[Maflynn]

Now that I've had my iPhone for about a month, I'm compiling a nice little list of wants. Overall I think its a great device but it certainly could be improved.

Here's my wish list that I hope apple includes in their next minor or major release of the iPhone OS.
cut/paste - yeah this has long been a complaint of many folks.
turn by turn gps
flash support
MMS support - I never thought I'd want this but my wife sends me images of my kids from her cell phone.
Office apps - while not an apple specific wish list, I do want an office suite that will enable me to quickly and easily manage some documents.

That's about it for me, at least that I can think of.

Anyone else of a wish list?

[slugslugslug]

I second cut/copy/paste and MMS. Not that I use the latter that often, really, but now and then I want to send my wife a picture when I don't know if she's got the internet handy to see it in her e-mail.

I'd really love multi-tasking, but I'd be surprised if that happened. I get the feeling it'll show up with one of the next few hardware revisions. One thing that'd be really cool, but almost certainly won't happen, would be a preference, buried deep down in the Advanced parts of Settings that lets the user turn on background processing on a per-app basis. They could even give you an upper limit on the number of apps you could turn on.

In the meantime, they should at least give some kind of hint as to what happened to the faux-background push-notification scheme that was supposed to show up in September.

[JKT]

I suspect very few of these are going to happen in the next dot update, but here goes:

Better stability.

Background alerts for third party apps when they aren't running (but with strict control so that they don't drain battery life due to poor coding).

A history for iCal alerts (I hate that you only get one opportunity to view an alert and that is it).

Mobile iChat (one that has alerts when not running).

Horizontal viewing in Mail and any other apps that don't currently support it (I don't care for a horizontal keyboard - I've found that I'm actually much more proficient on the portrait view for typing, which was a little surprising to me - but I guess it would be bonus for some) and the ability to double tap images to "QuickLook" them (also with horizontal viewing).

An unified inbox in Mail (so long as the separated ones are also kept!).

Better security - full disk encryption, or at least the potential for individual apps to encrypt their data, and better password capabilities without having to use the config utility.

A Keychain equivalent that all apps can hook into, but especially Safari.

iWork and other file format (RTF, ODF) document editing.

Copy as well as cut* and a clipboard that works between apps rather than within just one app at a time.

System wide search a la Spotlight.

An equivalent to MobileFiles Pro from Apple to make the iDisk really useful to iPhone owners (if you have a MobileMe account and want to make your iDisk work for you, I'd encourage you to take a look at MobileFiles if you haven't already).

A "workspace" capability in Safari so that you can have it open predefined tabs when launched, and definitely better stability - it's currently unusable.

Flash playback (probably best achieved the way QT playback occurs - by the user actively electing to view the file and it opening in a standalone player).

Better integration with iTunes such as being able to save your icon layout and edit it from iTunes rather than having to do it on the phone (one thing I learnt is that when you restore your phone, your icon layout is not one of the things that is preserved). Also, editable notes from within iTunes or e.g. Stickies, and a way to backup applications preferences and data so that they can be restored separately rather than having to restore the entire phone.

Printing from phone to desktop.

Tethering (if provider network permits it).

Storable Google maps data - if turn by turn isn't possible, then at least let us download maps data to use offline (also very useful when abroad and you don't want to activate data roaming).

MMS (but only to shut up the multitude of people who have been whinging about its absence since day one - I have never needed or used MMS, even on my older mobile phones, so I don't care about it at all but reading complaints around the web such as "even xyz basic phone has MMS" is really tiresome).

A better camera (OK, so that won't come in software but...).

[Maflynn]

Good point on the horizontal mail and stability needs to be improved. I've had safari quit on my numerous times after extensive usage/

[JKT]

Sorry to sidetrack the thread, but * cut/copy/paste - I still don't know how Apple is going to manage to add this on the iPhone. The only workable solution I can think of is to add contextual menus for them via a tap and hold action, but is that gesture already reserved for something else (other than on the keyboard when it is visible)? The menu would also have to offer selection options such as "This word," "This paragraph" etc. Gestures that they definitely can't use are pinch and expand, tap, double tap, flick. I'm guessing that triple or more taps are difficult to either (a) recognise successfully due to variations in timing between the three taps or (b) perform successfully for too many people, otherwise we would already have them. So how do they use gestures to make selections and perform actions with text? They could try Ink style gestures instead where a shape is drawn to indicate an action, but I reckon too many people would have difficulty getting them to work and/or remembering them for it to be successful... (not only do you need ones for cut, copy and paste, but you would also need them for selection again - one word, one paragraph, all, etc - and that is a lot of gestures to learn and use successfully).

