9 Android features iOS 19 desperately needs

iOS 19 is rumored to pack the most significant user interface overhaul since iOS 7, with a streamlined visionOS-inspired design for the iPhone. While I’m looking forward to seeing what these cosmetic changes bring, I’m far more interested in the changes Apple will bring to the iPhone’s functionality.

As a former Android user, it’s hard not to see the influence Google’s operating system has had on iOS over the years. But despite Apple already bringing a ton of Android features over to the iPhone, such as default app options and advanced system customizations, there are still a lot of things that Android just does better. Here are a few software features Apple needs to bring to the iPhone.

1. Proper audio sharing

Whether I’m running with a friend or taking the metro with them, I like sharing the same music queue to synchronize the vibe. iOS has long supported audio sharing, but it’s limited to AirPods and select Beats headphones. So my friend should be able to connect their earbuds to my iPhone to hear what I’m listening to, whether or not they’re using AirPods.

Conversely, my friend’s Android phone should be able to recognize my AirPods and stream music to both pairs of earbuds at the same time. This is a typical Apple ecosystem restriction designed to promote the company’s own devices. And, even though I’m fully invested in Apple’s products, the limitation downgrades my experience when a friend opts for a different brand. It’s irritating, as there aren’t any obvious technological constraints barring Apple from elevating the feature for all parties involved.

2. Actual multitasking

Way back when I used to rock a Samsung Galaxy Note II with a 5.5-inch screen, one of the handy features I actively relied on was the split-screen view, which let me operate two apps at the same time. While I agree that smartphone displays are relatively small for multitasking, sometimes you do need to open two apps side by side for quick reference.

Today, Apple sells 6.9-inch iPhones with processors many times faster than the Galaxy Note II’s Exynos chip. Yet, due to its complex philosophy, Apple refuses to bring Split View or even Slide Over to iOS. At the very least, I wish iOS 19 would support Android-style floating chat bubbles so we could quickly open, reply to, and dismiss levitating chats while performing other tasks.

3. A better keyboard

While the iPhone supports a wide variety of third-party keyboards, arguably none of them work as well as the one that comes with your iPhone, and it’s high time Apple added some overdue features to its stock keyboard. The main one I miss from my Android phone is the built-in clipboard, which lets you store multiple snippets of copied information, such as text and images, so you can paste them into apps as needed. Meanwhile, iOS still limits its users to a single copied item, which is inconvenient for all but the simplest uses, and a mere software update can fix that. And while we’re at it, an optional number row for the default keyboard is long overdue as well.

4. Personal always-on display

Apple has finally taken most of the shackles off the Home Screen, Lock Screen, and Control Center, letting users personalize them in all manner of ways. Despite that, however, the always-on display feature continues to merely mirror the same setup on the Lock Screen. While you can personalize it in very basic ways, such as turning off the wallpaper and hiding notifications, you can’t do much else to customize it on its own.

Meanwhile, most Android phone brands allow users to design always-on views from scratch, letting them add unique widgets based on their needs. For example, on Samsung Galaxy phones, users can change the clock, add their own wallpaper, set their own widgets, and pin memos for quick access. I’d love to be able to do the same on my iPhone.

5. More (and better) AI tools

In the era of powerful AI systems, Apple evidently still has no idea what it’s doing in this domain. While Apple Intelligence is still struggling to deliver the most basic of promises, Android phone manufacturers are offering their customers impressive AI perks with built-in chatbots and powerful image creation tools.

With iOS 19, Apple needs to take a more adventurous route and explore deeper AI integrations.  Assuming the new Siri arrives in September, future update need to go further with how Apple Intelligence integrates with the phone—Android already has things like a built-in wallpaper generator, real-time conversations with Google’s Gemini Live, and advanced photo manipulation tools, so Apple has a lot of catching up to do.

6. Category-based notification system

With iOS 18, Apple attempted to fix its notification mess by relying on AI. Apple Intelligence can scan alerts, summarize them, surface priority ones, and filter out the rest. While this is undoubtedly a step forward, it doesn’t truly fix the underlying core problem.

This isn’t the first time Apple tried to fix notifications, but the solution is right under its nose: Android’s channels, which divide notifications into granular categories that can be individually turned on and off. This would provide users with greater control over the alerts they receive and only let the important stuff through.

7. RCS that works with everyone

Apple elevated texting with RCS support in iOS 18, which brought iMessage features such as read receipts, high-quality media, and more to green-bubble conversations. However, unlike Google, Apple adopted a carrier-dependent approach, requiring both service providers to support it in order to send and receive RCS messages.

While the majority of relevant U.S. carriers are now compatible with RCS, international markets are still far behind. So, even if your carrier supports the protocol, you still won’t be able to get the benefits of RCS when texting most of your international friends. Apple could address this by heading the Android way and offloading the service to its cloud infrastructure, but it has made it clear that it won’t do that. Instead, we’re stuck with an inferior service.

8. Charging time estimation

Android users have known exactly when their phones will hit 100% for years, and we were hopeful Apple was releasing a similar feature this year. A hidden iOS 18.2 beta feature revealed that Apple is working on a new feature called Battery Intelligence that estimates how long it will take the iPhone’s battery to charge fully based on the battery remaining and the charger being used. However, it didn’t appear in iOS 18.2, 18.3, or 18.4, and doesn’t appear to be part of iOS 18.5.

Given that Apple hasn’t officially announced the feature as part of iOS 18, it’s hard to predict when or whether it’ll actually materialize, but we’re hopeful it’s coming in iOS 19. But Apple clearly took notice of Android phones that have offered a similar perk for years, and I hope Apple gets it right by the time iOS 19 debuts.

9. App cache management

This is a niche gripe, but one thing I fondly remember about my Galaxy Mini is how often I cleared certain apps’ cache due to the phone’s limited storage. While new iPhones now offer at least 128GB of storage, clearing an app’s cache can still come in handy.

For example, the Threads app on iOS occupies less than 100MB of storage for the app itself, but its cached data on my phone has surpassed 3GB. The only way to reclaim this significant disk portion is to delete the app and reinstall it. However, this also zaps anything you may have personalized or stored rather than merely purging unnecessary content. A simple “Clear Cache” button in iOS 19’s storage settings would address this issue.