What next for iOS and iPhone?
Looking ahead to the future of iOS for iPhone.
Last year was truly a major change for Apple with iOS 14 and the iPhone 12 in design and user experience but what comes next?
The following features are mostly speculation and nothing is set in stone until WWDC 2021 in June so take it with a pinch of salt, these are just likely updates we could or should expect from Apple this year.
Home screen widget improvements
One of biggest features of iOS 14 was home screen widgets at long last, these widgets really give you a nice personal home screen and so many people have taken a lot of time to customise their home screens to their own style.
Best of all is the unified look of the widgets and the 3 sizes you can choose from, this creates a clean and smooth look for your home screen.
My only issue with these widgets are that you can’t interact with it or resize it easily, one tap on the widget only takes you to that app and if you want a bigger size you need to delete and then add a larger widget from the widget menu again.
All very long winded.
Right now they’re really similar to the Windows Phone live tile, for those that can remember them.
But on Android you can resize and interact with the widgets such as email, you can scroll through recent emails on the home screen widget without ever needing to go into the app.
Giving us these options on iOS 15 would probably be one of my biggest wishes for the next major update.
Big Sur icons
We haven’t had a design change to the icons since iOS 7 so it’s time for a refresh.
MacOS Big Sur gave the MacBook a huge UI overhaul, new app icons are one of the design changes that stand out the most and the most likely to come to iOS to unify the Apple ecosystem.
These icons would then look the same across Mac, iPhone, iPad and even the Apple Watch.
I know some people weren’t happy with the icons change on MacOS but personally, I find them more pleasing to the eye with some depth compared to the old flat designs.
Multi window support
The last multi tasking feature not on iPhone, possibly only useful on 6.1" and above displays or just Pro models.
This is a long awaited feature that I’ve personally wanted since the iPhone 7 Plus, now that displays are bigger than ever on iPhones this would be a great time to give us this handy option.
Running two apps side by side like YouTube and Safari would great for multi tasking folk and really give that super powerful A14 chip some work to do.
Now I know this is an Android feature already like widgets but Apple add their own touch to these things and thats why iOS is so popular.
Nest and Echo with Homekit intergration
Apple mentioned last year they’re working with Google and Amazon to improve the smart home experience, my biggest hope from this is possible HomeKit access to Nest and Echo devices so that I can finally use my Nest products without having to use the laggy Google Home app or Nest app all the time.
They’re teaming up to develop an open-source smart home standard that’s meant to ensure that devices work together, make the development of new devices easier, and keep everything secure in the process.
Right now you can access HomeKit devices with just a swipe down on the control centre and having my cameras and speakers there would be fantastic and save me from a lot of swearing when trying to view controls within the app.
Apple Pencil Support
This might be possible on the Pro models, a smaller pencil for note taking, highlighting and maybe some actions like screenshots/copy and paste would be a great feature.
With Samsung bring S-Pen support to the Galaxy S21 Ultra and the reported to be coming to next Galaxy Fold device as well, it could be time for the Pro models to get some kind of Apple Pencil support.
MagSafe returned but on iPhones this time and that might mean some form of reverse wireless charging that would be useful for a pencil maybe, perhaps a case that can also fit the pencil would be the most likely route from Apple.
More default apps
This is a long shot because I doubt Apple would want you using Spotify over Apple Music or some unsafe camera app over the stock camera app but last year iOS 14 gave us the option to finally change the default browser and email apps.
Maybe iOS 15 will give us the option to add default maps, music, camera or photo apps but don’t get your hopes up.
Reverse Wireless charging and the Port-less iPhone
Long rumoured since the iPhone 11 and we still don’t have it, reverse wireless charging allows for a 5W charge for items like AirPods or as mentioned above, possible Apple pencil.
This is just handy for giving your AirPods a boost when they run low on battery and not the most important but still very useful feature in my opinion.
The other big rumour is a port-less iPhone, most likely the Pro models which would mean wireless charging improvements would be needed and some form of smart connector for CarPlay and syncing with Macs.
Having the smart connector be a part of the wireless charging area might be the way they go but we’ll see in the next few months once iPhone 12S rumours get going.
It might all seem a tad unnecessary but it’s always been the endgame for Apple and the iPhone to go port-less and have a single seamless device, the physical buttons will be the next to go and possibly leave us with some kind of force touch area for power and volume.
Again, this is all speculation but this could be the year if recent reports are to be believed.
Compatibility
Rumours suggest that the iOS 15 update will drop support for the 2016 iPhone SE, iPhone 6S, and iPhone 6S Plus.
That would mean the update will only be available on the following devices:
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone X
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone SE (2020)
- iPod touch (7th generation)
The iPhone 6S and 6S Plus originally launched in 2015, while the first-gen iPhone SE came out in 2016, so this would not be a surprise to see the new update drop support for these older iPhones after a good 5 plus years of support already.
Finally, iOS 14 was the update I’ve waited so long for and I hope iOS 15 continues to build on that and improves those features I’ve mentioned above.
As for the iPhone 12S or 13, whatever its called it won’t be a major change this year but most likely a spec bump on most things.
The only major feature we could see across all 4 models is the return of Touch ID with an in-screen fingerprint scanner to help with the issue of masks which rule Face ID out in certain cases, having both options would be perfect.
Otherwise, its most likely improved cameras, A15 SoC, four sizes again, at least one port-less Pro model, 120Hz ProMotion display on Pro models and larger batteries.
The notch is also rumoured to be more shallow as the tech inside is improved and more compact resulting in a reduced height rather than reduced width.
I also previously spoke about the design changes at Apple here, if you’re interesting in what else is possibly coming our way this year.
I’ll be sure to keep an eye on these rumours as the year goes on and report back with my findings.
