The iPad was my gateway into the Apple orchard. I had never purchased an Apple product until about a decade ago, when I got the first Retina iPad as a gift for someone who didn’t use computers. I was so impressed by how intuitive the device and OS was for them, that I installed macOS in a VM on Windows to try iOS development. I fell in love with macOS (back during Lion) shortly before getting my first MacBook and leaving Windows forever behind, never to return.
Fast forward to a month ago. I purchased one of the newer low-end iPads as another gift for someone else who didn’t use computers.
It was depressing.
The setup process was kinda annoying. No, we don’t want Apple Pay, thank you. I had to enter the Apple/iCloud account credentials multiple times at different points before it stopped asking me to sign in again.
There were a lot of bugs in the system UI and the preinstalled apps.
I had to disable the multitasking gestures because they would be confusing for a new user.
They have removed labels for the Dock icons with no way to restore them, so I had to keep apps with less obvious icons out of the Dock, so they could have labels. Because a flower for photos is not a connection that many people can intuitively make.
I had to explain that dragging down from the right corner of the top edge brings up the brightness control.
Dragging down from anywhere else on the top edge brings up the notifications.
Dragging down on a blank part of the home screen’s background, away from edges, brings up the search bar.
I fully agree, there is a steady decline in usability and its a bloody shame because for years the usability is what set Apple apart from the others.
A few things which hugely annoy me;
- Saving a photo from iMessage.... the option has disappeared. I get a popup to airdrop the file, interact with some apps and a huge copy button. In fact, I can scroll down in this menu but there is not a single visual indicator that I can scroll. No scroll bar, no icon... nothing. I've had to read somewhere online that I could scroll there, and I work in IT. How is this usable for people who don't work in IT.
- After updates I'm frequently asked to provide my Apple ID password, and yet iOS doesn't allow me to interact with Password Managers at this moment. I've got a 36 random character password, and it is a pain in the ass to enter this.
- 3D touch has been removed in newer iPhones. Fine, but why cripple older phones which still have the hardware to use 3D touch... Now it takes me an extra action to re-arrange my icons.
And 3D Touch on the virtual keyboard, which used to turn it into a trackpad with which you could move the text cursor freely and 3D Touch again to select text has been replaced with "Haptic Touch" which lets you long-touch the space bar to move the cursor but offers no way to select text so you have to revert to the old "touch the word you want to edit" UI.
Now the trackpad is enabled by using two fingers on the keybard. To select, you can long-touch where you want the selection to start, and select more by using this trackpad gesture.
At least that's how it works on my iPad Air 2, which is a bit outdated, but has the latest iOS.
1Password works natively with iOS... In the standard iOS keyboard when you are in a password field, click on the key icon that pops up and you can select to fill the password from 1pass.
Must be brand new, since I just set up an iPhone 7+ on the latest OS and I got a password autofill suggesting from Firefox Lockwise on the system Apple ID prompt (not during the setup flow, it was an alert dialog from Settings, if I'm remembering correctly).
I feel like I see the root of this problem everywhere in "card"-based UIs. The share button opens a "card" on top and you can move the card up in the view. There should definitely be some consideration for how to represent that there's more "card" outside of your screen.
The simple solution is to design the card so that, at all display layouts, the last visible item is cut off -- it goes a long way toward saying "there's more in this list".
The new share sheet in iOS/iPadOS 13 is not great -- the two rows of horizontal scrolls (one for contacts, the other for apps) was much more discoverable.
Not any longer -- now they're tucked into an "unordered list" icon to the bottom-right of the play button, in a row with buttons to toggle display of lyrics and to select the output.
Idk about everything else but I just tried to save a photo from iMessage and it is literally the second option (Save). Tried on my Mac and phone, no problems at all.
Edit: nvm I think this is an issue on ios13. Definitely weird design choice, wonder what is the story behind this decision.
First screenshot: "Wait, why is 'copy' the only option?"
