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Apple WWDC 2015 rumors, predictions, and speculation

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I'd really love it if notifications on my iPhone/iPad would appear in my Mac's notification center.
Yes, but I think before that can happen it's very pressing for Apple to improve the user's ability to manage which notifications you do and don't see. That management is already quite granular, but it's seriously a bitch to go in there and customize it for yourself. Notification Center should be all about being very informative and very actionable so you can periodically clean it out like an email inbox and have that feel like it was useful to you, but too many apps throw out junk notifications just to try to get your attention.

That need is already an issue because of the Apple Watch, but if Apple solves it, further notification sharing between devices would be nice - though making them genuinely actionable as per existing Continuity stuff would be best, it'd still be nice to have your phone tell you when that torrent finished downloading on your computer.
 
I'm excited for more stability overall. I like that on both the iOS and OSX sides we've gotten a few small .1 updates that have helped somewhat, but I'd really be in love with a total update being primarily spent on stability.
 
ok, here's my gigantic crazy-person wishlist:

iOS 9:

FILE SYSTEM/ICLOUD DRIVE
-Revamped file system based on file extensions/metadata/tags rather than per-app or folder storage, using iCloud Drive
-file browser/manage in the space where Spotlight used to be (left of the home screen)
-Document Picker for attaching documents to emails, iMessages, etc.
-Versions support for documents
-ability to add songs found online to music library; same for videos
-downloads from Safari into file manager space
-totally redone system for homescreen icon arrangement
-links for sharing icloud drive items, collaborative or read-only sharing
-heavy use of tags feature emphasized over using nested folders

PHOTOS/PHOTO CLOUD
-face tagging/recognition in photo app
-improved animated gif support
-screenshots get their own separate album automatically
-images saved from Safari get a 'today' creation date instead of leaping way back in Camera Roll based on their metadata

SIRI/INSTANT INFO
-"daily report" for alarms with weather, appointments, messages, emails, reminders summary
-Spotlight/Siri integration
-text entry for Siri
-more Siri services
-offline Siri functionality where possible
-Google Now competitor (before-you-ask information stuff), using email and search analysis a la Google Inbox; handled locally where possible
-package tracking link recognition/support
-voice control API for apps, but Siri itself remains curated

MAPS
-offline maps support
-Transit directions again in major cities

MAIL/CONTACTS/CALENDARS/NOTES/REMINDERS
-smarter mailboxes with rules-based sorting
-address book groups
-Notes and Voice Memos combined into one app, retaining iCloud syncing for audio as well as text notes
-Reminder sharing support
-equivalent sorting/delay functionality to Google Inbox, Mailbox, the new Outlook, etc.
-"favorites/VIP" for iMessage, FaceTime, Mail, Phone - can integrate with e.g. FB Messenger as an API - used for fast communication and for do not disturb mode
-smart reminders and so on like Inbox/Outlook/Mailbox - pull flight info, package info, event info, et cetera from email messages

HOMESCREEN/NOTIFICATION CENTER/CONTROL CENTER/LOCKSCREEN
-lockscreen "complications" system analogous to the one found on Apple Watch
-deeper control center (press+hold wifi/bluetooth icons for more options), slightly more customizable for app launching, can be used to turn location services on/off
-clear all for Notification Center
-better homescreen icon sorting/moving process
-weather, stock, voice memo, calculator, passbook apps on iPad
-more dynamic icons (weather app icon auto-updates temperature/conditions, etc.)
-notification sharing between all apple devices (i.e. notifications on appletv for a phone call or FaceTime on iPhone/iPad; notifications on phone when a download finishes on computer)
-notification center should feel more like a useful to-do list, and/or like email: something you occasionally go through and clear out in productive ways, and it should be easier to customize it to get it to this point
-for the active app, control center can go straight to the Settings section where its privacy/notification controls are; also, ability to review it in app store, send bug reports

