Joost van der Ree posted an iOS interface concept to his online portfolio. Van der Ree’s tweaks are both aesthetically pleasing and provide an added layer of functionality to iOS. What’s more, Van der Ree’s tweaks are very Apple-like solutions, which would work to further distinguish iOS from its rivals. Some of these interface tweaks seem similar to those already available in Cydia, while others would require quite a lot of modification to the way SpringBoard works.

One tweak that we’ve definitely seen already is the Notification Center hidden behind the touchscreen, instead of dropping down in front of it. This was added into Zephyr by Grant Paul. While jailbreakers have access to this setting, it would also make sense as standard on the iPhone.

We've seen the Notification Center hidden "behind" the screen before. Should this be a standard feature?

Van der Ree’s Mission Control is a little different. It’s an App Switcher replacement which behaves more like MultiFlow than the standard app switching bar. Drag up from the bottom, and you’re greeted with a set of four screenshots which correspond to open apps. What’s unique about Mission Control is that it allows for browsing through open Safari pages, which will save you time if you need to open a specific page.

The interface concept also includes dynamic badges. On the current iPhone interface the SpringBoard icon badges only display the number of notifications in an app. The apps have to be opened if you want to see the notifications, or you have to go through Notification Center. With active notifications, When you pull an icon down, the notifications specific to that app appear over it in a speech bubble shaped dialog. This way you can read the notifications without opening the app.

Another innovation is “Flipcons,” or flippable icons. Instead of opening an app for quick updates, the icons can be flipped to reveal picture updates in a minimal gallery interface. This allows for viewing rich media content from the SpringBoard without waiting for an app to load.

Which one of Joost van der Ree’s iOS interface tweak concepts would you like to see Apple adopt? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.