[msuper69]

Reliable phone function and decent battery life.

Having to turn off 3G to use the damn phone is dumb.

[osiris]

Not much different than other wishlists:

copy/paste
flash support
landscape email
album view for videos
louder volume for speakerphone/phone
allow alarms to powerup the phone
MMS so I can much more conveniently receive friend's cell photos
Word document editing - maybe iWork/Office for iPhone
Unified email - so that I don't have to dance around to access multiple inboxes
Bluetooth syncing/sharing
Reduce interface intrusion of workspace - Safari, for one, has ghastly huge menu bars
Safari - allow a single click to move to the bottom of page (like clicking the top goes to the top), tabs (the multi-window zoom in/out thing wears out quick, stop reloading pages when I switch windows
More camera options - it's digital, so where are the digital features? Zoom, some effects, how about VIDEO?
Chat needs emoticons - it's not just the Japanese that use these silly little pleasantries

[64stang06]

PUSH notifications, as promised back in September '08.

[JKT]

More:

Faster start up time.

A built-in app to wirelessly control your Mac and/or Front row, not just iTunes.

For the App store alone (either on the iPhone or in iTunes):

Time-limited demos of apps.

The ability to exclude games from the top 25/50 lists - they just swamp them and make those lists worthless.

For developers - the ability to get stupid reviews flagged for assessment and then correction or removal (e.g. for those brain dead morons that rate apps 1 star when they mean 5 - I can't believe how many times I've seen that now - or for those who can't be bothered to RTFM about what is and what isn't in a new version). Faster turnaround for app review and posting, especially when its a critical bug fix.

For reviews to be marked with the version being critiqued so you can see how an app has been improved (or not) over time.

The ability to see all the reviews you have posted in one place and the ability to easily edit and update them.

[slugslugslug]

I thought of one possible method for cut/copy/paste: invoke it with a 3-finger tap. I don't know of apps that use that so far; if there are any, Apple could implement it so that they don't override existing apps' functionality. Developers could choose to re-implement whatever feature requires it, or they could just be clipboard-unaware.

Anyway, once you tapped, a menu would come up. If you didn't have an editable field active, only Copy would be available. If you're in an editable field, Cut would always be available, and Paste would be available if there was anything on the clipboard.

Choose Cut or Copy and you could drag to select, and 3-finger tap again to complete the action. Paste would just work as soon as you choose it, at your insertion point. Doesn't seem that convoluted to me.

(Actually, maybe 2-finger tap would work. I was thinking there are already things that happen with 2 fingers on the screen, but they're mostly pinch/spread to zoom. I'm sure the hardware could distinguish a tap from that.)

[Maflynn]

Originally Posted by msuper69 

Reliable phone function and decent battery life.

Having to turn off 3G to use the damn phone is dumb.

Agreed but that's more of a hardware change then a software update. I turn off 3g for most of the day when I'm in the office since I don't need the speed of 3g, but its kind of dumb to get a 3g phone and not use it because of the battery life. I don't see software changing that, I do see apple using different hardware or battteries to increase the batter life but that won't help those who currently own an iPhone where as a software update will

[osiris]

a little side note about battery life - I've been struggling to find the right combination of tactics to preserve battery juice.
3G off, WiFi off, location services off. I think the difference in battery time gained is barely arguable - I actually broke my record uptime with all services on (nearly 6 hours of usage!) I don't know, maybe it has to do with temp/humidity.

[richwig83]

Bluetooth/SMS Business cards!

[Rumor]

A desktop manager for organizing applications.