MUSIC/ITUNES/OTHER MEDIA
-Play Next support
-built-in Spotify competitor; built-in Netflix competitor
-TV app-channel solution along the lines of News Stand
-comic book mode in iBooks
-News Stand unfucked so it no longer obscures apps inside it
-Handoff support for music library, videos
-Apple iBooks Author adds simple authoring for News Stand, simple-but-excellent CMS stuff a la The Loop or The Magazine
-super-great native RSS reader (with socially-sourced content, RSS content, smart suggestions, curated sources, pull from reading list, pull from news stand apps, special subscriptions available e.g. to New York Times) for catching up on websites/news, fully-featured, well-curated, etc - also pulls in info from mail, perhaps

TELEPHONY/LOCAL NETWORKING/ETC
-FaceTime group chat
-stronger proximity-to-computer support (your own computer functions as an iBeacon)
-local phone-to-phone messaging, facetime, phone calls built in using Bonjour, daisy-chained Bonjour networks for emergencies (walkie talkie system)

APPLE PAY/PASSBOOK
-native "cash register" app to compete with Square
-Apple Pay direct transfers a la Square Cash to pay friends; Apple Pay support in all BT 4.0 hardware a la Square Register
-legally valid photo ID in Passbook, unlocked via TouchID
-built-in "key" support in Passbook for unlocking doors, mass transit turnstiles, security doors, etc. using TouchID and mimicking NFC/RFID
-scanning support for barcoded things like library cards, insurance cards, gym passes, etc.

OS SERVICES/MISC
-local transaction support using Bluetooth 4.0, NFC support
-print-to-PDF
-native VNC solution maybe
-easy access from within an app to Notification/Privacy Sheets for permissions management and App Store rating/review via control center or notification center
-Google login integration a la FB/Twitter
-shitloads of bug fixes; a "Snow Leopard" year
-unified Safari view for apps to much more easily add a browser, just like they can call up a Mail pane
-separate "app store" from "game store", make Game Center not suck

overall immediate hopes:
-music app revamp
-mail app revamp
-further apple pay upgrades, real-world identity/authentication
-passbook key support
-file browser, file picker
-transit directions
-lots of bugfixes
-anything whatsoever to make notes and voice memos and compass more useful and/or interesting
-redone homescreen icon arrangement system

iPad taking-advantage-of-screen-size hopes:
-improved homescreen (more icons, more informative)
-improved lockscreen (more informative)
-improved notification center (useful enough that it’s worth going to for more than just missed notifications - easily-digestible list of tasks along with the tools to digest them)
-improved app switcher (note/display which background services an app is using)
-improved control center (customizability for sure, *not* a dock replacement, but better app selections, ability to turn off location services)
-improved Today view (more like a full dashboard of what matters to you on a single page)
-great reader app

-multiple users/multiple settings modes
-more granular do-not-disturb mode

OS X:

-Siri, always listening via 'hey siri' and with a strong emphasis on accessibility features, and with the ability to run user Automator scripts (hell fucking yeah can you imagine)
-Control Center
-Mac can function as an iBeacon
-Mac can function as an AirPlay receiver
-separate Game Store and App Stores, game store still chart- and algorithm-driven perhaps
-OpenGL 4.5 support
-notifications on phone when download finishes on computer, etc
-smart handling of wifi versus cellular (so LTE can be built into Macs)
-Quicktime improvements (cropping and exporting), open up AVKit for third-party codecs
-Google integration a la Twitter/Facebook
-Use TouchID on phone to unlock Mac
-Handoff support for music library
-iTunes turned into Sync Services, plus universal App Store, Media Store, Music, and Video apps
-Music app is light dedicated music player with improved DJ/playlisting controls, full iTunes Radio, Handoff support
-Videos app replaces QT Player, given Handoff support where possible
-iBooks renamed to Books, given Handoff support
-App Store app contains Mac, iOS, and Apple Watch apps
-Media Store app for music, tv, film, book downloads
-Podcasts app separate from media app?
-Sync Services run in background and don't require any apps to be open for syncing
-merge PDF handling between iBooks and Preview
-shitloads of bug fixes; a "Snow Leopard" year; addition of UXKit
-photo library incorporated into open/save dialogs for apps that enable it (a Photos framework)
-likewise, apps can have "access to photo library" a la iOS (for more intensive apps like photoshop or lightroom)
-hella bugfixes
-kill the Dashboard ffs
-touchID authentication via Continuity
-tagging system added to notes, iCloud emails, reminders, voice memos, contacts
-big, thorough dark mode
-HealthKit, misc apps like weather and stocks

