Hobie’s WWDC 2020 Wishlist
Since all the cool kids are posting their wishlists today, I figured I would post mine for WWDC 2020:
Mac: Better Catalyst apps, namely the Home app is in bad need of a redesign. SwiftUI may be the future, but Catalyst is the bridge. So far Catalyst apps feel kinda like O.K. Java apps. They’re still weird…I’m happy to have stuff like News and Home, but they’re definitely not ideal. Apple should spend some more time with their own apps and allow stuff like Apple News to open up multiple windows. I wish Apple would also figure out a way to recycle T2 machines. I think its a real shame that once you put a Mac into lost mode, it effectively bricks the machine. There should be a way to have Apple or authorized repair shops recover machines. Also, can we get a redesigned Mail and Calendar app? They really need some work and with the rebuilds of Reminders and Notes, I would love to see a modern take on mail and calendar on MacOS. Also, how about a professional photography application like Lightroom? We have one for audio and video, why not photography? It feels like a really big missing piece in Apple’s professional software ecosystem.
iPhoneOS : New Home Screen. I think its time, give us widgets on the home screen. Also, let us change default apps like the web browser, email, maps, assistant, and camera. I would love to be able to set my default email client to Outlook and camera to Halide for RAW shooting. Now that Apple owns Dark Sky, it would be good to seem them rebuild the Weather app with Dark Sky data, more information, radar, and notifications (Including an iPad & Mac app). I would also like improvements to Screen Time by letting us turn the screen monochrome like Google does on Android to make things less interesting. There are also rumors of the new Exercise app, which is supposed to be like a Pelaton app for iPhone/iPad/Apple Watch/AppleTV, but with Bring Your Own Equipment (BYOE). Breakout out Apple Arcade into its own app would be nice at this point. I get why they put it in the App Store to begin with, but I kinda want my Update tab back now and would like Apple Arcade to grow as a social network with stuff like leaderboard, multiplayer, achievements, game chat (Powered by iMessage and FaceTime).
iPadOS : Better multitasking please. The current system is half arcane trying to learn how to use it. I know what I’m doing after being an iPad user for a decade, but I don’t know how regular users could possibly hope to learn it on their own. I know they made a bunch of changes last year, but they should keep working on it until they figure it out. Also, X-Code and VSCode for the iPad would be brilliant for developers, IT pro’s, and web designers. I also hope we get more Safari love this year, especially for stuff like progressive web apps (PWAs). Also, mobile versions of Final Cut and Logic Pro would be handy, its still too hard to edit a podcast on an iPad Pro. Being able to see Reminders in the Calendar app would be nice (A la Fantastical) and I do wish they would make the Files app a little less Spartan.
Apple Watch: Sleep tracking, anxiety-detection, blood O2 monitoring, and 3rd party watch faces would be nice. If not, its time for new watch faces and more independence from the iPhone, hopefully with an eye towards letting Android users use the Apple Watch. The ability to have sick or rest days in their workout app would be nice as well.
AppleTV: A new Home screen built around the TV app. I feel like I get kicked around the interface too much between the TV app and third party apps. Apps like Netflix still don’t play nice with the TV app. Make it the default like Google does their AndroidTV. Also, a new remote would be nice, even if it had *gasp* physical buttons and not a completely symmetrical shape to it.
SiriOS: Siri really needs to get better. It’s 2020, I still get angry with Siri on my HomePod trying to get it to play the right Podcasts for example. It’s embarrassing that a $30 Google Home Mini runs circles around the HomePod with general queries and the ability to issue follow-up commands would be nice. On Google Assistant and Alexa I can use the command “And” to combine commands such as “Hey Google, turn off the lights and set an alarm for 7am”. Siri feels like its still back in 2016 and the rest of the world has moved on. I say they should acquire or partner with Sonos and Car Makers to put Siri in Sonos Speakers and baked into cars. I also think that Apple needs to build a smart display like the Nest Home Hub and give Siri a visual user interface. I think that would ground Siri more in the real world and be good practice for the rumored Apple glasses.
CarPlay : CarPlay built directly into automobiles would be nice. Google is doing this with Android and car computers have gotten more powerful. Why not built it into the dashboard itself and provide a nice interface for climate controls, backup cameras, and integrate with a car’s service center. Also, being able to use your iPhone or Apple Watch as a digital key for your car sounds awesome, I can’t wait to see it in action with CarKey.
HomeKit: Redesigned Home app. This app wasn’t supposed to be this complex and I feel like the automations tab should be more powerful. More device categories would be nice, including: Robotic vacuums, fridges, lawn mowers, washer machines, microwaves, and dish washers. Hopefully HomeKit secure video exits beta this year. It’s been a little buggy at first, but it appears to have gotten better with not spamming me with alerts. I think it would be cool if you could turn a HomeKit camera and HomePod into a piece-meal home security system. Also, wireless HomeKit video cameras and doorbells would be handy, especially for renters who do not have wired doorbells.
So, I know that’s pretty broad and we have already seen a number of potential leaks as to what could be coming next Monday. I’m really hoping some things on my list come true. I’m particularly excited to see the future of iPadOS and WatchOS.