[imitchellg5]

1) Push notifications. Since we were promised that by September 2008.
2) Better sort features for the App Store (Sort by rating, etc.)
3) Copy and paste.
4) Some sort of integration with iWork.com

[ctt1wbw]

Originally Posted by 64stang06 

PUSH notifications, as promised back in September '08.

Isn't that what MobileMe does?

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by ctt1wbw 

Isn't that what MobileMe does?

It was promised for ALL applications, for September last year. Via an Apple notification server.

[JKT]

A few Safari specific ones:

An ability to open links in a new tab (to make browsing forums much less annoying).

The ability to set a blank or home page as the one that opens by default when you launch it (so that you aren't waiting around for that last page you viewed to reload even though you didn't want it to).

Ad blocking. This is justifiable on a mobile device when you are (potentially) paying for each kb of your data - why should you have to pay to download ad images that you don't want?

Better caching and 'offline' browsing capabilities.

A history view.

Support for media types other than QT, especially Flash.

Better handling of form fields - the edges often go off screen when in portrait view and you can't see your text unless you turn to landscape (which is not always convenient).

The ability to disable auto-rotation of the view - it can be annoying that the view changes when you lie down (e.g. in bed). Instead, offer a gesture based switch of view (e.g. a two finger twist to rotate).

Better loading speeds for pages (see better caching above).

An ability to prevent some sites from serving you their rubbish 'mobile' versions instead of the normal full site.

Faster Javascript and better compatibility with more sites.

Less sensitivity for taps so that accidental link-clicking is prevented, especially when trying to navigate a link-heavy page.

Don't reload pages when going back (unless caching is dramatically improved and page reload times significantly reduced).

[greenG4]

I have 7 screens of apps. It gets difficult to keep them organized. I'd like to have the option of having customizable folders by category for the apps.

[chabig]

I want the ability to put any place "on screen" like they do in Star Trek.

[gradient]

Search and sorting options in Mail. My god do I wish I could search my email often. I use search through work emails on a regular basis on my desktop and regularly need to see a list of all emails sent from person X, or all emails sent to person x.

[ort888]

Originally Posted by Maflynn 

Agreed but that's more of a hardware change then a software update. I turn off 3g for most of the day when I'm in the office since I don't need the speed of 3g, but its kind of dumb to get a 3g phone and not use it because of the battery life. I don't see software changing that, I do see apple using different hardware or battteries to increase the batter life but that won't help those who currently own an iPhone where as a software update will

Shortcut App buttons that do something with just a press of a button. Imagine a Red "3G" App button, that when you press is becomes a blue "2G" Button. Just pressing the button would toggle between 2G and 3G. One push and it happens.

You could also set up buttons to instantly start playing your favorite playlists, or call your wife, or put it in airplane mode... whatever you want.

[JTh]

Sorry if this is repeated, but a way to set my text notifications to ONCE and only ONCE. Just like when I got it. I want one chime/ding/whatever, and if it's in my pocket, it's fine to vibrate.

I love almost everything else about my iPhone, but with the way I usually use text messaging: I get the occasional text in the middle of the night from work, and often don't need to react, a quick glance will suffice. Therefore, the addition of that "feature" p*sses me off more each time.

Any questions how I really feel?

[philm]

Originally Posted by Rumor 

A desktop manager for organizing applications.

Good shout, this one. Maybe this could also be managed within iTunes - you could set up everything in iTunes and this would sync with the phone. It would also need to be possible using the phone on its own, but it would be easier within iTunes.

[philm]

Err, how about forwarding an SMS like every other phone available?

[Big Mac]

Originally Posted by greenG4 

I have 7 screens of apps. It gets difficult to keep them organized. I'd like to have the option of having customizable folders by category for the apps.

Wow, seven screens?

[richwig83]

Originally Posted by philm 

Err, how about forwarding an SMS like every other phone available?

Seconded... there are so many little things like that which are just software limitations... get your finger out Apple

[greenG4]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

Wow, seven screens?

They're not all completely full. (almost, though) I use separate screens for various categories. I want a button on my home screen that will take me to all my music applications and one for my productivitty apps etc. The sliding screen is only neat for the first 3 or 4 screens.

