10 features we want to see in iOS 10

Every June, Apple announces new software for iPhones and iPads at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). This year will be no different.

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Last year, when we rounded up all of the features we wanted to see in iOS 9, we were pleased to see that Apple had actually implemented six of the 13 features we suggested. Hopefully Apple will be listening to us again this year!

iphone 6s 3d touch
Apple/Tech Insider

Here are all the features we want to see in iOS 10.

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A "clear all notifications" option.

notifications
Screenshot

The iPhone's Notification Center can be incredibly useful, but in my experience, more often than not it's a total mess in there. I only have notifications for a few apps like Slack and Facebook, but having to manually remove each day's worth of notifications one by one is a total nuisance. Apple needs to add an option to the top of Notification Center to clear all your notifications.

The ability to customize your Control Center.

ios 7 control center
Andreas Goeldi

Like the Notification Center, the Control Center — which you can access by swiping up from the bottom of an iPhone or iPad — has a ton of useful quick-toggle settings for music, your phone's brightness, your camera, or even your phone's flashlight. But iPhones and iPads have tons of settings buried in the Settings app. It would be great to be able to choose which settings can be dropped into the Control Center for easy on/off toggling (Low Power Mode, anyone?).

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More wallpapers!

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Is it just me or has Apple actually removed more wallpapers than it's added in recent years? Searching for great iPhone wallpapers is a total drag, especially if you have to search the web or download an app to do it. Apple has great style and taste, and it could easily create some stunning backgrounds. But right now, Apple offers nine animated wallpapers, 27 still wallpapers and 7 "dynamic" wallpapers, but the number of those wallpapers I actually like can be counted on one hand. Please, Apple, more wallpapers!

"Dark mode"

iOS 9.3 Night Shift mode iPhone.JPG
Alex Heath / Tech Insider

In iOS 9.3, a feature called Night Shift makes it easier to read your phone at night without keeping you awake by changing the color palette of your phone's display. I love Night Shift, but there's one thing I'd love even more: an iOS-wide "Dark mode." Apple added Dark Mode with OS X Yosemite, and it'd be great to have a darker-themed operating system on the iPhone and iPad, too.

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The ability to hide or delete Apple's preinstalled apps.

Apple apps
Business Insider

Right now, Apple has nearly 30 apps I can't delete from my iPhone. Don't get me wrong, I love many of Apple's apps, but there's also several third-party services that do things better than Apple does. And there are plenty of Apple apps I just don't need: Apple's News app, the Compass app, and the Tips app, to name a few. So please, Apple, let me delete some if not all of your first-party apps so I can make room for apps I actually want.

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A redesigned App Store.

App store
App Store

I love apps. I have almost 180 apps on my iPhone right now. But finding great new apps still isn't as easy or fun as it could be.

A few ideas off the top of my head: Get rid of the "Explore" tab, which I've never used — I only look at Apple's featured apps and top apps anyway, if I'm not searching for an app. Also, I'd love to be able to try apps before purchasing or downloading them. And it'd be great if all "freemium" apps were completely separate from "free" or "paid" apps. Just a thought.

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A redesigned iMessage.

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Everyone loves iMessage. It's a great way for people with iPhones and iPads to text each other for free, but iMessage has hardly changed over the years.

I think iMessage is actually pretty similar to Slack, the work collaboration tool used by many (including the Tech Insider newsroom), but Slack has some advantages over iMessage. How about the ability to react to people's messages with emojis and without writing a separate message? Or how about the ability to plug in third-party services like Giphy, so you can add in-line gifs to your conversations? I wish my iMessage conversations were as rich as they are on Slack, and Apple could make that happen — if it wanted to.

A tour of the new features.

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Steve Kovach/Tech Insider

Every time Apple issues a major software update, I have to do research — searching the web or perusing every corner of my phone — just to see what the new features are. But when you download a new app, most apps will give you a brief on-screen tutorial to point out the things you can do. Why not have a similar tutorial for each software update? I'd love an Apple-made walkthrough of all the new features I can experience, especially since I won't learn about many of them until I read about them later.

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iPhone and iPad "complications."

Apple Watch
Apple

One of my favorite features of the Apple Watch is called "complications." It takes bits of information from third-party apps and services you choose ahead of time and presents them on your home screen for easy access and viewing. This is great on the Apple Watch, but I wish I had this on my iPhone. I want to be able to know the weather without visiting the Weather app, for example.

Snooze controls!

alarm clock
Phalinn Ooi/flickr

Like many of you, I use my iPhone as an alarm clock in the morning. But also like many of you, I snooze my alarm several times before I actually get out of bed. But for some completely unknown reason, there's no way to control the built-in snooze timer. It is always set to nine minutes exactly, even though there's no explanation for that. How easy would it be to have a slider to the Clock's settings that lets you choose if you want your snooze time to be longer or shorter? Some people might want longer 15-minute snoozes, but some people might want a brief 3-minute snooze before forcing themselves awake. C'mon Apple, make snooze controls happen!

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