14 DAY TRIAL // While some would be happy just to see a bunch of apps disappear from iOS 8, others would rather have Apple make some radical changes to the way Control Center works, or have their most-used features turned into widgets.
Designer Ryan Gilsdorf with ConceptsiPhone has some interesting propositions for Apple.
He’s put together a neat iOS 8 concept video that envisions some would-be features, such as a much improved Control Center, Calendar, Music and Weather widgets, Settings access in Control Center, the ability to turn icon text on or off, to make icons appear rounded or square, and to change icon radius, options to have full color or monochrome, transparency, and more.
One intriguing new feature he proposes is the ability to assign custom gestures to open applications. He imagines this happening with a swipe up from the home screen to reveal a gesture pad, but the lockscreen would be just as suitable for performing these gestures to instantly launch an app.
Other things he’d like to see happen in iOS 8 is for Apple to redesign Siri’s interface. Granted, Siri could use a makeover but Gilsdorf’s take on this particular redesign is questionable from a functionality standpoint.
Many, if not all of these features, will remain the concepts that they are, but if Apple chose to implement at least one of them, which one would you prefer? We’re particularly taken with Gilsdorf’s custom gesture idea.
We think it would work wonders, and Apple would gain a new marketing advantage by showing off how intuitive its OS is in a series of ads describing gestures for launching apps and services from the lockscreen.
iOS 8 will make its debut at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, California. The software will be demoed on stage and paying developers registered with Apple are likely to receive a first taste of the mobile OS via a preview build. The general population will probably be able to download iOS 8 around the same time the iPhone 6 makes its appearance.
The software is known to include at least one new application, called Healthbook, which aggregates health and fitness data through a series of sensors placed on the iPhone and / or the upcoming iWatch. The mobile OS is also expected to include an updated version of Apple Maps, according to reports.
Watch the iOS 8 Concept Features video below and don’t forget to share your impressions with us.