[JKT]

I have 9 screens worth, hence the "Better integration with iTunes such as being able to save your icon layout and edit it from iTunes rather than having to do it on the phone (one thing I learnt is that when you restore your phone, your icon layout is not one of the things that is preserved)." suggestion in my first list - when I had to restore my replacement iPhone it sucked royally to have to reorganise them all on the phone (they get put back in alphabetical order other than the default Apple ones).

Btw, greenG4, at present it is slightly quicker to tap at either end of the row of page dots at the base of the icons (and above your dock) to jump between pages than it is to slide them. Also, you can press the home button to jump back to the first page.

[villalobos]

I'd be happy if they could fix the autobrightness...

[kylef]

Originally Posted by greenG4 

I'd like to have the option of having customizable folders

Me too.

[greenG4]

Originally Posted by kylef 

Me too.

Let them know: apple.com/feedback

[shifuimam]

Cut and paste. I'm a little tired of Apple claiming this is so hard to implement, especially given that several apps now support it. It likely could be added system-wide without needing an extra toolbar, too.

Landscape email. I can manage all right with portrait because my hands are really tiny, but it would be nice to have the option to switch.

Photo organization. I would really like to be able to create folders in the Photos app and move photos between folders. Having to download them to my machine, create folders, and reupload them to the folders is just really obnoxious and completely unnecessary.

Voice dialing. My free-with-contract Moto V325 did this. There's absolutely no reason why the iPhone can't do it, although there would be no hardware button for it of course. I use this a lot when driving. Third-party apps aren't really a good alternative, since they take so long to initially load.

Background applications. This is unnecessary for a lot of apps, but it would be nice particularly for IM and messaging apps (like Facebook and Twitter).

WRT some of the things people have put down here:

I doubt Apple will implement Flash support any time soon. Flash can be used to control the client, so the security implications there are pretty serious. They're trying to play it safe, and I can understand why. What they really need to do is implement more flash sites like they have with Youtube - Youtube links on sites automatically open up the Youtube app; why not do the same for sites like Hulu and imeem and, for that matter, all the major video sites?

I'm not sure why people are so interested in MMS. Email is unlimited through the data portion of the plan, and people can send all phone messages to email addresses. If your spouse wants to send you pictures of the kid, why not tell her to just send them to your phone email?

I think it's ridiculous to spend $5 a month for 200 messages when email is unlimited. The first thing I did the night I got my iPhone was set up an iPhone-only gmail account and tell all of my friends via that account that they wouldn't be able to text me anymore (I had texting completely blocked for my number). So far, it really hasn't been an issue. You can also email photos to cell phones, and many of them will convert it to MMS so that the recipient can view the image on their phone. The only thing you really have to do is find out what carrier the person is on before the first time you message them.

[shifuimam]

I just thought of something else that would be super handy - error reporting. Mail and/or Safari crash on me frequently enough that this would be really handy - just fire off an error report to Apple when an app crashes. It's the only way they're going to know about some bugs in order to fix them...

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

I doubt Apple will implement Flash support any time soon. Flash can be used to control the client, so the security implications there are pretty serious. They're trying to play it safe, and I can understand why. What they really need to do is implement more flash sites like they have with Youtube - Youtube links on sites automatically open up the Youtube app; why not do the same for sites like Hulu and imeem and, for that matter, all the major video sites?

Because you've completely missed WHY YouTube works: Apple got YouTube to re-encode their ENTIRE catalog, and each and every new video, in mp4 format - in exchange for front-row marketing in form of a dedicated iPhone home-screen app.

You're not seeing Flash video.

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

I'm not sure why people are so interested in MMS. Email is unlimited through the data portion of the plan, and people can send all phone messages to email addresses. If your spouse wants to send you pictures of the kid, why not tell her to just send them to your phone email?

"Hey, honey, I'm just looking at this sofa I really like - what do you think? Should I just grab it?"

Instant delivery, no matter where your spouse is.

Irrelevant if your spouse is also on an e-mail attachment enabled smartphone, but most of us aren't. Yet. (And that, of course, is probably Apple's logic for not implementing it...)

