Apple WWDC 2018: iOS overhaul? Don't hold your breath.

Video: WWDC 2018: How Apple plans to break iPhone addiction

Here's something you're not going to hear at Apple's WWDC powwow next week: iOS needs a rewrite, a clean slate and a do-over.

The last 12 months haven't been great for iOS. We've had battery issues. We've had bugs galore. We've had performance issues. We've had bugs. And if you look closely enough you'll stumble on usability and design issues.

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Now this rant isn't really about Apple at all. We've seen code pile up on Microsoft's Windows. Google's Android was getting wonky too, but the company had to rewrite a lot of the underpinnings courtesy of a Java lawsuit with Oracle. You can walk through history and you'll find the following:

1. Platform launches as clean version of what's currently dominant.
2. Dominant platform becomes bloated after a decade in power.
3. Dominant platform becomes legacy.
4. Legacy platform is uprooted.
5. After a few years where the upstart becomes dominant reverse compatibility, additional features and more code bogs it down.
6. Enter new platform and rinse and repeat.

Apple's iOS is solid, but it is also at the point where the platform is showing its age. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Jason Perlow and Jason Cipriani have documented the ongoing problems.

Read also: iOS 11.4 tips, tricks, and secrets everyone should know

And to make matters worse Apple is going to offer more bridges to MacOS and create more overlap. This move sounds a bit one-screen Windows-ish to me.

It's time for a do-over, but don't hold your breath. We may be at least a year--possibly two--away from a bottom up rewrite.

A rough year for iOS:

• iPhone battery life bad after installing iOS 11.4? Here's what you can do
• iOS 11.4: Should you install it now or wait for the bug fixes to drop?
• iPhone users hit with iOS iMessage emoji bug
• iOS 11.3.1 fixes some things, breaks other things
• That new 'privacy icon' in iOS 11.3 does nothing to prevent password phishing
• iOS 11 is such a mess, Apple showcased a bug in latest iPhone X ad
• Apple admits iOS is a mess, has a plan to make it better

WWDC 2018: Software, hardware and everything Apple is rumored to reveal

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