iOS 15: The top 3 features Apple should include - TechRepublic

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These are the power user features that we need to see if Apple reveals the next version of iOS at WWDC in June.

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If the last 10 years are any indication, Apple will reveal the next version of its iOS operating system in June at its online-only WWDC. Currently, there aren't any solid rumors on features in iOS 15 yet, but here are some things I wish Apple would include in the new update.

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1. Fine-tune Do Not Disturb 

I receive a lot of notifications. Whether from emails, social networks, Slack or messaging apps, my screen is constantly filling up with messages, reminders and breaking news alerts. Luckily, there's a Do Not Disturb mode in iOS that can silence all those notifications while I'm sleeping or on a Zoom call, but what about when I want to get one class of notifications and not others?

It would be great if we could fine-tune Do Not Disturb and classify some apps as work or personal, and set up times to get notifications from certain apps at certain times, but not others. 

For example, I'd love to turn off Slack and work email notifications after my work day is complete. Conversely, I also don't want to be bombarded with TikTok and Facebook notifications while I'm trying to focus. 

It would be great if I could allow certain text messages (either from individual people or with particular words) at night too, the same way that you can allow phone calls from certain people to break through the Do Not Disturb barrier.

Come on Apple--it's time to get our notifications under control.

SEE: How Apple users can make the most of Microsoft 365 at work (TechRepublic Premium)

2. Improve Siri 

I basically utilize Siri, Apple's "smart" voice assistant, for two things: 

1. To tell me the weather.
2. To set timers.
   

That's basically all I find her useful for. However, I use Amazon's Alexa constantly, whether to listen to music, turn on lights or unlock the door.

I'm sure I could use Siri for all those things, but the Amazon Alexa ecosystem is so much easier to use that I simply gave up on using Siri for anything other than very simple tasks. 

I realize that Apple wants to keep everything private and I appreciate the thought, but handing my life over to Amazon to keep track of just seems easier. That said, it could be smarter. If I turn on the lights on every time I get home, couldn't Siri figure that out and do it for me automatically? I shouldn't need to manually set up a routine for that.

It would also be nice if Siri could notice my routines on the computer and help me there too. When I sit down at my laptop every morning at 9 a.m. and fire up Spotify, Mail, Fantastical, Safari and all my other apps--couldn't Siri do all that for me? And then start closing things down at 5p.m., like I do every day?

Computers are supposed to make life easier. When does that start?

3. Improve autocorrect

OK Apple, I'm going to tell you something that has been frustrating iPhone users since time immemorial: no one ever wants to write the word "ducking." While unnecessarily correcting profanity has been a problem since the first iPhone came out, it seems that autocorrect is getting worse, not better.

With clever-but-privacy-shattering services like Grammarly around, I wonder if Apple can do better here as well. Google has all manner of autocorrect and phrase completion built-in to Gmail, but none of that is available in Apple's email or messaging apps. I think we can do better here too, Apple.

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April 01, 2021 at 02:16AM
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iOS 15: The top 3 features Apple should include - TechRepublic

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