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

I think it's ridiculous to spend $5 a month for 200 messages when email is unlimited. The first thing I did the night I got my iPhone was set up an iPhone-only gmail account and tell all of my friends via that account that they wouldn't be able to text me anymore (I had texting completely blocked for my number). So far, it really hasn't been an issue. You can also email photos to cell phones, and many of them will convert it to MMS so that the recipient can view the image on their phone. The only thing you really have to do is find out what carrier the person is on before the first time you message them.

This is only an option in the U.S. of A. - every other place on the planet, carriers charge only the people SENDING a message (which makes a little more sense - why the hell should I pay for something I have no say in deciding?.

So free MMS/SMS via e-mail or chat simply doesn't exist.

[Le Flaneur]

Originally Posted by JKT 

A built-in app to wirelessly control your Mac and/or Front row, not just iTunes.

Via bluetooth!

[DmbShn41]

About the battery life:

I think there is some issues with different models, or user ignorance. Reason I say this, me and my wife both have the 3G models, and we regularly use ours for work checkings emails, surfing work related sites. Because my phone is not a company phone, and I refuse to use a Treo(the mostover complicates POS ever), I have to go out on the web use web based outlook to get my mail so I use it quite often. We use our iPhones in the car, our 09 Scion xB iPod plugin supports the iPhone as an iPod, but won't charge it. I have a 1 hour commute every day. We use them at home when we play games and try to beat each others best scores. Through all this, I consistently get 36 hours plus of uptime. My wife sometimes a little less. Big thing is though, my coworker got the original iPhone and he would never let his battery run out. Three months after purchase he had to get a new battery. I almost always let my phone die. Don't know if this is the best thing for it. I never use WiFi cause I always almost have 3G coverage. Looking at my phone right now:

Time since last charge:
1 day, 1 hour Standby
3 hours, 39 minutes Usage
And my battery bar looks over 75% charged.

This is a great device, could always be better. I would love to have some form of the iLife programs on the iPhone, or the Office apps. Mainly a word document, not Notes, a spreadsheet app that works with Keynote and Excel, and maybe an Outlook program. Could always be worse, but it will only get better. Tethering is nice, and if and when AT&T allows it, the charges will be so ridiculous no one will use it. Those that are jailbreaking and tethering now will only ruin it for others later on.

[msuper69]

Originally Posted by DmbShn41 

About the battery life:

I think there is some issues with different models, or user ignorance. Reason I say this, me and my wife both have the 3G models, and we regularly use ours for work checkings emails, surfing work related sites. Because my phone is not a company phone, and I refuse to use a Treo(the mostover complicates POS ever), I have to go out on the web use web based outlook to get my mail so I use it quite often. We use our iPhones in the car, our 09 Scion xB iPod plugin supports the iPhone as an iPod, but won't charge it. I have a 1 hour commute every day. We use them at home when we play games and try to beat each others best scores. Through all this, I consistently get 36 hours plus of uptime. My wife sometimes a little less. Big thing is though, my coworker got the original iPhone and he would never let his battery run out. Three months after purchase he had to get a new battery. I almost always let my phone die. Don't know if this is the best thing for it. I never use WiFi cause I always almost have 3G coverage. Looking at my phone right now:

Time since last charge:
1 day, 1 hour Standby
3 hours, 39 minutes Usage
And my battery bar looks over 75% charged.

...

I call BS. With the same usage pattern, I couldn't get an 8 hour workday w/o needing to recharge. I've never heard of anybody getting this kind of battery life.

Anybody else?

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by DmbShn41 

Tethering is nice, and if and when AT&T allows it, the charges will be so ridiculous no one will use it. Those that are jailbreaking and tethering now will only ruin it for others later on.

Thank g*d AT&T coverage is only a US issue.

They're ruining it for everybody else right now, though - T-Mobile here in Germany offers an additional SIM card for data use with a laptop+UMTS stick on the same contract, at NO additional charge. They certainly wouldn't be bothered in the least by tethering capability.

[shieldwolf]

The feature that I would like for the iPhone is Video Conferencing.

[Kevin Dunahee]

I'm not sure if this was mentioned above or not. That was too much reading for me.

