iOS and iPhone might be a symphony of optimization and great user experience, but there are always things that they can do better. Android users love to tell us about all the fantastic features they have that you can't get on the iPhone, and it's always fun to see Apple "invent" new ways of working on the iPhone that have been around on Android for months if not years.
With iOS 17 and the iPhone 15 promising to make 2023 a big year, here are 5 Android features we want to see come to the iPhone next year.
Magic/Object eraser
Both the Google Pixel 6 and the Galaxy S Series boast really excellent Magic Eraser functions that can use smart AI-based processing to remove rogue objects from your photos. That could be a rogue person wandering into your shot, a trash can, a car, or really anything. Magic Eraser functions can transform your photos with the tap of a button. Apple prides itself on awesome AI and machine learning in its photos, so there’s no reason why we can’t get Magic Eraser on iPhone using the power of A16, or maybe 17.
Edge Panels
Edge Panels have been around for a while, a quick snappy way to locate apps and content. Samsung describes it as a way to “speed dial” your favorite apps and media. With Apple’s app library and growing features, having a quick way to reach some apps and data from anywhere on iPhone could be tremendous.
Individual language apps
Android 13 introduced per-app language preferences, which lets you change the language of individual apps on your phone. For example, you can change the language of an app like YouTube or a certain messaging app. This is perfect for people who travel or use their phones to stay in communication with family and friends overseas, and is functionality missing from iPhone.
Split screen multitasking
Split-screen multitasking has also been around on Android for a while, yet remains strangely absent from the iPhone. It works quite well on iPad in landscape mode, but maybe a portrait-oriented split-screen could work well in some instances, for example using Notes or Safari alongside a browser or a social media app.
Uninstall system apps
You can uninstall system apps on your Android device, and frankly there are some apps on iPhone that many of us could do without. If you’ve no use for Apple Podcasts, Apple Music, or you prefer third-party alternatives, then uninstalling the original system apps would be great to free up space and declutter your Home Screen.
Honorable mentions
Speaking to our friends at Android Central, a couple of extra features don't quite make the cut but deserve an honorable mention as things I'd still love to see next year.
Share Sheets:
Android’s Share Sheets offer quite a few extra options over Apple. For example the ability to share content to your Instagram and Facebook feed as well as on stories, and expanding this on iPhone could be really nifty.
Text Dictation:
We have text dictation on iPhone, but it's just a bit better on Android, especially when it comes to inserting punctuation. "When I use a Pixel, it's really good at inserting punctuation. When I use iOS, I get long, run on sentences far too often," our buddy Tshaka Armstrong tells me.
Pro camera options:
The S22 Ultra offers lots of great Pro Photo and Video features, such as controlling ISO, aperture, focus, shutter speed, front and rear mics, and more. It also supports adding Histograms, and an iOS equivalent of the Samsung Expert raw app for editing ProRaw images would be a gamechanger.
Coming soon?
This is all a wish list at this point, and we won't know for certain what cool features are coming to iPhone until WWDC in June of next year. But if Apple can bring me any of these features to iPhone for 2023 I'll definitely be pretty happy.
