A Refreshed “Phone” App

It goes without saying that one of the most integral apps of any smartphone is the one that lets you use it as a phone. Apple’s Phone app has been the main attraction since day one, but it hasn’t received any major updates. There is so much potential to create a better interface and hopefully — though unlikely — we’ll see a refresh in iOS 18.

For starters, the Phone app is full of lists. Favorites, Recents, Contacts, and Voicemail are all endless lists separated by tabs. The only non-list tab is Keypad — and that’s just a bunch of buttons.

An updated Phone app could combine the Favorites and Recents tabs into one, with a group of pinned contacts (similar to Messages) at the top and a list of recents on the bottom. Recent calls could display more information, such as if the call was placed by Siri, and display contact photos next to calls.

Next, Apple could polish up Visual Voicemail by adding a synced transcription of the call (similar to Apple Music’s lyrics) or a sound wavelength in the Dynamic Island. A “mark as read” button would be a nice touch for automated and spam messages.

Finally, Apple might seriously consider combining the Phone and FaceTime apps. In 2024, a voice call and a video call are just calls.