In the settings app, you can currently change what the double-click home button action is. Right now, I think it's just iPod controls or favorite contacts.
I desperately want an added option that simply acts as a play/pause. I know, I know. Double click the iPod controls and it's right there. That seemingly only works half the time to begin with, but I'd also like to be able to play/pause while wearing gloves and not using headphones with the click button. Seems like a simple request.

[kara7]

Wow, there are so many wishes.
Yeh I share your wishes, it will be great.

[osiris]

Originally Posted by msuper69 

I call BS. With the same usage pattern, I couldn't get an 8 hour workday w/o needing to recharge. I've never heard of anybody getting this kind of battery life.

Anybody else?

I can easily get through a work day, but with about 30% battery remaining.
If I actually used the phone for more than just checking voicemail, email and light surfing, I'd probably be in trouble. The battery is no doubt an issue.

[0157988944]

The Push Notification we were promised. That's it. Not even Copy and Paste.

[frdmfghtr]

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

I just thought of something else that would be super handy - error reporting. Mail and/or Safari crash on me frequently enough that this would be really handy - just fire off an error report to Apple when an app crashes. It's the only way they're going to know about some bugs in order to fix them...

This already exists. When you first connect to iTunes, you are shown a dialog box that asks if it is OK to send crash logs and other diagnostic data to Apple. There is also a check box marked "Do not ask me this again" (and checked by default). You can reset this dialog box is it asks again in iTunes->Preferences->Advanced->Reset All Dialog Warnings. I had long ago forgotten that I clicked "yes" with this; you may have as well.

This data is in the console logs: look in ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/MobileDevice. It has crash logs as well as call diagnostics (no personal info though; here's an example of one of the baseband logs:

Version=2
IncidentIdentifier=D53A7672-3F56-47FB-A3CC-92D5DF9758CB
Date=2008-10-17;AP=5F136;BB=02.11.07;Model=N82AP;Machine=iPhone 1,2
17:29:23 -0500 DST [clm] disconnect: duration=3;cause=kNoError;ceer=0;txPower=5;maxTxPo wer=0;rat=0;cgi=310:410:32502:30567
17:30:28 -0500 DST [clm] disconnect: duration=6;cause=kNoError;ceer=0;txPower=8;maxTxPo wer=0;rat=0;cgi=310:410:32502:34807
20:02:35 -0500 DST [rm] crash: state=Initialized
20:02:35 -0500 DST [rm] reset: reason=modem reset;uptime=334209;count=1
20:22:26 -0500 DST [clm] disconnect: duration=1051;cause=kNoError;ceer=0;txPower=-199;maxTxPower=0;rat=2;cgi=310:410:32502:34545
20:48:35 -0500 DST [clm] disconnect: duration=1552;cause=kNoError;ceer=0;txPower=-199;maxTxPower=0;rat=2;cgi=310:410:32502:34545

[iamnotmad]

Originally Posted by adamfishercox 

The Push Notification we were promised. That's it. Not even Copy and Paste.

This is all I want too. I don't care if they add nothing else. ADD THIS. please.
thanks.

[Thanar]

I really don't see how you can ommit serious bugs of the iPhone, and rumble about stuff that aren't really that necessary. That said, I take it that noone of you guys ever faced bluetooth issues.

No, I am not referring to bluetooth file-transfers, or bluetooth bussiness-cards, or even bluetooth remote control. I only wish I COULD USE BLUETOOTH HEADSETS AND BLUETOOTH CAR KITS AS THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE USED! That is, not yelling on the hand-free in order for the other party to hear me, not having to hear all the time from the other end that I sound "far-off"!

I have tried iPhone 3G with 5 headsets since August that I bought it, and I am having trouble with them all; the persons I am talking to keep complaining that they can't hear me properly. Needless to say, ALL these headsets are functioning properly when paired to other phones.

C'mon, noone is facing such issues? Discussions at Apple.com have hundreds of such complains!

[Thanar]

http://pleasefixtheiphone.com/problems/view/6330/

[osiris]

I think the speakerphone volume is now even lower than before.
*ridiculous*

[Michael Jolly]

i have only two things i like to see, MMS as i know people who have no net access so that could be handy, and also custom message tones, its only alittle thing but i really would like that.

Thats just my two cents.