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Five Features That Are Missing In iOS 6, But Shouldn't Be

Five Features That Are Missing In iOS 6, But Shouldn't Be

August 30, 2012
We’ve heard a lot of things about iOS 6 in recent months, including its refreshed Maps app, a smarter voice assistant, and new Facebook integration. However, Apple’s anticipated iOS update won’t make everyone happy, as it will still include a number of omissions and/or flaws. Here are five features that should be coming with iOS 6, but won’t be:

Widgets

Notification Center arrived in 2011 with iOS 5 with great promise. Unfortunately, it remains largely an afterthought for most users because Apple has yet to open it up to third-party developers. Why, for example, do I have to click on the ESPN ScoreCenter app to see scores for my favorite teams, or forced to go into the Facebook app to see what my friends are saying? Plus, wouldn’t it be much easier to turn Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth on and off using a widget, as opposed to having to go into the Settings app each time?

Weather, please

I want the native Weather app to show me conditions in my area on the icon. After all, everyday isn’t sunny and 73 degrees! Better still, have the icon change depending on the current conditions. For example, when it is snowing, show a snowman; when it is raining, show a storm cloud. If the Calendar app can show me that today is a Thursday and the 30th day of the month, the Weather app should be able to tell me whether I can wear shorts today.

Automatic app updates

I’m not saying that Apple should do away with manual updates altogether. But, they should give us other options too. For example, I’d love to be able to schedule nightly app updates that would occur only when my iOS device is connected to Wi-Fi. Better yet, Apple could make this part of the iCloud backup process, which only works when the iPhone is plugged in, locked, and connected to Wi-Fi.

Native video app

As discussed often in recent weeks, iOS 6 will be the first that doesn’t come with a native video app. While there are valid reasons Apple (and Google) killed off the YouTube app, its exclusion from iOS does leave a big hole that has yet to be filled. While I previously suggested that Apple might be working with Facebook to offer a new type of video service for iOS in the future, perhaps Cupertino should take a different course. Besides, who wants to see ads during videos? How does a Vimeo by Apple app sound?

Kill DRM once and for all

Since 2009, songs, albums, and music videos purchased in iTunes no longer include copy protection via Apple’s FairPlay digital rights management system, or DRM. However, media purchased before then remain protected unless you spend upwards of $0.60 per file to remove the protection via iTunes Plus. This means, for example, that DRM-protected songs won’t play in third-party apps, such as the popular Audio Xciter. Rather than forcing us to spend more money on media we've already bought to remove these protections, Apple should offer this for free. The best way to do this could be to include this as part of a yearly iTunes Match subscription. And yes, I know that DRM is stripped if you burn the media to a CD, and then reimport it to iTunes. Still, this takes a lot of time depending on the size of your collection. What would you like to see in iOS that has yet to arrive?

Mentioned apps

Free
ESPN ScoreCenter
ESPN ScoreCenter
ESPN
$4.99
Audio Xciter Studio
Audio Xciter Studio
Aphex
Free
Vimeo
Vimeo
Vimeo, LLC
Free
Facebook
Facebook
Facebook, Inc.

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