App Store:
-app bundles (OS X + iOS + Watch + TV)
-timed demos
-paid version upgrades
-app ratings and top charts deemphasized, reviews and curation given more prominence
-apps penalized for asking you to rate them

You will get literally one of these.
 
my wishlist for osx 10.11:
- stop sucking at window management
- native support for ntfs writing
- update the included version of python to 3.4
- somehow make chrome use less battery yes i know apple doesn't make chrome
- make android file transfers not require the stupid android file transfer program
- make quicktime not suck without having to install perian or whatever
- make the mac app store not suck by changing your policies so it doesn't suck.
- make it so the wifi menu doesn't show 277 random wifi spots that you can't connect to.
- make it so when you try to connect to something on the wifi menu and it doesn't work the error messages are more meaningful
- make it so that you can delete attachments in messages yes i know this is already a feature but it doesn't work well at all so make it so that it does absolutely everyone who has a mac or ios device loses inordinate amounts of space to expanding messages thread and there's no common-sense way to nuke old big-ass attachments and videos while still keeping the text components of messages
- make f.lux a native feature

my wishlist for ios 9:
- make f.lux a native feature
- make it so that i don't need google maps to get anywhere or let me delete apple maps i don't care which i really don't
- change whatever policy prevents xbmc from being installed on non-jailbroken phones
- change whatever stupid-ass code generation policies prevent kickstarted games from fulfilling codes because apple refuses to generate enough codes
- let me turn off icons for the 999999999 apps i don't give a shit about... or at least don't add a bunch more that i still don't give a shit about. seriously this is bonkers. just let me delete any apps i want to delete. yes i know there's some ridiculous scenario where some 95 year old screws up and deletes all her apps, i'm fine if you make me take a test before i can delete my apps, just let me do it jeez
 
my wishlist for osx 10.11:
- stop sucking at window management
- native support for ntfs writing
- update the included version of python to 3.4
- somehow make chrome use less battery yes i know apple doesn't make chrome
- make android file transfers not require the stupid android file transfer program
- make quicktime not suck without having to install perian or whatever
- make the mac app store not suck by changing your policies so it doesn't suck.
- make it so the wifi menu doesn't show 277 random wifi spots that you can't connect to.
- make it so when you try to connect to something on the wifi menu and it doesn't work the error messages are more meaningful
- make it so that you can delete attachments in messages yes i know this is already a feature but it doesn't work well at all so make it so that it does absolutely everyone who has a mac or ios device loses inordinate amounts of space to expanding messages thread and there's no common-sense way to nuke old big-ass attachments and videos while still keeping the text components of messages
- make f.lux a native feature

my wishlist for ios 9:
- make f.lux a native feature
- make it so that i don't need google maps to get anywhere or let me delete apple maps i don't care which i really don't
- change whatever policy prevents xbmc from being installed on non-jailbroken phones
- change whatever stupid-ass code generation policies prevent kickstarted games from fulfilling codes because apple refuses to generate enough codes
- bring back forstall and stitched leather
- let me turn off icons for the 999999999 apps i don't give a shit about... or at least don't add a bunch more that i still don't give a shit about. seriously this is bonkers. just let me delete any apps i want to delete. yes i know there's some ridiculous scenario where some 95 year old screws up and deletes all her apps, i'm fine if you make me take a test before i can delete my apps, just let me do it jeez
Eh. Pass.
 
All I want is to be able to use iCloud Drive as an extension to my paltry 256GB SSD rather than a mirrored system.

As it is, everything you put in iCloud Drive is in a hidden folder on your computer first, then uploaded to iCloud and there's no option to change that. The result is, I'm paying for 200GB but I can only use 50GB because I'll never have 200GB free on my MBP.
 
Hoping we hear more on HomeKit, which has been rumored. Also open up NFC.

Being able to unlock my front door, with only my phone with NFC + my fingerprint will be sweet.
 
Hoping we hear more on HomeKit, which has been rumored. Also open up NFC.

Being able to unlock my front door, with only my phone with NFC + my fingerprint will be sweet.