Second screenshot: What shows if you scroll past "copy", for which there's no visual indication showing that's even possible.
There's no rational reason for "copy" and all the other options to be visually separated, either. They could've been obviously part of one continuous set of options and it'd be a lot clearer to people.
Hold the App Store icon until a menu appears. Choose "Updates" and done.
I'm not defending Apple here. I only accidentally discovered this shortcut. I feel that designers these days expect users to explore a lot of things out of blind faith in order to discover functionality.
only works if you know where your app store icon is. i dont use the icons from the launcher screens anymore, everything goes in one folder bar the 'sticky apps'
find it much faster to just pull down and search for apps
THIS right there is what seems to be the core issue at Apple these days:
It doesn't feel like they have anyone who uses their own products anymore (dogfooding.)
The one thing about Steve Jobs was that he was a user like us, sharing most of the same annoyances and frustrations and in a position to make the engineers do something about them.
on the contrary, to me it feels like they have people who only use the latest product, and know it 100%. So when something new comes along, nobody is confused.
You got that right! I'm all for dogfooding, but at some point, it can turn into kool-aiding, if you don't take a look at how people out on the street are actually using your products (or trying to.)
Haha I have for the past few months wondered where the "update" list had gone in the new App Store. Thanks for the help :) That is of course the most natural place to put that information - said no one ever.
A constant barrage of application update notifications, and the process of doing the same, was an unnecessary chore that led to update fatigue. Apple moved to defaulting to automatic updates, removed the various signals and notifications about updates pending, and now the average person just has updated apps within a reasonable window of consideration.
e.g. This was definitely a change for the better. They're pushing something that shouldn't be first class into the background, in the same way that you don't manage memory or decide which apps in the background to close.
iOS 13 defaults to automatic app updates. How in the world is that a "dark pattern"? I get that people got accustomed to manual updates [1], and some illusion that this gave them some control, but from a rational evaluation it makes no sense.
[1] - I remember when Google first added enabled automatic app updates and one of the most common retorts, including on here, was "can you say bricked" and similar nonsense.
iOS updates apps automatically; system updates still require explicit user approval. I think it 's a decent trade-off, given that the options are "don't update", "update now", and a default of "update overnight, when/if the device is plugged in".
Want to switch which user account you're using? No problem, simply find the picture of the current user account that you definitely don't want to use, and click on it.
Clicking your user account picture to access actions related to your user account (such as, change account, logout, change this picture etc) actually seems pretty intuitive. Where would you expect to find this functionality instead?
I was expecting to find it there, but older people who I've walked through these interfaces would expect it to be under something like "settings" or "switch account" rather than "this account".
Also, it's really a stretch to say that an action related to account x is "switch to account y."
If N updates are available, they put a red badge with an N in it on top of the profile picture, the App Store icon, and if you have moved the App Store icon to a folder on top of that folder.
The inclusion of the Arcade tab on the App Store has pushed this change. I'm guessing that Apple feels like most people don't really update apps manually and just do an auto-update.
Yea this is awkward. It will then often show you a “partial” list of the available updates so you might have to swipe down a couple times to see the full list.
I also know the long press shortcut to get to updates, but often forget that. As well as the copy/paste swipe gestures.
As someone who does product design for a living and has used an iPad for almost 10 years now, I still get so confused with the Slide Over multitasking. There's no discoverability at all for this. You have to read the manual and memorize the gestures. Absolutely mind-blowing that they've made something this confusing.
I know when people say "it's like they don't even use their products" it is usually hyperbolic, but I don't know how they can explain the seemingly random continual prompting of Apple/iCloud login on OS X I see a few times a year.
I assume they all have their cards info entered in the settings, however my debit card got stolen and I'm stuck with a temp card so I have decided to avoid this. I keep getting prompted to finish setting up my iphone. Sorry, but linking my card isn't part of setting up an iphone please leave me alone.
