Technologies
Everything I Hope Apple Adds to iOS 17 for the iPhone
The next version of iPhone software is expected at WWDC. Hopefully the new iOS has all these features.
Apple will hold its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote presentation on June 5, where CEO Tim Cook and gang are expected to announce the next major version of iPhone software, iOS 17. Though rumors point to the software update being overshadowed by new Mac hardware and a long-rumored and yet-to-be-announced AR/VR headset, the next version of iOS should still boast significant improvements.
It could include a feature that lets you view more items on your lock screen, according to a Bloomberg report. The lock screen would reportedly show calendar appointments, weather and notifications, similar to Android devices circa-2019 and smart displays like the Amazon Echo Show. This would follow on the heels of iOS 16, which brought a major overhaul of the iPhone’s lock screen that made it more customizable.
With iOS 17, iPhone owners could also gain the ability to sideload apps, according to a different Bloomberg report. Sideloading means you can download an app on your iPhone without using Apple’s App Store. The potential inclusion is likely meant to ensure compliance with new European regulations due to kick in next year.
While I find those rumors fun to ponder, they can also be a distraction from the many other things I think Apple needs to add or improve in iOS. The additions I want range from significant changes, like adding support for the Apple Pencil for Pro Max and Plus models, to smaller, quality-of-life improvements, like adding a volume button to the iPhone’s virtual Apple TV remote. We have to wait until WWDC to see what actually unfolds, but here’s my iOS 17 wish list.
Bring ‘Visual Look Up’ to the Camera app

In iOS 16, Visual Look Up got a nifty shortcut that lets you cut out the subject of a photo just by tapping and holding on the image.
Visual Look Up launched with iOS 15 in 2021 and can recognize objects in your photos such as plants, food, landmarks and pets. In iOS 16, Visual Look Up expanded to let you lift an object out of a photo or PDF by tapping and holding, essentially creating a sticker you can share with others.
But there’s a catch. Visual Look Up works only after you take a photo. I hope iOS 17 lets you do the same thing straight from the camera viewfinder. For example, if the camera were open and pointed at flowers, I could tap the Visual Look Up icon to see what kind of flowers they were without taking a photo of them. You can do that with Live Text, and Google Lens does something similar on Android phones. I realize this isn’t a radical change, but it would streamline things a bit.
Add a volume button to the iPhone’s Apple TV remote

Sometimes you lose this little guy and need to use your iPhone to control your Apple TV.
If you own an Apple TV, you’ve no doubt misplaced the tiny minimalist aluminum remote control at some point. Fortunately, you can use a virtual remote on your iPhone to do nearly everything the physical Siri remote does, except change the volume. Apple, please add a volume button to the iPhone’s Apple TV remote.
Technically, when you use the Apple TV remote on your iPhone, you can press the physical volume buttons to control the TV volume. But this doesn’t work on every TV’s audio receiver, such as mine. I’d guess there are many people who, like me, just want the virtual remote on the iPhone’s screen to mimic the physical remote’s button layout; most importantly including the button for volume.
Bring fitness tracking to the iPhone

You can start workouts from your Apple Watch, but not from your iPhone (without a third-party app).
If you’re an Apple Watch user, you understand the convenience of recording a workout. But if you aren’t wearing your watch or don’t own one, there isn’t a way to record basic exercises like walking, running or cycling without a third-party app. I’d like to see Apple expand the Fitness app so you can record workouts even without a Fitness Plus membership.
Add a pro camera app

The Photo Pro app on Sony Xperia 1 and 5 series phones gives you an interface that looks identical to a professional mirrorless camera.
It’s time for Apple to revisit the iPhone’s Camera app. For years, it was the gold standard of simplicity, offering a “see what you get” preview for photos, videos and effects with minimal, easy-to-navigate controls and modes. But as Apple has added more functionality, especially for ProRaw photos and ProRes video recording on iPhone Pro models, the Camera app has started to feel cramped. It tries to remain a one-size-fits-all app at the expense of higher-end features like manual camera controls.
I’d like Apple to make a separate pro camera app, along the lines of how it created a standalone app for classical music. Apple Music Classical tackles the special challenge of categorizing, searching for, and discovering classical music, something the default Apple Music app isn’t geared toward. Similarly, the pro camera app could be a place for creative types to access camera controls, settings and features beyond those in the basic camera app. Sony has been quite successful with this sort of approach in its Xperia 1 and 5 series phones, and Samsung has a separate Expert Raw app to complement its main one. Now it’s Apple’s turn.
Let me customize the Dynamic Island

The Dynamic Island was a great addition to the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max.
The Dynamic Island works well. It’s like having a shortcut at the top of your screen no matter what you’re doing on your iPhone. Glancing at my Uber ride status from my lock screen or in the Dynamic Island just makes sense. But I want more from the Dynamic Island, especially if iPhone 15 rumors are right and non-Pro iPhone models get it too. I’d like to see Apple let people customize their own Dynamic Island in a curated way.
In 2016, with iOS 10, Apple rolled out the iMessage app store for stickers and games. I don’t think we need a Dynamic Island app store, but something like the ability to pin a Memoji sticker as a Dynamic Island icon would be great. Admittedly, as creative-minded as I am, I don’t have a brilliant example of exactly what I want. I just think the Dynamic Island is another way people could make their iPhone feel more personal. Customization was a big theme with Android this year at Google I/O, with the introduction of AI and cinematic wallpapers. Of course, Apple could view the Dynamic Island like it does Apple Watch faces and want to control how it’s changed, instead of letting people go hog wild.
Add Apple Card functionality to other credit cards

The Apple Card lives on your iPhone.Â
If you have an Apple Card, you get to experience one of the best mobile financial experiences on any phone today. Apple’s signature credit card lives virtually in the Wallet app. At first glance, it appears like any other Apple Pay card. But when you tap its digital avatar, you see the card’s balance, rewards, upcoming payment info, and transactions. I’d like Apple to open that functionality to non-Apple credit cards.
If your Bank of America credit card is in Apple Pay and you have the Bank of America app on your phone, wouldn’t it be great to access similar functionality in the Wallet app? Expanding access would be convenient for iPhone owners and could bolster Apple Pay and the iPhone’s Wallet as serious financial tools.
Make widgets interactive
Widgets can be pinned to your home screen and resized to your liking.
Widgets on the lock screen and home screen can do two things: show information (like the weather) and launch the corresponding app when tapped (e.g., the weather app). Widgets haven’t changed much since Apple introduced them with iOS 14. It’s time for a refresh.
What if you could use the podcast widget like a mini-podcast player, or order your favorite burrito bowl straight from Chipotle’s widget? Adding more functionality to widgets could make it easier to multitask on the iPhone.
Add Apple Pencil support

What if you could use an Apple Pencil on the iPhone?
I’ve been writing iPhone and iOS wish lists for years, and one addition that’s made my roundup every time is adding Apple Pencil support to the iPhone, specifically for Pro Max and Plus models. The 6.7-inch screen isn’t that much smaller than the 8.3-inch screen on the iPad Mini. But one supports Apple Pencil functionality and the other doesn’t.
Also, if iOS 17 did include Pencil support, Apple could make a smaller version of its stylus and call it the Apple Pencil Mini. Maybe it could attach to the back of the iPhone Pro Max or Plus using MagSafe?
Bring the iPad’s split-screen view to iPhone Pro Max models

The multiple windows on the iPad and iPad Pro.
The iPhone Pro Max has been part of Apple’s lineup since 2019. The 11 Pro Max has a 6.5-inch screen, while the 12 Pro Max, 13 Pro Max and 14 Pro Max all have a 6.7-inch display. Last year, Apple introduced the iPhone 14 Plus, which also has a 6.7-inch screen. Those large screens feel wasted when it comes to software. Some iOS apps like Mail and Messages can take advantage of the extra space in landscape orientation to show a column of message previews next to the currently opened message. But otherwise, there isn’t much else in iOS that’s optimized for big iPhone screens.
I’d like Apple to bring some iPadOS features to iOS 17 just for Pro Max and Plus models, especially its split screen multitasking view. It would be wonderful to have Safari open on one side of the phone and launch Messages on the other.
Revisit ease of use vs. security