I think use of the NFC in the iPhone 6/6+ and Apple Watch for things like house keys, car keys, transit passes, getting into your office building, and so on would be HUGE. But for a number of those it'd require a universal standard to be in place (as well as the right infrastructure).
 
I just had a look at notification center and there seems to be no rhyme nor reason to what gets put in there. Most of it is a month or two old even though I use my Macs everyday. Notifications on my Android devices are pretty great. Apple have a lot of catching up to do here.
 
I just had a look at notification center and there seems to be no rhyme nor reason to what gets put in there. Most of it is a month or two old even though I use my Macs everyday. Notifications on my Android devices are pretty great. Apple have a lot of catching up to do here.
Yeah. It's partly that apps generally try to use notifications to get your attention and you end up having, like, "please play this game again" notifications that are 20+ days old still sitting in there, but it's also that Apple makes it less easy than it ought to be to customize which notifications you do and don't see (and in which places). Notifications also ought to be much more actionable from within Notification Center - again, I feel like it should be treated like an email inbox, in the sense that you can periodically clear it out in order to accomplish more stuff while also being able to make sure you're not getting notifications/"mail" you aren't interested in receiving in the first place.

The fact that the main Notifications screen in Settings (in iOS) is sorted primarily by whether an app's notifications appear in Notification Center (rather than whether an app's notifications are turned on or not) is just criminally bad design.
 
More from Gurman:

- iOS 9 supports Force Touch for the iPhone 6S and likely upcoming iPads. Won't be announced at WWDC.

- Apple is also working on an updated keyboard for iOS 9. Apple is said to have also redesigned iOS 8’s infamous Shift Key so that it is easier to tell when shift or caps lock is activated.

- iOS 9‘s Passbook application includes the necessary foundation to for Apple Pay support in Canada. While the technical side for Canada is being built into iOS 9, it’s unlikely that such a launch will be announced until Apple finalizes its negotiations with Canadian banks.

- Message back end infrastructure improvements to support read receipts for group chat threads, as well as read receipts on a contact-by-contact basis.

- Apple has also, once again, considered removing the Game Center app (it is not present in some internal iOS 9 builds)

- Data point additions are planned for the Health application.

More detail at:
http://9to5mac.com/2015/05/26/ios-9...ouch-may-enhance-imessage-keyboard-apple-pay/
 
I think Canada Apple Pay was tentatively set for November.

Apparently, if you have a US Credit Card you can use Apple Pay at some restaurants in Canada.

They should fix the Game Center app instead of just killing it. I think the friends/achievement setup is a neat idea on iOS but Apple seems to have no idea what they are doing.
 
New filesystem with data corruption protection. Pls.

If so I will be spending a while on Yosemite. Changing the file system is a huge undertaking so I want to make sure things are solid before upgrading.

Would be great, though, since I've got a 16TB RAID array I could still change over with difficulty as a more permanent vault as long as it was more insulated from corruption.

They've already tackled the next programming language with Swift, so I'd say HFS's time is coming sooner rather than later now...
 
I wonder why Apple decided to drop pursuing ZFS as their next file syste...

Anyways, I actually like the Game Center app, I use it as the central app to launch all my games.
 
If so I will be spending a while on Yosemite. Changing the file system is a huge undertaking so I want to make sure things are solid before upgrading.

Would be great, though, since I've got a 16TB RAID array I could still change over with difficulty as a more permanent vault as long as it was more insulated from corruption.

They've already tackled the next programming language with Swift, so I'd say HFS's time is coming sooner rather than later now...

I'm sure the first transition will be optional and will be about making OS X compatible with any new file system. They'll probably start requiring it later when introducing new OS X features that take advantage of features in the new file system that is not present in HFS.

I've pretty much had it with HFS and how easily it can get corrupted. Such a disappointment when Apple dumped ZFS with no known alternative plans.
 
Transit will only be available in a few cities at launch says Gurman:

While Apple plans to debut its own mass transit directions service for Maps in iOS 9 as soon as June, the rollout will not be as ambitious as some users may have hoped. In its first iteration, Apple’s Transit service will only support approximately a half-dozen cities across the United States, Canada, and Europe, in addition to China, according to sources…

In the United States, the planned launch cities are San Francisco and New York, two major metropolitan areas that are known for public transportation, while Toronto will be likely Canada’s sole representative for the iOS 9 Maps Transit feature at launch. In Europe, Apple is said to be gearing up to first launch the feature in London, Paris, and Berlin.

...

While these are the planned cities for this fall’s iOS 9 launch, Apple is already working on its next round of cities. Apple considers Boston, Massachusetts and Tokyo, Japan as its next two priority cities after the initial launch, but Tokyo support may be farther out due to the several types of mass transit services in the region. Los Angeles, pictured in our mockup above from last year, is low on Apple’s transit priority list, the sources added.

As we noted in our original article on the transit feature for iOS 9 Maps, Apple has developed the ability to dynamically add more cities to the Maps app over-the-air, not requiring a full iOS software update. Apple will also be able to notify users via a push notification as support is added in their current city of residence, we noted in our previous report. Apple does not yet notify users of new geographical support for features.

http://9to5mac.com/2015/05/26/apple-transit-ios9-cities/#L7CeJkqyg2QrwiPW.99
 
I don't know why they even did Apple Maps in the first place. I generally like Apple software, but they can't beat Google on that front.
 
You don't understand why they wouldn't want to hedge against their biggest competitor?

Apple doesn't hedge against Samsung by manufacturing their own batteries or cameras. Apple could have hedged against Google by preinstalling Nokia Maps and/or OpenStreetMap or allowing the user to change default maps app to TomTom etc.
 
Apple doesn't hedge against Samsung by manufacturing their own batteries or cameras. Apple could have hedged against Google by preinstalling Nokia Maps and/or OpenStreetMap or allowing the user to change default maps app to TomTom etc.
They hedge against different hardware suppliers, including Samsung, in various ways. Not sure why batteries or cameras are relevant?

Sure they could have used Nokia maps or OSM, but that's just moving the risk profile to another provider. Clearly they've identified mapping and navigation to be a critical service they want to own and I don't think that's an irrational decision. They already use OSM and TomTom data. I've found OSM to be poor compared to Apple Maps personally anyway.

By making an inferior product? No, I don't.
Learn by shipping. It's their iterative process.

They're not limiting you to Apple maps anyway. Google Maps is there if you need it. Yea, you can't set it as a default app, but that's a minor inconvenience that people don't seem to care much about.
 
They hedge against different hardware suppliers, including Samsung, in various ways. Not sure why batteries or cameras are relevant?

Sure they could have used Nokia maps or OSM, but that's just moving the risk profile to another provider. Clearly they've identified mapping and navigation to be a critical service they want to own and I don't think that's an irrational decision. They already use OSM and TomTom data. I've found OSM to be poor compared to Apple Maps personally anyway.
Um that's my point. There are other different ways to hedge without resorting to building their own competitor.

Learn by shipping. It's their iterative process.

They're not limiting you to Apple maps anyway. Google Maps is there if you need it. Yea, you can't set it as a default app, but that's a minor inconvenience that people don't seem to care much about.
That's not true, people do care about the inconvenience

:( I wouldn't be surprised if it gets even worse. Apple will probably break off their current hack that transfers directions to thirdparty apps when they add transit directions. If Apple only adds support for a few cities as rumored they'll be breaking the default for everybody else left out...
 
Um that's my point. There are other different ways to hedge without resorting to building their own competitor.


That's not true, people do care about the inconvenience

:( I wouldn't be surprised if it gets even worse. Apple will probably break off their current hack that transfers directions to thirdparty apps when they add transit directions. If Apple only adds support for a few cities as rumored they'll be breaking the default for everybody else left out...
Again, if they identified maps as a critical service, using a third party is just moving the risk profile instead of trying to eliminate it. They already use third party sources in their Maps anyway, so in the end, is it really so different?
 
Again, if they identified maps as a critical service, using a third party is just moving the risk profile instead of trying to eliminate it. They already use third party sources in their Maps anyway, so in the end, is it really so different?

Yes it is. They wouldn't just be moving the risk profile, they would be changing it.
 
Yes it is. They wouldn't just be moving the risk profile, they would be changing it.
Exactly! So in the end, they've reduced their risk profile of a critical service by developing their own and using third party, non-Google data sources.
 
No tech giant uses Google as the default search or their maps. It's because it is very risky to do so if Google changes they way they operate and it gives them too much power. The problem is the alternatives aren't always sufficient for what you are trying to do in which case you have to roll your own. Apple probably didn't like existing map apps, so they bought up a few companies, sourced some data and rolled their own.
 
I will avoid iOS9 at all costs. I upgraded to iOS8 and it slowed down my iPad Mini ALOT.

I'm waiting for the inevitable "iOSx no longer supports iPad 2/iPhone 4S".

I've been very fortunate thus far... But I'm sure the clock is ticking.

I might sell the phone at least, since it's unlocked now and I have since upgraded to a Galaxy S5.

Was going to give the 4S to a family member, but if they stop making new iOS iterations for it, I'll probably sell it while I still can.
 
Personally I would prefer a phone or desktop operating system where I install essentially no third-party applications. Obviously if a third-party application is a better solution, I'll use it (and if necessary, buy it), but typically I just want to install my OS and have everything just work. I don't expect there to be a built-in application for, say, online banking at every bank ever. That's fair. But to the extent that it's reasonable for there to be a global one-size-fits-all application in a category, I prefer it's built into the OS.

Apple Maps annoys me--no transit, worse POI database. I don't want to install Google Maps. I want to use Apple Maps. I don't sign into Google Maps or use any of its features. I'm stuck with it installed because Apple Maps isn't good enough. That's frustrating to me, one of the single biggest pain points of the build-in iOS software. And there's nothing like it for OSX, in part because the web experience is better there and you can junk applications you don't like. Apple spends so much time bragging about how unlike Google they don't care about user data and so you can trust them if you're privacy conscious, but surely they must know that Apple Maps sucking drives more people to use Google Maps at the expense of privacy considerations.

It's not a massive knock-down drag-out thing for me. Clearly you have a solution, either put up with Apple Maps sucking or install Google Maps. I have Google Maps on my phone. Problem solved. Pity there are at least two better solutions for users (Sign a deal with Google again, or let users pick the default and uninstall system defaults when they suck) but both are prohibited by policy, not by technical limitation.
 
Yeah. Apple Maps doesn't ever need to be the best - IIRC it's what like 75% of the people on iOS use - but it does need to be good enough, and currently (for me) it isn't (because of the lack of transit directions and because of the flawed/incomplete POI data).

At least it no longer wildly fucks up addresses - it used to think my mom's house in Connecticut was way up in Maine for some reason, even though the address clearly said "CT" and had the correct area code.

But yeah, Apple Maps doesn't need to be better than Google Maps, but it does need to be good enough for day-to-day use. Hopefully it'll get there this year - I agree with Stumpokapow that it'd be nice to be able to get rid of Google Maps.



edit: hah, not directly WWDC related anymore, but since we talked about it in this thread, OS X is apparently straight-up dropping discoveryd altogether: http://9to5mac.com/2015/05/26/apple...omplaints-about-network-issues-with-yosemite/
 
0% chance. They want everyone to use Metal instead.

The Game Center rumors are curious.

Game Center, the app, is pretty terrible but the basic APIs it brought along are nice enough.

I'd love to see Apple put in place a dedicated game store kept wholly separate from the App Store, tbh.
 
I'm really curious to see how useful will Force Touch in iPhones become.
I fear that, since it's not an industry-wide standard, it will be relegated to minor uses. Even if some developers can think of good uses for it, the fact that they would have to think of an alternative way to implement that for Android will drag the feature down.

Do you see it becoming wildly adopted? I mean, Android and Windows phones implementing some sort of similar tech?
 
I'm really curious to see how useful will Force Touch in iPhones become.
I fear that, since it's not an industry-wide standard, it will be relegated to minor uses. Even if some developers can think of good uses for it, the fact that they would have to think of an alternative way to implement that for Android will drag the feature down.

Do you see it becoming wildly adopted? I mean, Android and Windows phones implementing some sort of similar tech?

It's really just a replacement for long press if nothing else, so most uses won't be too difficult to implement where force touch isn't available.
 
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