jchamier]

Simple things apple could do:

1) Optional numbers row on keyboard - when entering corporate passwords this would be useful. (Option could be in the settings, next to language/region).

2) WiFi scanner app written by Apple - so the portable device can be used to check for free wifi channel instead of having to dig out the bulky laptop. Apple can write one even if they don't want third parties using the hidden API calls.

I don't see Apple allowing third party keyboards, too easy for them to be used to pick up your passwords, security etc. :-/

[IslandNiles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jchamier

Simple things apple could do:

1) Optional numbers row on keyboard - when entering corporate passwords this would be useful. (Option could be in the settings, next to language/region).

Yeah, the Fantastical calendar app already has this. I'd like to see the iOS keyboard rejigged a bit. Generally I think it's decent, responsive and pretty accurate (although the iOS 7 thing of replacing a mistyped word with two completely different words is annoying), but it becomes a real pain if you want to use symbols.

[dslrocks]

An FM radio

The ability to attach files in the native email client.

[iGeek2014]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dslrocks

An FM radio

The ability to attach files in the native email client.

Yes, it's daft you can only insert photo or videos files within it.

I'd also like to see the ability to change default apps, customisable themes, the ability to hide stock apps, NFC, more apps being able to use TouchID as well as a data limit feature.

[swordman]

If only an OS with all these abilities existed hmmmmm

[calico_pie]

If only everyone's buying decision was based solely on specific, minor functionalities of an OS.

[Three]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iGeek2014

Yes, it's daft you can only insert photo or videos files within it.

I'd also like to see the ability to change default apps, customisable themes, the ability to hide stock apps, NFC, more apps being able to use TouchID as well as a data limit feature.

Not defending Apple, the stock mail app does lack simple features such as not being able to attach anything other than a picture of movie from the stock interface. But you can get email all file types by selecting them in a third party file app such as Documents by Readdle and then sending them to mail.