Some iPhone owners are being targeted for an unusual crime.
Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern and Nicole Nguyen ran a series of stories about how a thief who steals your iPhone and knows its passcode can lock you out of the most important parts of your digital life. This crime isn’t widespread, but Stern and Nguyen showed that it’s more common than you might think.
At the core of the issue is the balance between security and ease of access. The same tools Apple put in place to help people who get locked out of their devices and accounts are being used by savvy criminals to lock people out of their phone and accounts while gaining access to their money and services. There’s been a bunch of coverage on the topic in recent months, and it sounds like these tools help far more people than the criminals who take advantage of them.
I don’t think there’s an easy way for Apple to “fix” the issue, but I hope with iOS 17, the company takes a moment to reconsider the impact these tools can have on people and even offer other security features to foil the thieves behind these crimes, like Apple did with AirTags.
At the end of the day, I’m excited for WWDC this year. And while I do hope there’s a fancy, cool AR/VR headset, my heart is holding out for iOS 17 and all its new features.
Technologies
Trump Maintains US‑Iran Negotiations Continue Amid Tehran’s Denials of Duplicity
President Trump insists that US‑Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran’s denial of any negotiation plans, while warning that only a deal or total surrender will allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Conflicting statements from both sides have heightened uncertainty as the conflict enters its sixth month.
On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted that negotiations between the United States and Iran are still taking place, even after Tehran stated it has no intention of engaging in direct talks with Washington.
In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump labeled Iran’s leaders “unbelievably duplicitous,” claiming they are lying about ongoing peace talks “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.” He repeated his assertion that the United States completely controls the Strait of Hormuz, despite maritime traffic through the crucial route lingering at only a small fraction of pre‑conflict levels.
He wrote, “Nothing reaches Iran unless we allow it, and nothing will pass unless a deal—or total surrender—is achieved.”
Earlier that day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters there is no imminent plan for U.S.–Iran negotiations, contradicting Trump’s earlier comment that talks would resume Monday afternoon. Baghaei added that Iran’s only current discussions are with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz.
The conflicting statements have heightened uncertainty over the peace‑talk process and the broader conflict, now in its sixth month.
Trump’s assertion about new negotiations came a day after he said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a massive strike against Iran “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.” He said in the same post that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on that attack because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”
Trump has claimed dozens of times throughout the more‑than‑five‑month‑long war that a deal is at hand. No permanent deal has been signed, and a temporary ceasefire reached in June has fallen apart.
Trump has also repeatedly threatened to launch devastating strikes against Iran before backing off. After the latest example, oil prices on Monday fell and stocks surged.
BMI, a research unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note Monday that a broader diplomatic understanding on reopening the Strait of Hormuz is still achievable this quarter, while raising the probability of its escalation scenario to 35% from 25%, citing mounting military, diplomatic and economic signs of rising U.S.-Iran tensions.
“Diplomatic progress is likely to be punctuated by periodic military flare-ups, while miscalculation by either side could trigger a renewed escalation,” BMI analysts wrote in a note. The firm said the key issue to watch is the future governance of the strait, as the Iran-Oman talks — potentially backed by Gulf states, China and the U.S. — point to efforts to build a post-conflict shipping framework.
Shipping risks persist even as diplomacy appears to be advancing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it received a report of an incident 20 nautical miles (23 miles) northeast of Khasab, Oman — at the mouth of the strait — with a tanker’s master reporting an explosion in close proximity to the vessel at about 20:37 UTC Sunday (4:37 pm ET). The vessel and crew were safe and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said, advising ships to transit with caution.
The proposal Trump announced over the weekend calls for the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations and continue ironing out some of the thorny issues that had derailed diplomatic efforts, according to The Associated Press, citing a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.
The official said the proposal also includes a reopening of the Hormuz Strait and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan.
The U.S., for its part, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil, the official said, adding that no deal has been reached, although the mediation efforts remained underway.
Trump’s weekend reversal has lowered the temperature after days of escalating attacks across the Gulf. Kuwait said Saturday that Iranian forces launched a wave of drones within its airspace, with its military destroying multiple aircraft after Iran targeted critical infrastructure in the country’s north.
A parallel track with Muscat is also advancing. Iranian diplomats said Tehran was close to reaching a new arrangement with Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a deal critical to preventing the war from escalating further, according to the Financial Times.
Iranian officials said negotiations over future management of the Hormuz Strait with Oman, which sits on the opposite shore of the waterway, are in their final stages. The agreed shipping route would be different from those used before, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Baghaei, adding that the new route was separate from the issue of the strait’s reopening or continued closure.
Technologies
Oil Prices Slide as Trump Halts Planned Iran Strike
Oil prices dropped after Trump cancelled a planned strike on Iran, with WTI down about 5% and Brent near 5% lower. He said the move followed requests from Tehran and regional allies for a pause while a deal shaping the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program is negotiated.
Oil prices fell on Monday after President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled a planned strike on Iran. WTI futures dropped roughly 5% to $80.34 a barrel, while Brent slipped about 4.7% to $83.77 a barrel.
Trump said early Sunday he called off the strike after Iran and several Middle Eastern nations asked him to hold off, noting that the outlines of a deal had been agreed upon. He added that the prospective accord would entail the immediate, full opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to his Truth Social post.
The president had been considering another round of strikes as diplomatic hopes waned since the conflict began on February 28. He said the U.S. and Iran would meet for talks on Monday, but Iran denied any scheduled negotiations with Washington, citing PressTV. Iran’s foreign‑ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei clarified that Tehran was only discussing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. In a follow‑up Truth Social message, Trump insisted that, regardless of Iran’s acknowledgment, the United States is indeed discussing a solution to a long‑standing problem created by Iran.
Technologies
Oil Prices Drop as Trump Cancels Planned Attack on Iran
Oil prices fell sharply after President Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran, citing a new deal that would open the Hormuz Strait and end Iran’s nuclear threat.
Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he had called off a planned strike on Iran.
West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, slipped roughly 5% to close at $80.34 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 4.7% to settle at $83.77 a barrel.
Trump made the announcement early Sunday, saying he had canceled the strike following requests from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries.
In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”
The president indicated that the proposed agreement would include the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Hormuz Strait, as well as an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.
Trump had been weighing additional strikes amid diminishing prospects for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that began on Feb. 28. He stated that the U.S. and Iran would hold negotiations on Monday.
Tehran denied that talks were planned with Washington, according to state news outlet PressTV.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was only holding talks with Oman regarding the routes ships can use through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump added that whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused for decades.”
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