The 2016 Apple wishlist: Here's everything that I want to see from Apple this year

Come September we’ll see a bunch of new iPhones from Apple, maybe a revamped Mac lineup and, hopefully, updated iPads thrown in for good measure. This is all the stuff we’re getting anyway, but what do we really want from Apple? The number of rumours that are circulating this time around hide as much as they reveal. We’ve heard of an iPhone 6SE , an iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, a dropped Pro model, a MacBook with an OLED strip , dual-cameras and much more. I’d like to ignore all of that for a moment and focus on what I want to see from Apple’s upcoming event. A sensible iPhone Plus for once Before anything else, I’d like to see Apple announce that they WILL NOT eliminate the 3.5mm jack . Ever. Phones like the OnePlus 3 have comfortably bundled a 3.5mm jack alongside USB audio and there’s no reason for Apple to not do so. What’s the point of harbouring the world’s best designers if all they can do is eliminate stuff that’s aesthetically inconvenient? [caption id=“attachment_323508” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  How is a lightning jack more convenient than a 3.5mm headphone jack?[/caption] Once that’s out of the way, I really want to see Apple show some more love to the Plus model iPhones. In fact, the 5.5-inch iPhone 6S Plus is about the same size as the 5.7-inch Nexus 6P. The iPhone Plus models are unwieldy and their design can easily be improved upon. I wish Apple would realise that the Plus model isn’t just a larger iPhone, it’s a different iPhone. It needs more powerful hardware, a hardware redesign and some UI tweaks. Reachability is nowhere near as useful as a back button. My biggest gripe with the Plus models is the inability to disable just the homescreen rotation. It can’t be that hard to implement a toggle for that. An iPad that you can actually work on  Apple seems to be trying to reposition the iPad as a device for professionals. It’s an idea I like, but one that is badly implemented . As we’ve written in the past , the iPad Pro models should have been designed to run MacOS by default. iOS is nice, but it’s not as powerful as MacOS and iOS still lacks the flexibility that a professional would need. [caption id=“attachment_330939” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Couldn’t Apple have come up with a better way of charging the Pencil?[/caption] In keeping with the “Pro” theme, I’d love to see Apple actually think about their Pencil and Keyboard. The Pencil uses a truly retarded charging mechanism and worse, it’s smooth and perfectly cylindrical. You can’t place the Pencil on a flat surface for it rolling off somewhere and you can’t put it in your pocket because it’ll just pop out.

The Keyboard cover is worse. It’s slim enough, but the design means you can’t use the iPad on your lap and worse still, it’s not backlit. Both accessories focus more on aesthetics than ergonomics, which is very bad if you’re targeting professionals.

Microsoft’s Surface Pro lineup is the more sensible option by far, and at least as elegant. I’d also love to see an iPad Mini Pro with a Pencil that can actually clamp onto the device. The Mini is almost perfect for note-taking and doodling, and more portable than the other iPad options. Retina MacBook Air, an upgradeable Mac Pro and more [caption id=“attachment_286570” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  The Apple MacBook Air[/caption] This one’s kind of obvious, but why is it that the only device without a Retina display in Apple’s entire line-up is the MacBook Air ? It’s a gorgeous device, sturdily built and priced like any other Apple device. However, it’s also the only modern Apple device with a measly TN panel and without a retina display. It’s the perfect compromise between the MacBook Pro and the MacBook. It deserves better. [caption id=“attachment_330941” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Gorgeous, elegant, neglected and stubbornly inflexible; the Apple Mac Pro[/caption] It also speaks volumes for Apple’s priorities that their most neglected device is the Mac Pro . This device was last updated in 2013 and PCs that are half the price are now more powerful. I’d like to see an updated Mac Pro this year, but, more importantly, I’d love to see Apple allow for more flexibility with the Mac Pro. If Apple won’t update the device, they should at least let users upgrade the hardware themselves. Apple doesn’t need to floor the world with a mind-blowing revelation this September. A little bit of housekeeping will also do.