Five Things Apple Needs To Fix At WWDC

While the company is likely to announce iOS 10, Sky's Technology Correspondent makes a wish list of other updates needed.

Apple is expected to unveil a range of new software updates at its annual developers conference (WWDC) later.

But what is on the wish list for users and experts alike?

1. Siri

Poor Siri. She/he was the first digital, voice controlled personal assistant to go mass-market, four whole years ago.

Now, she/he is looking rather rough around the edges, with Microsoft's Cortana, Google Now and Amazon's Alexa all doing a better job.

This matters because voice - along with chat - will be how we interact with phones, as they become more like smart robots, reacting to our situations and desires.

Apple should throw all of its weight behind Siri. The Cupertino company has been snapping up AI start ups, so it may well do this.

Siri now has competitors from other tech firms

2. iCloud encryption

Apple fought a vicious battle with the FBI over unlocking the phone of the San Bernadino gunman - and it won.

That fight would have been avoided if the terrorist had kept his iCloud back-ups up to date.

Unlike your iPhone, which Apple can't unlock, it can decrypt everything you put on iCloud - and it does on occasion turn that data over to law enforcement agencies.

Could Apple go one step further, and fully encrypt your iCloud? Technically, yes, and Apple is certainly unimpressed enough with the FBI to do this.

But fully encrypting iCloud would mean that forgetting your password would mean losing all your data - forever.

Convenience trumps security here, so this is only an outside chance.

3. iMessages on Android

For a while, Apple likely had the most popular messaging app in the world.

But like Siri - and indeed, announced at the same WWDC in 2011 - iMessage was superseded by other apps, first WhatsApp, then Messenger.

Now chat apps are the hottest opportunities in technology. Apple should open iMessage up to non-iOS platforms including Android.

It's not such an outlandish idea these days, with Apple Music available on Android.  Surely the battle is already lost, though?

How can it possibly catch WhatsApp? One word: GIFs. WhatsApp doesn't support them, for now; iMessage does. Game on.

4. Apple Watch

I'm not sure there's anything Apple can do software-wise to reignite interest in the Apple Watch.

The second version of the operating system, shown at last year's WWDC, was an update rather than anything radical.

From my testing and from speaking to Apple Watch owners, the only real benefit of wearing one is the notifications; controlling apps on the small screen is just too fiddly.

A complete OS overhaul, now Apple knows exactly how people are using their wrist computer, would be interesting, but it's unlikely.

And maybe unnecessary, because what do I know - my dad seems to like it as is.

5. Apple Music

As I've written before, Apple Music is great in a lot of ways, but it's also a mess.

Apple needs to simplify the interface, borrow some lessons from Spotify's Discover playlist, get rid of Connect, charge for Beats1, fix syncing with the Apple Music Library and everything will be ok.

This one is likely to happen.

:: Apple's event is due to begin at 6pm UK time and 10am PDT.

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