Or that bug with Mac Keyboard Shortcuts[1]. I don't know how to explain something like that other than, no one working at Apple right now actually uses the custom keyboard shortcuts feature.
It's a nightmare as well if you're trying to multitask an app that isn't in your dock. Often I'll have to do this dance of tap home, open the app I want on the side, it opens full screen switch back to that app and then drag it GENTLY to the place I want.
You used to be able to start dragging an icon from the home screen, use your other hand to open another app, then drop the dragged app over it to start split screen, but they nerfed it in iOS 13 for some reason. Completely undiscoverable of course, but at least it sped things up slightly. Having to open the second app full screen and then drag the other out of the dock's "recent" segment is just so clunky.
You can also drag an icon out of the search UI when you're in another app, but only if you have a keyboard attached, because other than Cmd+Space there's no longer a way to access Spotlight without going back to the home screen.
Even this way to open second app from the Spotlight start working only on the iPadOS 13.2.3. It was completely broken in previous releases as bad as dragging apps from the folders in the Dock.
I think the core problem is that every manmade tool eventually has to choose 2 of the 3:
• Be intuitive for new users
• Have features for power users
• Sane number of customization options
Like the dock labels issue. I personally don't need or want labels in the Dock. But there should be an option to enable dock labels for people who are not familiar with all the icons.
In fact I would like to hide the labels for ALL icons on the Home Screen, with a tap-and-hold to show them temporarily, like the mouse hover on the Mac Dock.
Now you need 2 more options to satisfy everyone.
And then you need to keep the Settings app from becoming too cluttered or intimidating.
So I believe the cornerstone of all good design is a good settings/preferences system, that is easy to navigate, discover, search and filter. And to selectively restore defaults when you fuck shit up.
1. You can largely escape the trifecta by hiding advanced customization options inside of the Terminal, where they're 100% invisible to anyone who isn't explicitly searching for them.
2. For a long time, Apple's way around the problem was to have different platforms for different markets. The iPad was a simple computing platform for very casual users, and the Mac was the more capable option for more advanced users. For some reason, Apple has now decided that their simple platform needs to be as capable as the more advanced platform.
> You can largely escape the trifecta by hiding advanced customization options inside of the Terminal, where they're 100% invisible to anyone who isn't explicitly searching for them.
Which of course makes them completely undiscoverable, too.
Googling and peer support is much more acceptable for advanced actions than simple actions.
If I need to Google how to disable labels in the dock, that's probably ok. If I need to Google how to turn down the brightness of the iPad...that's not great.
An interface can only ever have a finite number of discoverable actions. So choose what actions are core functionality, and make those discoverable. Hide what's left.
Nova Launcher is an example of a pretty good piece of software that fulfills all 3 requirements in my mind (it's a 3rd party launcher, or desktop, for Android). It's what I use personally so it fits my power user and ricing needs, but it's also what I set up for less computer literate relatives.
It has every option one could want, but they are organised sanely and are kept separate from the basic interface. I don't see why this is difficult.
As a power user you could easily set up your click and hold labels with KWGT or KLWP. Having this option available doesn't make the phone worse to use for normal users. All hail the android ecosystem!
What makes all this stuff even worse is if you want to ask a question and, naturally, end up asking it on one of the numerous web-based "communities", including Apple's.
It's like being dropped into a dungeon where helpless people are endlessly flailing about trying find an answer so they can escape and instead being told useless, out-of-date, or crazy information by other clueless users.
"I had to enter the Apple/iCloud account credentials multiple times at different points before it stopped asking me to sign in again"
Yes! What on earth is this for? My girlfriend picked up an iPhone after a series of awful Android phones and it's still sitting on her desk in a half-setup state a few days later because she got frustrated inputting her iCloud credentials constantly for god-knows-what and dismissing unhelpful help messages. Next she's gonna ask me how to migrate her pictures to the new phone and I've no idea what to tell her ...
