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What we want to see in iOS 9

What we want to see in iOS 9
Karen McCandless

Karen McCandless

  • Updated:

While it may feel like just yesterday that iOS 8 was released (in fact it was September), iOS 9 is expected to be unveiled for the first time at WWDC 2015 in June. The company heralded iOS 8 as the biggest update to its mobile operating system ever (although I’m sure they’d like to forget the debacle that was iOS 8.0.1), so the pressure is on to deliver something special. In order to iron out any of the bugs that blighted iOS 8.0.1, the company is to open up beta testing to the public, a practice that it used with OS X and that Microsoft employs, the most recent examples being with Windows 10 and Windows 10 for phones.

iOS 8 iPhone header

The company recently released iOS 8.2, which brought support for the Apple Watch (only for iPhone 5 and later, but not for iPads or iPods); improvements to its Health app; and various other stability enhancements and bug fixes.

But rather than looking at what we expect Apple to deliver, we’ve asked Softonic iPhone users what they would like to see in the next version of the mobile OS:

Jon: Better “open with” options

I’d rather see optimization and efficiency, over new features that don’t work or slow down older devices. However, currently some apps let you, for example, open links in the browser of your choice, or share links via the app of your choice.

But many only give you the option of opening in Safari or sharing via the native Mail app. This is no longer obligatory for iOS apps, but when big apps like Twitter don’t let you use your chosen browser or mail client, there’s a problem. I’d like iOS 9 to allow you to set defaults for these things, to avoid the problem. Right now I only have mail set up to make life easier, and I only use Safari when I have to. Both are unnecessary!

Geert: File sharing

Having moved from Android to iOS a few months back, I really miss decent sharing functionality integration. There’s definitely some room for improvement here. For example, when I’m browsing through photos, I can share them in a limited number of ways, WhatsApp not being one of them. That’s annoying.

A similar story applies to Chrome on iOS, sharing a URL from within the browser is just not an option. Native browser Safari does offer sharing options, but again, only via native iOS apps.

Oh and yeah, I miss a file manager.

Toni: Battery, widgets, and personalization

iOS 8 widgets

I would like more information on battery usage (a graphical representation and maybe some tips to improve it), as well as widgets and more personalization. For example, I want to easily pick a song and set it as a ringtone; and chose a dynamic background that has up-to-date information.

Fabrizio

I wish Apple put the notification center and control center together (like in Android!)

The Twittersphere, unsurprisingly, has plenty to say on this matter. Here are some top requests from users.

Let us know in the comments below what you’d like Apple to deliver in iOS 9 – more features, or bug fixes and stability improvements?

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Follow me on Twitter: @karenmccandless

Karen McCandless

Karen McCandless

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