WWDC 2014 is almost here. The excitement certainly builds as the time Monday 10am PST nears. New devices, next releases of OS-X, iOS, new APIs and the possibility of new opportunity for us indie developers. (Last part is definitely wishful!)
Here is my wish list of features for the new iPhone 6 :-
- Sensors : I am speculating there will be more sensors similar to the TI sensor tag; temperature, humidity and other sensors to add to the power of the sensors already built in. Personal weather stations here they come.
- Health monitoring : There are rumors around an API / framework for health monitoring – sounds quite inevitable. Parts already exist on the iPhone 5S – CoreMotion(M7 chip) with Step Counting for running/walking/automotive. I am expecting to see the next evolution to M7. Maybe heart monitoring. (Btw, I wrote a fantastic pedometer/step counter for the iPhone 5S that tracks your steps on a daily basis perpetually. Please download and support the author😉 )
- NFC and Bluetooth : Maybe more support for “near field communication” based on RFID standards but certainly extending or developing further Bluetooth LE / iBeacon technologies. More APIs here – YES! Payment processing – maybe!
- Processor : Faster and more functional versions of A7(64 bit) – A8? with a more feature packed M7 – the M8?. As a developer, this is so exciting as those apps can be so demanding.
- Wifi : Wifi support for 802.11ac is a given. All new devices are supporting this extremely fast protocol.
- Touch id v2.0 : On all new devices most likely including the new iPads.
- Display : Larger sizes; UHDTV compatible (not likely but again this is my wish list). Retina enhanced is more likely with more dpi and curves and possibly a replacement to the “gorilla” glass. In other words, better scratch resistance.
- Camera : Image stabilization; better resolution and more features here.
- Lightning supporting USB3? Faster syncs – Wifi 802.11ac syncs with iCloud++.
- iOS8 : With a lot of new features, new APIs and frameworks – if home automation framework happens that will be useful; heath and fitness framework; GPS that uses way less power – definitely on my wish list.
I think this is a good time to stop my wish list as I could go on and on. Some of the features mentioned above are in other rival Android devices and iPhone 6 will play catch up there. However, I believe we are in for a surprise – something groundbreaking – earth pulverizing-ly new in the iPhone 6…only 2 days left!. The excitement builds.
— Gary Saggu
— Developer/blogger/coder – C, C++, Java, Objective C
Gary Saggu has been coding since the 80’s. He has been programming in C, C++,C#, Java, Objective C and Swift for many years. He has an interest in tech startups, blockchain & big-data technologies. He is a certified Yoga instructor & a scuba diver.
