Hey guys, there will be less than a month till the 12' WWDC, lets share something we desired and what may Apple launched about the new iOS together.
The article is long, let's make an short content for that:
1-iSetting and notifications;
2-Finder;
3-active iCons could show notifications for any apps;
4-whole new 3D iMaps;
5-an enhanced Siri;
6-Network which could enable background for any apps;
7-Safari with omnibars, Top Sites, gestures, a better file experiences, more powerful performances, and extensions;
8-Some new function about Camera;
9-Performance Enhancements like OpenCL and GCD;
10-Keyboards and other awesome feature like MultiUsers, a smart touchscreen, And also something about the App Store.
And now there is maybe some thoughts about the merging in #19.
As Apple launched the DP of the mountain lion, we can clearly infer what Apple doing: they are connecting all of their product--Macs, iPhones, iPads, maybe TVs later--together. When Apple launches iCloud, this is obviously that people using more Apple devices will enjoy great user experiences. (Actually we can treat this as an Appleish Marketing program but it is great for most users.)
Try to be similar to the apple keynote style, we can concluding the updates of iOS 6 as 10 key feature followed(Of course they are unrealized features thought by myself and obviously it is too long to keep these things in only one post):
I. iSetting
Before we talking about this feature, let's share a several problem we've met in using:
You are an iPad user, you have playing some kind of piano apps such as the GarageBand and magic piano, or you may enjoying the rhythm game like jukebeat, or you are playing the Fruit Ninja, you may noticed that these apps are all requiring multi fingers, so you have to turn off the multitouch gesture.
How to close it?
Apple gave us a "simple" way--go to the home screen, then tap "Settings", then tap "general", then find the "multitasking gesture", then turn it off, then open the multitasking bar, then find your Games or GarageBand, then playing it. I wonder that if there is anybody calling this "simple". If there is, let's do a calculation:
You may pinch or press home button to home screen--that's 0-2s, then find the setting app in your home screen--that's 2-3s, without your Setting apps may open with a little lag, without your Setting app in any folder, without you have tapping miss, without you have tap wrong apps and then back to the home screen again.(if there is any, you may cost 1-10 seconds more)
And then, you may find the general bar and then scroll down to get the switcher-- that's 2s. And then double click the home button, get the multitasking bar, back to the apps--that's 2-3s.
Add them together, you'll found that this "simple" way will cost you more than 5-40 seconds! The current solution is great, but it is just wasting time.
Obviously, The switcher for settings had been a huge problem of iOS User Experience.
We need a faster way.
This may be familiar to android users, but actually it is. The switchers in the NC will be one of the best solutions.
Someone may thought of the status bar in the OS X, we can turn off the wifi, checking the battery status, but there is two problem:
First, the status bar of iOS just too narrow to touch, you may tap and open an app below the status bar, and then--you have to close it. This works on Macintosh because it is pointed by that mouse. If you can touch the switcher exactly on the status bar, congratulation, you can enjoy the thinnest fingers in the world.
Second problem, if you are using an iPhone, you may found the switcher may cover the home screen, and then it's better to put the setting switcher in the NC rather than anywhere. (actually there may have, I haven't think something else better, but we can share our awesome thoughts together.)
Apparently, this will be changed as fast as possible. But our question is: how could we put those switchers into that small notification center?
A jailbroken device may using SBSetting in the NC, but actually, it is a little ugly. Is this large cube good looking? There should be something more beautiful and switching more smoothly as the native code writing by Apple themselves. And also, they are too large for the tiny iPhone screen--they may spent more than a half Retina display.
We can call this, iSetting, or iSwitcher, or iSet.
I can put a picture about the most simplest iSetting here, look.
It is large enough to touch it without missing, and you could just taping it to open, type again to off, you can see there could be less space if we can put all that switchers into a notification bar rather than a widget bar.
It is good looking, same style as the switcher in iOS 5, or there may be just buttons, tap to on, tap again to off. User can customize what they want to set in the NC, if there is more switcher than the display could show, just do quickly swiping to show more buttons or switchers.
It needn't waste too much space, because there is only one row for iSetting, same height as a standard 3 lines push notification, and same as the stock widget. But you can tapping on it, just switch. It may let users have a extremely easy experience.
By the way, there is a solution of multitasking toggles for SBS, by using that toggles, you can switch the Multitasking Gesture off, just in app, needn't leave it. And the time is less than 3s. You have more than 20s saved. It may be quicker by using the native code designed by Apple themselves.
There is another problem. When you are using Airplane Mode, when you having a safari app requires network, the iOS may have notice you "Go to 'settings' to turn Airplane Mode off" and if you tap it, you will jump into the "settings" app, it costs a lot of time. Every time I saw this notice, I am wondering "Apple, please finish it by yourself... I really needn't jump out of the apps, so please do that by yourself rather than Users.". Change it into "Turn the Airplane mode off" please, Apple.
So that's iSetting, an beautiful and convenient way to switch the status in iOS.
But we could desire more for that NC in iOS 6. The third party apps should've APIs to show their own widgets in the NC. There may be third party weather apps, to show more informations than the yahoo! weather, may be the real time score of NBA, maybe the pictures sent from messages, maybe video sent from IM, may be the push notification sound could be customized by developers. If so, it is more similar to the DashBoard in OS X. But it's NC for iOS, it can include iSetting, Weather widgets, and push notifications. It will depend on the developer that how awesome could our NC be.
II. Finder
Yes, there is nothing wrong and you are reading about the iOS features. The next I want to talk is Finder, which is from OS X.
Actually, I could say that whenever it take, Finder will finally appear on the iOS, it's just time matters.
Before introducing that concept, let's look into those problems:
Case 1:
I found a PDF document in the web, I want to reading it, I can download it right from safari, if I want to saving it, there maybe Downloads HD. And then, open it in iBooks, if I want to edit it, I may sent it again to the Adobe Acrobat or PDF Expert, and then, sent it to my dropbox app, now there is 4 copies right in my device.(3 if i am using safari to download it)
If that PDF document's size is 30MB, congratulation, I've waste 60 or 90MB space.
This is for only one document. Now Imaging that I have a lot of PDF and other documents, have I need to save more than 2 copies for each documents? Obviously my device haven't such much a space to waste.
Now, How could I Saving that space?
Case 2:
I am using iMovie and GarageBand to editing movies or musics.
If I have a video on my PC, how could I saving it into my iPad without using the iTunes?
If I see an awesome video captured by my friends, my friends don't have installed iTunes, how could I sent it into my iPad?
If I found a soundtrack in PC awesome, how could I drag it into my GarageBand on iPhone?
If there is a picture in desktop computer, how can I insert that picture into my Pages for iPad?
If I captured a photo from my iPhone, how can I share it with my friends without paying cellular data fees? Not everything could just go through the email without wi-fi network.
If I finished a doc from my iPad, how can I share it with my colleague quickly?
Case 3:
I have Dropbox and Microsoft Skydrive, how can I upload a PDF book from iBooks to my Skydrive?
How can I add attachments directly in my mail apps?
I have Google drive, how can I add docs to cloud if I am using the web apps?
How can I add files through IMs from other apps if I want to sent them?
How can I upload any files of my documents to my web services?
There is a strictly sandbox enables iOS being extremely security. This sandbox blocks each app alone, there is no file can break that sandbox and do harm to our device.
But the problem is: it isn't so easy that everyone could understand it. Instead, most customers are complaining the difficulty they faced with to send file into their iOS devices by using the iTunes.
It may be security, but it actually waste time.
In OS X, if Pages need a picture, drag it directly.but what about iOS?
There need a change.
Well, this problem is as difficult as the multitasking problem--
It is a difficult problem for iOS to reach the balance between power saving and multitasking. Apple gave us a solution in iOS 4, saving battery life, if there is anything have to notice, just push it. This isn't as "real" multitasking as Windows, but it is a good solution. It reached that balance.
We have to find same things for the file management for iOS. Try to make the file problem solved with same security. Let the file shared with no security loss, no piracy problem.
How to solve it?
From the Lion and the Mountain Lion, we can clearly see there are many thing directly from iOS were taken "back to Mac". Is there any awesome feature could apple take to iOS from Mac?
Of course there is, we may call it Finder for iOS.
Maybe you have already know iFile for jailbroken iDevice, may you are using iFiles in App Store, but the Finder for iOS here not only an explorer.
It is totally a new system.
If that is a little hard, please read this picture--
We should know how iOS manage files in apps currently--
Every app were blocked in a sandbox, any file in those apps couldn't get across that sandbox. This enables security. Now what we have to do is to break this wall, let those files we desired become free--but still security.
Currently, the files were blocked in each sandbox, so we can just make only one sandbox. That's Finder for iOS. It is more likely a whole new API for any apps.
Finder for iOS could save your files in a larger space, any type of file(.doc, .pdf, .pages, .txt, .ePub, .mp3, .jpg and more) could saving in it, we can set whatever apps we like to open each type of files. Apple can rules that any executable code and script could never saved in Finder to enable file security, and these files should be easily to sharing with others or upload/download between different devices.
The system files still blocked and user-unvisible, but the user files could be open in multiple apps, and just one copy. If there is any important game data or protected files, developers could store these important files in their apps, and put other user visible files into Finder.
As the case 1 we just mentioned, now the solution is:
I can download a PDF document directly from safari, and stored it in finder. Then whatever apps I want to use (iBooks or adobe reader), there is no need to sent more copy to more apps. And if I want to upload it to my Dropbox, I can directly open my Dropbox and upload it from Finder, no more copies.
So now we have less space wasted and same security. And it actually matters a little for users. User will found their space saved and the operating still easy to know(even easier than before).
If Apple does, we may have more way to access the files: Bluetooth, wifi, USB, even FTP, even, NFC in later. Not only sent an Email, but more convenient and faster way to sharing files with others. Maybe we can integrate iCloud with Finder, and all of our devices could access a same Finder app, any changes could be sync over the cloud.
PS: Also there could be Airdrop for iOS, iPhone can directly send files to other iPhones, iPads, even Macs via wifi, Bluetooth, or NFC. That speed is incredible, compared to the cellular data speed in the US.
And if there is any purchased music download from iTunes music store, it needn't saved in Finder but just being protected in other place to avoid the piracy problem.
Now we can solve the case 2 we just mentioned:
I captured a photo, and I found this is awesome, and I want to share with friends, now, I can directly sent it to my friend's iPhone, in a fast and convenient way.
I found a movie in my friend's PC, I haven't taken my dock connector, and there is no iTunes, but I can built an FTP server on my iPad, and then drag it directly from my friend's PC.
When I finish a document, I could sent it to my colleague instantly via the Airdrop.
That is awesome, in my thought, maybe there isn't Finder in iOS 6, but there will be a Finder for iOS one day.
If there is a Finder for iOS, iOS will become completely PC-free, it will become a full-feature computing device.
So, conclusion:
1, Finder is an app saving your document, which can be opened in any apps, apps and Finder are separated between sandbox;
2, There is no need to sent copies to different apps, saving much space;
3, Still high-security;
4, Could be accessed in almost every ways, such as AirDrop(Bluetooth, Wifi, FTP, NFC), USB, even iCloud, to sharing files between different devices(iPhone, iPad, iPod, Macs, PCs, maybe iTVs later);
5, It is an API for developers, they can add it directly and save the important protected data still in app's sandbox;
6, Very easy to use, users still needn't care much about it;
7, It is totally PC-free.
By the way, how to solve the case 3? We'll talk that in later sections.
III.iCons--- Active Icons
We may call that iCons. That's a bit Appleish.
There are 4 problems you may found:
1: There is a weather app, I want to check the temperature, but I have to open the app. What if I don't want to open the weather app?(you know the native weather app's icon is always 23 degree)
2: There is a calendar app, I want to see my calendar, I want a simple view from the icons, so I can save time from open the apps, how can I do that? (the native calendar app had that feature to show the current date, so that's not so difficult actually.) And same as weather apps, native clock app's clock always stopped.
3: There is a message from my MSN friends, maybe I can open the apps to read it, but if there is a flashing of the contacts photo on the messager icons, I can know more thing about the massage, even decide whether open the app to reply.
4: You are enjoy watching a NBA game, you want to know the realtime score over the home screen, but now you can only open the app to get the information. Well... A little bit troublesome.
Well, all we need is just to open the API to developers, and allow developers display information right on home screen, that may save a lot of time from open the apps.
You may thought the metro UI in windows 8 and wp7, yes, that's live tile, and can be always updated, but that costs power. A power efficiency way is leave these things to the push notifications, so that when there is a push notifications, it can not only in notification center, but also displayed on the app's icon.
If Apple do so, the iOS UI may not change a lot, but the iCons will bring many good user experiences into iOS. iOS will be more beautiful.
IV. iMaps
This is well-known since Apple purchased C3 Technologies, now they had an extremely awesome 3D maps, and their 3D model are far better than Google's, iOS 6 surely will have it.
And with apple's help, now the iMaps will be able to get more cities 3D model, making a better maps. Well this iMap really looks so cool. Hope to get it!
V. Siri
Siri? Everyone knows her! She can do a lot for you as an assistant. But as a smartphone, her functionality were heavily limited. Could we desire more for SIRI? Yes, of course! If Apple wants her to be a whole new UI after multitouch, the more API Ps were required.
As the launch of the new iPad, we found there is no siri, just a voice dictation, and Siri in 4s could just do a little things for users, it can't capture picture, it can't power off or lock the screen, it can't open apps for us. Yes, Siri is just a beta right now, Apple have testing many new features, what will Apple bring us about voice assistant in iOS 6? May there is more language support, more device support, more service support, more APIs support, whatever it is, it's worth expecting.
VI. Network
Why this? Have you download anything through your iOS device? What if you back to home screen and then found the download paused? The only way is to stay in that downloading app, waiting for the download finish, you can't do anything else. Well this is not good. Is there any solution?
We can just download apps from app store whatever we do, we can downloading apps even in lock screen, why couldn't other apps? We can do the same as the app store, downloading from background, even lock screen, we can just leave that app, do something else. But when jump out from other apps, just keep the connection and leave other things away, that would saving resources.
Now the 1st part is over, later will be 2nd part.
The article is long, let's make an short content for that:
1-iSetting and notifications;
2-Finder;
3-active iCons could show notifications for any apps;
4-whole new 3D iMaps;
5-an enhanced Siri;
6-Network which could enable background for any apps;
7-Safari with omnibars, Top Sites, gestures, a better file experiences, more powerful performances, and extensions;
8-Some new function about Camera;
9-Performance Enhancements like OpenCL and GCD;
10-Keyboards and other awesome feature like MultiUsers, a smart touchscreen, And also something about the App Store.
And now there is maybe some thoughts about the merging in #19.
As Apple launched the DP of the mountain lion, we can clearly infer what Apple doing: they are connecting all of their product--Macs, iPhones, iPads, maybe TVs later--together. When Apple launches iCloud, this is obviously that people using more Apple devices will enjoy great user experiences. (Actually we can treat this as an Appleish Marketing program but it is great for most users.)
Try to be similar to the apple keynote style, we can concluding the updates of iOS 6 as 10 key feature followed(Of course they are unrealized features thought by myself and obviously it is too long to keep these things in only one post):
I. iSetting
Before we talking about this feature, let's share a several problem we've met in using:
You are an iPad user, you have playing some kind of piano apps such as the GarageBand and magic piano, or you may enjoying the rhythm game like jukebeat, or you are playing the Fruit Ninja, you may noticed that these apps are all requiring multi fingers, so you have to turn off the multitouch gesture.
How to close it?
Apple gave us a "simple" way--go to the home screen, then tap "Settings", then tap "general", then find the "multitasking gesture", then turn it off, then open the multitasking bar, then find your Games or GarageBand, then playing it. I wonder that if there is anybody calling this "simple". If there is, let's do a calculation:
You may pinch or press home button to home screen--that's 0-2s, then find the setting app in your home screen--that's 2-3s, without your Setting apps may open with a little lag, without your Setting app in any folder, without you have tapping miss, without you have tap wrong apps and then back to the home screen again.(if there is any, you may cost 1-10 seconds more)
And then, you may find the general bar and then scroll down to get the switcher-- that's 2s. And then double click the home button, get the multitasking bar, back to the apps--that's 2-3s.
Add them together, you'll found that this "simple" way will cost you more than 5-40 seconds! The current solution is great, but it is just wasting time.
Obviously, The switcher for settings had been a huge problem of iOS User Experience.
We need a faster way.
This may be familiar to android users, but actually it is. The switchers in the NC will be one of the best solutions.
Someone may thought of the status bar in the OS X, we can turn off the wifi, checking the battery status, but there is two problem:
First, the status bar of iOS just too narrow to touch, you may tap and open an app below the status bar, and then--you have to close it. This works on Macintosh because it is pointed by that mouse. If you can touch the switcher exactly on the status bar, congratulation, you can enjoy the thinnest fingers in the world.
Second problem, if you are using an iPhone, you may found the switcher may cover the home screen, and then it's better to put the setting switcher in the NC rather than anywhere. (actually there may have, I haven't think something else better, but we can share our awesome thoughts together.)
Apparently, this will be changed as fast as possible. But our question is: how could we put those switchers into that small notification center?
A jailbroken device may using SBSetting in the NC, but actually, it is a little ugly. Is this large cube good looking? There should be something more beautiful and switching more smoothly as the native code writing by Apple themselves. And also, they are too large for the tiny iPhone screen--they may spent more than a half Retina display.
We can call this, iSetting, or iSwitcher, or iSet.
I can put a picture about the most simplest iSetting here, look.
It is large enough to touch it without missing, and you could just taping it to open, type again to off, you can see there could be less space if we can put all that switchers into a notification bar rather than a widget bar.
It is good looking, same style as the switcher in iOS 5, or there may be just buttons, tap to on, tap again to off. User can customize what they want to set in the NC, if there is more switcher than the display could show, just do quickly swiping to show more buttons or switchers.
It needn't waste too much space, because there is only one row for iSetting, same height as a standard 3 lines push notification, and same as the stock widget. But you can tapping on it, just switch. It may let users have a extremely easy experience.
By the way, there is a solution of multitasking toggles for SBS, by using that toggles, you can switch the Multitasking Gesture off, just in app, needn't leave it. And the time is less than 3s. You have more than 20s saved. It may be quicker by using the native code designed by Apple themselves.
There is another problem. When you are using Airplane Mode, when you having a safari app requires network, the iOS may have notice you "Go to 'settings' to turn Airplane Mode off" and if you tap it, you will jump into the "settings" app, it costs a lot of time. Every time I saw this notice, I am wondering "Apple, please finish it by yourself... I really needn't jump out of the apps, so please do that by yourself rather than Users.". Change it into "Turn the Airplane mode off" please, Apple.
So that's iSetting, an beautiful and convenient way to switch the status in iOS.
But we could desire more for that NC in iOS 6. The third party apps should've APIs to show their own widgets in the NC. There may be third party weather apps, to show more informations than the yahoo! weather, may be the real time score of NBA, maybe the pictures sent from messages, maybe video sent from IM, may be the push notification sound could be customized by developers. If so, it is more similar to the DashBoard in OS X. But it's NC for iOS, it can include iSetting, Weather widgets, and push notifications. It will depend on the developer that how awesome could our NC be.
II. Finder
Yes, there is nothing wrong and you are reading about the iOS features. The next I want to talk is Finder, which is from OS X.
Actually, I could say that whenever it take, Finder will finally appear on the iOS, it's just time matters.
Before introducing that concept, let's look into those problems:
Case 1:
I found a PDF document in the web, I want to reading it, I can download it right from safari, if I want to saving it, there maybe Downloads HD. And then, open it in iBooks, if I want to edit it, I may sent it again to the Adobe Acrobat or PDF Expert, and then, sent it to my dropbox app, now there is 4 copies right in my device.(3 if i am using safari to download it)
If that PDF document's size is 30MB, congratulation, I've waste 60 or 90MB space.
This is for only one document. Now Imaging that I have a lot of PDF and other documents, have I need to save more than 2 copies for each documents? Obviously my device haven't such much a space to waste.
Now, How could I Saving that space?
Case 2:
I am using iMovie and GarageBand to editing movies or musics.
If I have a video on my PC, how could I saving it into my iPad without using the iTunes?
If I see an awesome video captured by my friends, my friends don't have installed iTunes, how could I sent it into my iPad?
If I found a soundtrack in PC awesome, how could I drag it into my GarageBand on iPhone?
If there is a picture in desktop computer, how can I insert that picture into my Pages for iPad?
If I captured a photo from my iPhone, how can I share it with my friends without paying cellular data fees? Not everything could just go through the email without wi-fi network.
If I finished a doc from my iPad, how can I share it with my colleague quickly?
Case 3:
I have Dropbox and Microsoft Skydrive, how can I upload a PDF book from iBooks to my Skydrive?
How can I add attachments directly in my mail apps?
I have Google drive, how can I add docs to cloud if I am using the web apps?
How can I add files through IMs from other apps if I want to sent them?
How can I upload any files of my documents to my web services?
There is a strictly sandbox enables iOS being extremely security. This sandbox blocks each app alone, there is no file can break that sandbox and do harm to our device.
But the problem is: it isn't so easy that everyone could understand it. Instead, most customers are complaining the difficulty they faced with to send file into their iOS devices by using the iTunes.
It may be security, but it actually waste time.
In OS X, if Pages need a picture, drag it directly.but what about iOS?
There need a change.
Well, this problem is as difficult as the multitasking problem--
It is a difficult problem for iOS to reach the balance between power saving and multitasking. Apple gave us a solution in iOS 4, saving battery life, if there is anything have to notice, just push it. This isn't as "real" multitasking as Windows, but it is a good solution. It reached that balance.
We have to find same things for the file management for iOS. Try to make the file problem solved with same security. Let the file shared with no security loss, no piracy problem.
How to solve it?
From the Lion and the Mountain Lion, we can clearly see there are many thing directly from iOS were taken "back to Mac". Is there any awesome feature could apple take to iOS from Mac?
Of course there is, we may call it Finder for iOS.
Maybe you have already know iFile for jailbroken iDevice, may you are using iFiles in App Store, but the Finder for iOS here not only an explorer.
It is totally a new system.
If that is a little hard, please read this picture--
We should know how iOS manage files in apps currently--
Every app were blocked in a sandbox, any file in those apps couldn't get across that sandbox. This enables security. Now what we have to do is to break this wall, let those files we desired become free--but still security.
Currently, the files were blocked in each sandbox, so we can just make only one sandbox. That's Finder for iOS. It is more likely a whole new API for any apps.
Finder for iOS could save your files in a larger space, any type of file(.doc, .pdf, .pages, .txt, .ePub, .mp3, .jpg and more) could saving in it, we can set whatever apps we like to open each type of files. Apple can rules that any executable code and script could never saved in Finder to enable file security, and these files should be easily to sharing with others or upload/download between different devices.
The system files still blocked and user-unvisible, but the user files could be open in multiple apps, and just one copy. If there is any important game data or protected files, developers could store these important files in their apps, and put other user visible files into Finder.
As the case 1 we just mentioned, now the solution is:
I can download a PDF document directly from safari, and stored it in finder. Then whatever apps I want to use (iBooks or adobe reader), there is no need to sent more copy to more apps. And if I want to upload it to my Dropbox, I can directly open my Dropbox and upload it from Finder, no more copies.
So now we have less space wasted and same security. And it actually matters a little for users. User will found their space saved and the operating still easy to know(even easier than before).
If Apple does, we may have more way to access the files: Bluetooth, wifi, USB, even FTP, even, NFC in later. Not only sent an Email, but more convenient and faster way to sharing files with others. Maybe we can integrate iCloud with Finder, and all of our devices could access a same Finder app, any changes could be sync over the cloud.
PS: Also there could be Airdrop for iOS, iPhone can directly send files to other iPhones, iPads, even Macs via wifi, Bluetooth, or NFC. That speed is incredible, compared to the cellular data speed in the US.
And if there is any purchased music download from iTunes music store, it needn't saved in Finder but just being protected in other place to avoid the piracy problem.
