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I'm an avid iOS user. My iPhone goes with me pretty much everywhere, and usually so does my iPad. But the more I use iOS 6, the more I'm coming to the conclusion that Apple has become blind to some of the problems facing users.
While there's no doubt that iOS gets better with every release, some aspects of the operating system haven't seen improvement in years.
Here's a handful of issues that I'd like to see Apple address with iOS 7, which, if history is anything to go by, we can expect to be released during the second half of this year.
Let me take better control of my photos
Why does the Photos app give me so little information about the snaps I've taken? Sure, I can see them in chronological order, along with where they were taken, but there's no where to see the date or time the photo was taken, and no way to apply any kind of filter to what's shown.
It's not even possible to sort out photos from videos.
Now that the iPhone is the primary camera for millions of users—me included—how about offering features that make it easier to sort through and view pictures?
Background updating of apps
I don't understand why updating the apps on an iPhone or iPad is a manual process where I have to click go check for new updates, and then press a button. Why not just skip all that and have it so my iOS devices update automatically when connected to my home or office Wi-Fi connection?
"But don't you want control over what's installed?" I hear you ask. Sure I do when it comes to new apps, but I can't ever recall a time when I refused an update to an app, so I can't see any reason why it can't be an automatic process—with and opt-out for those who want more control of course.
While you're adding background updating, why not fix the App Store so it shows the amount of space that an app will take up on a device, not just how big a download it is. For example, I've downloaded 100MB apps that took double that on the device. Another 700MB game I downloaded ended up taking almost 2GB of space.
Let me do more with the lock screen
Whenever I use an Android-powered device I'm reminded of what a total waste of space the iOS lock screen is. The only thing it can do is display the date and time. The rest of the screen is just wasted space.
You know what would be better than all that wasted space? Anything!
Come on Apple, how about allowing developers to create apps that can access the lock screen and put useful information there?
Wondering what could be added to the lock screen? Just take a look at what's on offer for Android users. You'll find everything from news widgets, weather widgets, cartoon widgets, and countless other offerings.
Allow me to choose a third-party keyboard
Spend any significant time with the iOS on-screen keyboard and you soon realize that it is far from perfect. It's cramped, awkward, and sometimes just plain dumb.
Then, after getting thoroughly frustrated with the iOS keyboard, switch to an Android device and try a keyboard such as Swype or SwiftKey and marvel at how fast, easy-to-use, and intuitive these are.
Come on Apple, stop being such a control freak and allow developers to create replacements to the poor keyboard you offer me.
Let me choose a different default browser
My browser of choice is Google Chrome. I use it on every platform, including iOS. But why doesn't Apple give me the ability to allow links to open by default in Chrome rather than defaulting to Safari?
Every time I click on a link and it opens in Safari—with its limited tab capacity and awkward interface—I hate iOS a little more. Let me decide what browser my links open in.
Streamline the Settings app
As Apple has added more features to iOS, the Settings app has transformed from a well-manicured garden into a dense, impenetrable jungle. There are countless examples of inconsistencies and strange placement of specific settings.
What was once well laid out and easy to use is starting to feel like the Control Panel in Windows.
It's time for Apple to take a serious look at the Settings app, and stop shoving new features and options into the nearest available space.
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