WWDC24 Wishlist

It’s fun to think of potentially cool new features from Apple that we might enjoy on forthcoming devices later this year. There are things I hope to see. But there’s something I hope to NOT see.

AI

I think if any company can implement AI practically, it’s Apple. So there’s some hope in that. Yet overall, I’m beyond tired of the AI hype and having it shoved down my throat at every turn in tech. Google Search turning into AI? Not for me; I’ve been using DuckDuckGo for years.

The rumors about Apple’s AI plans come in two forms. One is on-device machine learning at a greater level than before — and maybe Siri gets actually intelligent? The other one is Apple’s partnership with Google or OpenAI to leverage off-device ChatGPT/LLM. I’m okay with the on-device AI from Apple, but I’m not okay with the off-device AI from third-parties.

It’d be fine with me if Apple had zero AI hype — machine learning in a neural processing unit is enough. aiPhone? No thanks. A smartphone is smart enough. The smart move is to not anthropomorphize Siri.

All the good stuff that’s not AI

I’m pretty happy with Apple’s software overall and generally think the company should refrain from making things more complex than they have already become. Yet there are some features I’d love to see.

At the top of my list this year is native markdown support in Apple Notes. That way I can delete Obsidian and stick with Apple default apps systemwide, which typically have better integration and polish.

I’d love the option for Reminders with a date/time aspect to appear on the Calendar app. It makes plain sense. I want to visualize my to-dos among my events and appointments since dates and times may overlap or coincide.

Generally, it be nice to see more Notes/Reminders/Calendar integration. Keep the apps separate but allow them to connect more. For example, I like that Apple recently added the handy option to Open Notes in Pages.

It’d also be really cool to finally be able allowed to place app icons and widgets on the iPhone home screen anywhere, just like on Android. This would be truly great.

A new UI design for iPhone would also be super nice. I’d like this just for a refreshing look on the phone, but it’d be great to improve buttons so they look more like…buttons. Don’t swing the pendulum back to skeuomorphism but land in the middle.

I haven’t worn my Apple Watch in a while. But I’d love to finally see Apple Notes on the Watch. I’d dictate notes to Siri via my Watch (she’s it’s already smart enough to do that on my iPhone so…)

In Apple Notes, I hope to gain a robust all-notes export function so I can archive and backup all my notes as discreet text files on a local drive. They’re too valuable, like photos, to leave locked in a database at the mercy of iCloud sync. All eggs in one basket is no good.

Like on the Mac version, I want to see the advanced editing features of Photos on iPad. For example, Curves adjustments.

A huge ask: please Apple, for the love of sanity, let third-party apps link out and show pricing for digital goods outside the App Store. Example: Kindle books. It’s beyond time to allow this and not charge an arm and a leg. Open up the App store in the US like in the EU.

The Calculator app on iPad. Finally.

Summary

Well there’s a short rundown of some things I’d like to see at WWDC24 on June 10. The fun part, though, is when Apple reveals cool new features that are unexpected but no less welcomed. Yet sometimes, a new feature turns out to be not great, like the simplified Safari tab redesign a few years ago. They looked cool, but they didn’t function well enough (that said, I may give them another try on iPad). Other times, a new feature arrives in half-baked form, which is bittersweet. Two examples: Tags in Notes and Stage Manager.

It’s nice to buy an Apple device that’s already great out of the box, and then Apple sweetens the deal with new software features. Only a few weeks to go before we get to see what’s new or improved.