It looks natural and in keeping with the design and functionality of iOS as it stands today, and looking at "iOS Block" for the first time you might be forgiven for thinking it’s a leaked feature from iOS 8. The concept works by expanding your fingers on an existing app icon to get a Block with information like weather forecasts, calendar appointments, and music controls. You can then pinch it back to a normal icon, or place it permanently alongside other icons on the home screen. Machalani has created three sizes: iPhone, iPad in portrait, and iPad in landscape orientation. You can have multiple Blocks on a home screen, and the iPad versions leverage the additional space on a tablet display.

Each Block is interactive, delivering live information from your text message history on the Messaging app, or appointments for the Calendar app. Machalani has also created a "swiping and consulting zone" inside each Block that lets you swipe across horizontally to see more information, and tapping on an icon in the lower-left corner of each Block will take you directly into the app. It’s really designed to let iPhone and iPad users see the information contained within apps at a glance. "This would only be the first step to really push iOS forward, but a crucial one to really offer a better solution than opening and closing every single application," says Machalani.

Machalani’s concept is very much a work in progress. The blocks take up roughly the space of 2 x 2 icons on the iPhone and iPad, and it’s not clear how Block creation would affect and push down other icons and Blocks on a home screen. There’s also a control or tap zone next to the icon on a Block, allowing developers to add tiny buttons or controls for music apps like Spotify where you could potentially control song playback from the home screen. Both of these aspects could be disorientating or frustrating, and Machalani is now inviting developers to imagine what they would want from a Block. He has some guidelines set up to maintain the iOS consistency, but it’s clear this isn’t the ideal solution just yet.

Machalani’s concept is very much a work in progress

Until Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off next week, it’s impossible to know whether the iPhone maker is even considering such a plan for iOS 8. With constant rumors of a larger iPhone 6, "iOS Blocks" might seem like a logical way to make use of a bigger display. Apple could also wait for the next iOS iteration, or overhaul its home screen in different ways, but hopefully it is planning something. iOS is comfortable and a little stale, and a boost to the main way you interact with apps could be just what it needs.

Concept images and video courtesy Jay Machalani. More examples of Jay Machalani's iOS concepts can be found on his website.