What to Expect From iOS 10 (and Android N)

I have been using an iPhone for over seven months now, and I have come to appreciate quite a lot of nifty iOS features like 3D Touch (pressure-bound unlocking of functionality), the back button (a top left "Back to..." software button that lets you go back to the app you were shuttled from), the deeper Spotlight search with third-party app integration, the excellent Notes app (I can't recommend it enough, it's that good!), double-tapping the status bar to scroll to top, support for ad blocking (the jury is still debating the demerits of ad blocking on mobile. Will it signal the end of pervasive ads as we know it? Or will it result in a new paywall-filled internet that threatens the very nature of open web? What we do know is, it can and it will change the entire digital media landscape forever), and most recently Night Shift mode. But you know what, iOS still has a lot of rough edges and needs some work. The big question is, will they get resolved with iOS 10?

Here are some of the top features I would like to see on iOS 10 and Android N (which is already in its second stage of Developer Preview):

• Customisable Control Center - Implement Sam Beckett's gorgeous concept already, will you Apple?

• System-wide dark mode - A no-brainer, given that both Google and Microsoft have embraced this feature with Android N and Windows 10 (as part of its upcoming Anniversary Update). Me however thinks this is definitely happening, if WWDC 2016 website is any indication.

• Option to hide or uninstall built-in apps, and choose default apps of one's liking - The former is thankfully in the works, if a recent leak is to be believed, but the latter should also be high on Apple's radar.

• Improved iCloud integration (or a full-fledged file manager) - Apple's anachronistic and outdated means of document handling is in dire need of a major overhaul, and it must simply include options to save any kind of downloaded file (from Safari or elsewhere) into iCloud, and be able to handle any kind of file format thrown at it, including .ZIP and .RAR files.

• Textual conversation support for Siri - Has Apple ever considered the fact that not everyone is interested in talking to a phone, whether be it asking for directions, or the currently playing song and whatnot? I would rather like to be able to type into Siri than voice them. Oh, and one more thing, third-party app integration. Why shouldn't I be able to use Siri to play songs from Google Play Music?

• Gesture typing/continuous input on on-screen keyboard - I have used this feature so extensively on Android, I almost feel hamstrung by the lack of it on iOS.

• Smarter Proactive Suggestions - In its present state, Proactive assistant (the left-most screen) is best helpful at mining information from across several apps (including third-party apps from the App Store), but will it gain the smarts to learn our habits a la Google Now and suggest them beforehand? In my opinion, a big nah, as the contextual recommendations are completely anonymised and divorced from your Apple ID, which is good from a user privacy standpoint, but not so much if Apple has plans to take Proactive assistant/Siri to the next level.

• iMessage for Android/Web - Because cross-platform, duh!

• A Google-like approach to first-party app updates - Google did a great thing by moving all of its core Android apps to Play Store so that they could be updated without having to issue an update to the entire operating system, and I for one, would like to see this happening on iOS as well.

• Get rid of the bloated iTunes application for Windows and Mac - And while doing that also roll out Apple Music and Apple News on the web, and add lyrics integration and capabilities to import .MP3 files into the Music app.

• A smarter camera with built-in OCR (document scanning), barcode and QR code reader - Smartphones have effectively rendered several gadgets and applications obsolete (a phenomenon called convergence), but I am very surprised that these basic features haven't yet been ported into our Android and iOS cameras.

• Offline reading list in Chrome (and RSS support) - This is more of an Android nitpick, although there are possible signs that Google is already working on this, like the recently released Save to Google Chrome extension.