Possible New Features of the Next iOS

It is no surprise anymore following Apple products that the Cupertino-based tech company is likely to announce iOS 10, the next version of its mobile operating system, at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June. After that, it is expected to release the software in the fall and then iOS 10 will likely be made available to consumers a few days before the launch of Cupertino’s next iPhone, which is likely to be named the iPhone 7.

This is still considered the early days of rumors about what Apple’s planning for the iPhone 7 and iOS 10. But for those who are already curious about the new features that iOS 10 will bring to the iPhone, there are already some raw ideas of what Apple will, or should, improve with the next version of its mobile operating system.

It is no secret in the tech world that companies big and small take cues from each other's products and ideas, and more often than not, a feature that's new for one product has already appeared in another. On that note, here are some six features that CheatSheet.com pointed out where Apple could go for inspiration in implementing them.

1. A way to keep tabs on contacts’ availability
   Lewis Painter recently reported for MacWorld that Apple may equip iOS 10 with a new feature to show whether your contacts are available for a conversation, mimicking a feature that users have grown familiar with in apps like Facebook Messenger, which shows which friends are online for a conversation or a call.
   
   The feature, outlined in a recent patent filing, would be enabled by a system that detects where friends are, whether theyare available, and the operating status of their iPhone (such as whether it’s in silent or airplane mode). The user's iPhone would present that information in the Contacts app. The feature would presumably require both parties to opt in.
2. A Siri-improved iCloud voicemail system
   Apple is rumored to be working on improvements for an iCloud-enabled voicemail system, which MacWorld reports would enable Siri to talk to callers and transcribe your voicemail messages into text. The system would replace iOS's standard voicemail system, and would enable users to quickly read through their voicemail messages instead of having to listen to them. That is a feature that would likely be pretty popular considering the fact that most people consider voicemail an inefficient system, and often don’t even listen to the messages that others leave for them.
   
   A feature that would automatically transcribe voicemail messages, so that users need to spend less time listening to those messages and more time acting on the information delivered by them, is not yet available in iOS' voicemail system, but has been offered for quite some time by apps like Libon and YouMail. The feature would also reportedly be able to tell selected callers where they are or why they can't answer the phone, so that they could opt in to letting their significant other have a little more peace of mind when they call and they don't answer.
3. A smarter messaging app
   Speaking of the communication functionalities of the iPhone, the messaging app is most likely one of the apps that users utilize most. So it seems likely that Apple is going to follow the lead of a few excellent startups that are reinventing what a messaging app can do. Take Cola, for instance. Nick Wingfield recently reported for The New York Times that Cola’s staff — mainly engineers who used to work at Apple, Nest, and other companies — realized that many of our text conversations about where to meet or what to buy from the grocery store are pretty inefficient.
   
   So Cola is expanding the capabilities of text messages. Imagine scheduling a picnic with friends and texting a to-do list that enables recipients to claim tasks. Or share live maps that update their location for selected times. Users can tap the significant other’s text sharing flight number to track where the plane actually is. Making messaging smarter is a great idea, and it seems very likely that Apple will take some cues from Cola’s work as it works on iOS 10.
4. A more capable Camera app
   While Apple recently updated the hardware of the iPhone's camera with the iPhone 6s, the accompanying app could do with an upgrade. There's plenty of material for Apple to borrow from. Manual, for instance, enables users to set a custom exposure for each of their photos and therefore gain full control over the images. Users can independently control the shutter speed, ISO, white balance, focus, and exposure compensation for each image, and Apple could integrate a simplified set of similar features into its own Camera app in iOS 10.
   
   Manual is a favorite among iPhone photographers, though there are plenty of other apps that illustrate how Apple's Camera app, by comparison, falls a little short. SKRWT corrects perspective and lens distortion, features that are valuable both to users who are familiar with high-end cameras and those who are serious about using their iPhone as their primary or only camera. And Hydra helps capture better images in difficult lighting situations. Apps like VSCO and Afterlight give users plenty of options for editing their photos, though it can be tiresome to take a photo with Apple's app, open it in an editing app, and then open a third app to share it.
5. A better Weather app
   It’s no secret that the Weather app that comes preloaded on iOS 9 is not all that useful. If users want detailed forecasts or any control over what information the app shows, then they are much better off with one of the many excellent weather apps available in the App Store, from the snarky Carrot Weather to the impressive Dark Sky. Apple could update its Weather app to give users more detailed, useful forecasts and a better way to browse them.
   
   Apple could not only improve its Weather app with iOS 10, but could more deeply integrate its forecasts with other features of the iPhone. For instance, the Proactive Assistant could surface information about how the weather will be on daily commute, which might prompt users to throw an umbrella in their briefcase or wear a heavier coat than they were initially planning.
6. A Home app for HomeKit
   Apple’s already made HomeKit, its smart home platform, available to device manufacturers. But even though users can buy a variety of HomeKit-compatible smart home devices, there still isn't an accompanying app available on the iPhone that enables them to manage all of those devices from a single place.
   
   Apple will likely debut such an app, perhaps called Home, as a hub for communication with smart home devices, and for viewing the data that they generate.