This iOS 19 concept video has two iPhone features Apple should steal

Delayed and missing iOS 18 Apple Intelligence features are Apple’s focus right now when it comes to iPhone software, with the next batch of AI additions set to come via iOS 18.4 this spring. That’s not surprising, considering that Apple already teased this release schedule.

What is more surprising are the Apple Intelligence development side effects mentioned in more recent reports. Insiders say that iOS 19 will see feature release delays similar to what Apple did with iOS 18.

For example, Apple’s ChatGPT-like Siri LLM chatbot might be unveiled at WWDC 2019 next summer, but it reportedly won’t be released until spring 2026. That’s because Apple software engineers are still working on other Apple Intelligence features that aren’t ready yet.

As a result, some iOS 19 features might be delayed, though reports have given no indication of what they might be. What I’m certain about, though, is that Apple will also build non-AI functionality for iOS 19 to advance the platform’s usability and provide new features to the millions of iPhone users with devices that don’t support Apple Intelligence.

While we wait for more meaningful iOS 19 leaks, we already have concept videos from designers imagining the kind of features Apple might bring to the iPhone in 2025. As always with concept videos, I’ll note they do not show confirmed or existing products.

But I did like two tricks that designer Oofus crafted for their iOS 19 video: An improved way to share images via AirDrop, and Apple Intelligence support for iPhone screenshots.

The video is just 77 seconds long, mimicking the kind of iOS presentation Apple might cook up for a new software release. The concept covers various ideas that make sense for the evolution of iOS, especially regarding customization.

Apple added several new ways for iPhone users to customize the UI in iOS 18, similar to what Android has offered for years. It’s easy to assume Apple will expand the customization options it offers iPhone users.

The designer imagined a way to add stickers to the Lock Screen, a trick that some iPhone users might appreciate. Similarly, the concept imagines support in iMessage for custom backgrounds, something other chat apps offer. Interestingly, such a customization option would turn the iconic blue messages typical for iMessage into any color option. I’m not sure Apple would ever want to lose that key design element.

Oofus then showcases iOS 19 features that would be more useful than the UI customization options above. The designer imagined a gesture called Flick, which lets you flick images from one iPhone to another via AirDrop. Flick looks a lot like the NameDrop contact-sharing feature that Apple already added to iOS.

As someone who shares plenty of content via AirDrop between my Apple devices, I’d love to see a gesture like Flick work in iOS 19. Just pick a file or group of files and flick them over to a different device. A confirmation screen would still probably be needed to avoid accidental sharing with strangers.

Finally, the concept video suggests Apple might add Apple Intelligence support to screenshots. I also frequently take screenshots of things I find online on my iPhone, and managing or even remembering them can be a chore. That’s where AI can help. Apple Intelligence could retain information and surface it when I need it.

Microsoft developed something like that in mind, the already-infamous Recall feature. Google created a new Screenshots app for Pixel phones that takes a different, more useful approach.

The concept video imagines Apple Intelligence being able to extract information from a screenshot, like a QR code, without going for the deeper functionality I want.

That said, I’d certainly appreciate Apple developing iOS 19 features similar to what the designer imagined, especially the Flick trick and smarter screenshots.