Apple WWDC 2014: My Wish List

for Apple to give users more control over where apps land on their screens.

Dynamic home screen content: Both Android and Windows Phone offer changing/updating content on their respective home screens. Android does this through widgets, and Windows Phone does it via Live Tiles. I'd love to see Apple merge these two concepts into something that allows app icons on the home screens to offer new information or content when relevant or available.

OS X
New design: Apple's desktop platform is overdue for a visual overhaul. Reports have for months suggested that OS X is headed for an iOS-like redesign. I'd welcome a refreshed look, as long as Apple doesn't go overboard with the colors. Aesthetics aside, it would behoove Apple to create more parity between iOS and OS X, which would aid usability of both platforms.

Siri: Who doesn't want to sit in their office and talk to their computer? Siri needs to make a big splash in OS X. It's been available to Apple's mobile devices for more than two years; surely Apple can squash all that power into its laptops and desktops. Siri for OS X needs to be more feature-rich than she has been for iOS, however, and must have improved text transcription powers from the get-go.

AirDrop: This tool lets iOS and OS X device owners share files via WiFi -- but only with similar devices. In other words, I can use AirDrop to send a file from my iPad to my iPhone, or from my iMac to my MacBook Air, but not from my iPad to my iMac or vice versa. Apple needs to plug this hole and make AirDrop compatible between iOS and OS X.

Hardware
Apple TV: Everyone wants it to happen, but it won't. Apple has played coy with its Apple TV product for years. If it does anything new with Apple TV this year, it likely won't be until the fall. Still, some wishful thinking can't hurt, right?

iPhone/iPad: Chatter about the iPhone 6 is nearly non-stop. It would be great to see Apple break its once-yearly upgrade cycle for its smartphones and tablets, but that seems unlikely. As with Apple TV, expect new mobile devices in the fall.

Hybrid laptop: If Apple announces any new hardware at WWDC this year, I hope the long-rumored touchscreen laptop is it. The rumor mill says Apple is working on a new laptop that uses a touch-enabled version of OS X with a touchscreen. The device might have a high-resolution 12-inch screen, which falls in between those of the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Airs. But this could be more wishful thinking on my part.

What do you think? What's on your WWDC wish list? Add your own thoughts in the comments below.

What do Uber, Bank of America, and Walgreens have to do with your mobile app strategy? Find out in the new Maximizing Mobility issue of InformationWeek Tech Digest.