We now know that Apple is set to show off iOS 5.0 and iCloud next week at WWDC and we’ll be there live reporting on what it has to show. We thought it would be fun to go over what we already know and ask you what you want from the new software and service.
iOS 5.0
By this point, we generally already have gotten a look at the next version of iOS, as Apple has generally shown it off at an even a month or so before WWDC. We didn’t get that this year and that indicates that iOS 5.0 could be the largest revamp of the platform that we’ve seen since its inception.
We’ve heard that iOS 5.0 will have strong voice recognition technology baked in and this should stem from its purchase of Siri a few years ago. This is a much-needed feature as Google’s Android and even Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 blows away iOS when it comes to voice actions.
I don’t think this voice recognition will be about dictation, as Siri was wonderful as translating voice commands into actions that hooked into some other back end – it was great at helping you book reservations with your voice, for example. I’d imagine we’ll see iOS 5.0 make it simple to use your voice to launch apps, search for new programs and more.
The latest rumors also suggest that iOS 5.0 will revamp the notification system and this is also much needed because the little pop-up notification drives me batty. It’s unclear how this will be implemented but you know Apple will try and make it good looking. Other rumors suggest that we may finally get widgets on iOS and that could come in handy on the iPad.
We’ve also heard that this is such a big update that it won’t work on the iPhone 3GS, which is bound to cause some problems.
iCloud
The oft-rumored iCloud service will also be shown off and this should build upon its purchase of LaLa by delivering cloud-based music and more. Unlike Amazon and Google, we’ve heard that Apple has signed licensing agreements with the record labels, so this may let you have access to all your purchased iTunes tracks on the go without having to upload your library.
That’s a small but crucial difference between this and something like Amazon Cloud Player and Google Music Beta, as it would be quite cool to just pop in your iTunes account name to iCloud and have all of your library accessible with a click or two. Maybe we’ll finally get the ability to re-download stuff, too. Of course, it’s unclear how well this will play with your non-iTunes library.
It probably won’t just be music though, as we expect iCloud to replace MobileMe for photos, calendar, e-mail and other types of content. This may finally be Apple’s big push into the cloud but it will be interesting to see how well it adjust to this world. The iCloud is also expected to be a big part of iOS 5.0, so others are speculating that this means third-party developers will eventually be able to hook into these with apps.
We know that Steve Jobs himself will deliver the keynote, so it’s bound to be exciting. Let us know in the comments what you’d like to see in iOS 5.0 and iCloud.