Now we can solve the case 2 we just mentioned:
I captured a photo, and I found this is awesome, and I want to share with friends, now, I can directly sent it to my friend's iPhone, in a fast and convenient way.
I found a movie in my friend's PC, I haven't taken my dock connector, and there is no iTunes, but I can built an FTP server on my iPad, and then drag it directly from my friend's PC.
When I finish a document, I could sent it to my colleague instantly via the Airdrop.
That is awesome, in my thought, maybe there isn't Finder in iOS 6, but there will be a Finder for iOS one day.
If there is a Finder for iOS, iOS will become completely PC-free, it will become a full-feature computing device.
So, conclusion:
1, Finder is an app saving your document, which can be opened in any apps, apps and Finder are separated between sandbox;
2, There is no need to sent copies to different apps, saving much space;
3, Still high-security;
4, Could be accessed in almost every ways, such as AirDrop(Bluetooth, Wifi, FTP, NFC), USB, even iCloud, to sharing files between different devices(iPhone, iPad, iPod, Macs, PCs, maybe iTVs later);
5, It is an API for developers, they can add it directly and save the important protected data still in app's sandbox;
6, Very easy to use, users still needn't care much about it;
7, It is totally PC-free.
By the way, how to solve the case 3? We'll talk that in later sections.
III.iCons--- Active Icons
We may call that iCons. That's a bit Appleish.
There are 4 problems you may found:
1: There is a weather app, I want to check the temperature, but I have to open the app. What if I don't want to open the weather app?(you know the native weather app's icon is always 23 degree)
2: There is a calendar app, I want to see my calendar, I want a simple view from the icons, so I can save time from open the apps, how can I do that? (the native calendar app had that feature to show the current date, so that's not so difficult actually.) And same as weather apps, native clock app's clock always stopped.
3: There is a message from my MSN friends, maybe I can open the apps to read it, but if there is a flashing of the contacts photo on the messager icons, I can know more thing about the massage, even decide whether open the app to reply.
4: You are enjoy watching a NBA game, you want to know the realtime score over the home screen, but now you can only open the app to get the information. Well... A little bit troublesome.
Well, all we need is just to open the API to developers, and allow developers display information right on home screen, that may save a lot of time from open the apps.
You may thought the metro UI in windows 8 and wp7, yes, that's live tile, and can be always updated, but that costs power. A power efficiency way is leave these things to the push notifications, so that when there is a push notifications, it can not only in notification center, but also displayed on the app's icon.
If Apple do so, the iOS UI may not change a lot, but the iCons will bring many good user experiences into iOS. iOS will be more beautiful.
IV. iMaps
This is well-known since Apple purchased C3 Technologies, now they had an extremely awesome 3D maps, and their 3D model are far better than Google's, iOS 6 surely will have it.
And with apple's help, now the iMaps will be able to get more cities 3D model, making a better maps. Well this iMap really looks so cool. Hope to get it!
V. Siri
Siri? Everyone knows her! She can do a lot for you as an assistant. But as a smartphone, her functionality were heavily limited. Could we desire more for SIRI? Yes, of course! If Apple wants her to be a whole new UI after multitouch, the more API Ps were required.
As the launch of the new iPad, we found there is no siri, just a voice dictation, and Siri in 4s could just do a little things for users, it can't capture picture, it can't power off or lock the screen, it can't open apps for us. Yes, Siri is just a beta right now, Apple have testing many new features, what will Apple bring us about voice assistant in iOS 6? May there is more language support, more device support, more service support, more APIs support, whatever it is, it's worth expecting.
VI. Network
Why this? Have you download anything through your iOS device? What if you back to home screen and then found the download paused? The only way is to stay in that downloading app, waiting for the download finish, you can't do anything else. Well this is not good. Is there any solution?
We can just download apps from app store whatever we do, we can downloading apps even in lock screen, why couldn't other apps? We can do the same as the app store, downloading from background, even lock screen, we can just leave that app, do something else. But when jump out from other apps, just keep the connection and leave other things away, that would saving resources.
Now the 1st part is over, later will be 2nd part.
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