New iOS 8 Concept Debuts Widget-Like Blocks on Home Screen

With iOS 8 expected to debut at the impending Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), a new iOS 8 concept video featuring widget-like blocks on home screen has surfaced online with due credit to its creator, Jay Machalani.

Touted to be a hybrid of Android's widgets system with the design and functionality of Windows Phone's Live Tiles, the iOS Block concept adds more interactive elements to the app icon such as the ability to pinch and zoom on the icon to display more info or move it around the home screen.

According to The Verge, Machalani has created three different versions of iOS Blocks based on the pixel size supported by the device: iPhone, iPad in portrait and iPad in landscape mode.

The variation in Block sizes and its specific pattern of arrangement is meant to leverage the additional space on devices with larger display such as tablets.

Detailing how each block is designed to deliver live status updates such as information from text message history via Messaging app or appointments through the Calendar app, Machalani explains:

"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."

To better understand the Blocks concept, check out Jay Machalani's demo video below: