It's 2013, which most likely means another major iOS update will soon come down the tubes from Apple. iOS 7 has already begun popping up in some server logs—no huge surprise, since Apple is constantly working on its next big thing(s). But so far, we know virtually nothing about what to expect from iOS 7. After all, the general public is still only on iOS 6.0.2, with iOS 6.1 reportedly just around the corner.

While the 6.1 update will undoubtedly improve on what we already have, iOS 7 has the potential to make significant changes and improvements to how iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad users interact with their devices. So, what better opportunity for the Ars staff to dream and speculate about what we'd really like to see Apple do with its next major release? I asked a number of our iOS-using staff members to tell me the most important items on their wish lists and came up with a list of eight things we think would be great to see when iOS 7 is released to the public.

1) Let us set and remove our own default apps

Could there be a more common complaint about iOS than this? Users are dying to have the ability to specify their own default apps for things like Web browsing, mapping, task management, notes, and more—but Apple won't let us. The time is now: Apple should add a panel in the iOS Settings that lets us do this so that when we click a link from another app, we don't have to use Safari, or when we tap on an address on a webpage, we don't have to use Maps.

This has long been a common request from Ars staffers, and it topped the list when I asked this time around as well. "Apple could even provide some kind of spec that a third-party app would have to conform to before it can be allowed as the new default e-mail client," John Siracusa said. "It doesn't have to be as wide open as it is on OS X, but I don't think it can stay as closed as it is now forever." On that same note, isn't it about time for us to be able to delete Apple's default apps? You know, the ones we all shuffle into their own folder on the last Springboard screen (mine is called "Shit I never use"), such as Stocks, Compass, Game Center, or whatever else doesn't strike your fancy. "The ability to remove default iOS apps (like the thrice-damned Newsstand and Game Center) would be wonderful," said Reviews Editor Lee Hutchinson, but I doubt it will ever happen."

2) Take Do Not Disturb to the next level

We like Do Not Disturb, which was introduced with iOS 6 in late 2012, even though it has run into some high-profile bugs lately. The feature allows us to schedule times when our devices won't ring, buzz, or light up when receiving calls or notifications—great for trying to get some uninterrupted sleep, or during important times of the day. But the feature is still very basic—you can only schedule one time block at a time (say, 11pm to 7am every day), or manually turn it on/off as needed.

As Chris Foresman pointed out, iOS users could really benefit from the ability to apply finer-grained scheduling to the Do Not Disturb feature. "Being able to have different schedules for different days of the week," he said, would allow people to specify different times for weekdays versus weekends, or add special items like regular business meetings. Apple could also take this feature to the next level by stealing a feature from RIM and the BlackBerry: power management. Some of us would rather just have our iPhones (or other iOS devices) shut down altogether at certain times of day—call it a more forced version of Do Not Disturb. "All Macs have power management options, including the ability to have a device shutdown at a specific time and wake up at a specific time," Ars Editor-in-Chief Ken Fisher said. "The BlackBerry has had this functionality for years. Apple could land on the right side of green by including this support."

3) Multiple users per device—or at least a kid mode

We're sure you've heard this one before—how many times have you handed your iDevice to a family member or friend, only to have them start digging into your e-mail or moving around your home screen icons? The ability to manage multiple users on a single device like we can on the Mac (and pretty much every other computing platform) would help mitigate this problem, though not everyone agrees such a feature would be helpful or easy-to-use on a tiny mobile device like the iPhone—perhaps it would be more useful on the iPad, a device that's much more likely to be shared among a family or roommates.

But even if you don't like the idea of a multi-user iOS device, users with kids seem to agree hands-down that a "kid mode" would be a huge help. It could be an extension of Apple's current Parental Controls that allows parents to flip a switch and put the device into a mode that allows limited access to only certain apps, temporarily turn off the ability to answer (or make) phone calls, limit the Web from all available apps, completely turn off in-app purchasing power, and so on. Even those of us without kids (myself included) could make use of this feature when visiting friends or family with children; I know I've had my iPhone co-opted by toddlers many times, only to find them making FaceTime calls to all my friends 10 minutes later. We don't mind handing over our iOS devices to children to distract themselves, but a way to keep them (and the devices) safe during that time would be a great feature to have.

4) A better way to organize and manage apps

The tapping and holding until apps start to wiggle. The dragging between screens. The apps shifting around when you don't want them to while you're trying to move something else. That annoying phenomenon when you realize all your infrequently used apps are piling up on the ninth-Springboard-screen-back. App organization drives us all crazy from time to time, and the Ars staff would like some fresh ways to clean up.

"I want some new thinking, like being able to swipe down to reveal widgets, and swipe up to reveal a drawer for fast moving of icons," Creative Director Aurich Lawson said. "It's time to acknowledge that the UI that was designed for a phone that didn't even have the concept of downloading apps hasn't kept up with the times." But if we're going to revamp how we organize apps on our devices, we should also revamp how we can manage them from the cloud, says Social Editor Cesar Torres. He pointed out that it's sometimes difficult to remember whether certain apps are still on the device or not (there might be some apps that you use very infrequently, but they're nice to have when you need them), and if they've been deleted, going through the App Store to find them again can be a pain.

"Amazon has a Cloud/Device set of tabs" that could be useful for this, Torres said. "Or something sort of like Dropbox's system, where if you star something, it gets stored locally. I would like for all apps to have a standardized way of showing you this, so you're always clear on what's in the phone and what's in the cloud." Torres thinks this should apply beyond apps, though—he thinks it should also apply to data stored within each app, and that third-party developers should work with Apple to come up with a more standard way to show whether documents are local, on iCloud, or stored somewhere else.