I would presume that it's an overreaction to cover their asses if users get "hacked", and also a more aggressive DRM authentication to keep making sure you paid for all those apps/books/songs/shows.
So there are additional layers of security which I appreciate. But this is different - the iCloud login prompt repeatedly pops up every now and again. Sometimes after an action, sometimes on its own. I had it before on my iPhone 6S when I upgraded iOS at some point ... then it randomly stopped.
I think that is a problem with session management across multiple backend systems that are not updated quickly enough when you are first setting up. Each one thinks that it is the first time you have authenticated.
For all the mocking apple did to Microsoft a decade ago for the cancel or allow? Fiasco... this las MacOS operating system feels exactly the same: every time some app is trying to do something useful with the computer I get 2 accept? prompts for the same thing opening a file? Access prompt. Turning on camera ? access prompt. Saving file? Access prompt.
> I had to enter the Apple/iCloud account credentials multiple times at different points before it stopped asking me to sign in again.
dear god yes. I stopped using my ipad because of this, and I would never purchase another one.
Apple Integration is still top notch, but I agree 100% about their UI. I don't run mac, but I've been an ipad/iphone user for many years and it's definitely gone downhill. I disabled automatic updates and live in fear every time there's a new major version.
Thanks for posting this. I completely agree, and I think that “put this in front of someone who doesn’t have prior experience of this device” is an acid test for design.
The other replies frustrate me as much as Apple’s design direction, in that they “get it” even less than Apple.
Bad design is not that I can’t figure out how to copy an image from mail. That’s annoying, that could be better, but you’re not even seeing the wood for the trees at that point - it’s the fundamental concepts of design that escape most people.
Like, what do these rows of icons even mean? What do they do? Why is it that tapping on them opens a window with their name in? Is that the right design? What does your user actually want to do, how are you guiding them?
There’s this conceptual clarity to design, and when you see it you shout “yes!” And when it’s absent you mumble a lot, and most nerds cannot even recognise those two modes, let alone approach devising the concepts that underly the clarity. The dead giveaways are the minor pedantic points vs how the entire paradigm is designed.
Android, for example, has this home screen versus the app grid, and it’s not clear why that exists. It seems like a hangover from desktops - here’s my “desktop display” and here’s my “app bank” and no designer would ever think of inventing that paradigm if they were truly reimagining how a omnitool should work. A mobile device isn’t “computing in your pocket”, it’s “a tool that allows you to do things that can change its face and use a network” and you go from there.
This is what Apple get and others don’t, but that should really be past tense as Apple have completely forgotten the thoughtful and deliberate design they’ve always made. Hold and press an icon and you can “share app”, you waaat, like how is that even a feature. Imagine you’re using a penknife and you can “share blade” or you can “share this channel” on a TV. You just totally don’t get it at that point, you’re not designing for the user at that point (cue comments of “yes, I love sharing apps that way” from the 0.0001%).
Despite their nosedive, Apple devices are still the best, and it just feels like we’re waiting for them to get so bad that Android is a cheaper version of awful, and no other company is coming to save us. Someone, for the love of god, start an electronics company that is dominated by a small team of great designers.
Will it help? These days, you either open the design as IBM famously did with their 5150 or earn enough to see yourself become Apple, the great hegemonist. (I'm clearly and biasedly on PC's side, so you may ignore my ranting)
> I had to enter the Apple/iCloud account credentials multiple times at different points before it stopped asking me to sign in again
They really need an option to tell it "Yes, I have an Apple/iCloud ID that I want to use with this device, and I can even tell you that ID now, but my password is a strong password in my password manager and I really do not want to try to type it right now...so how about we just finish setting things up without it, and then as soon as I get my password manager installed I can get that password for you?"
It should then finish setup without further Apple/iCloud ID prompts, deferring setting up things that need it.
Furthermore, it should but on icon on the front page named "Finish Setup" or something like that which kicks off finishing setup of everything that needs your Apple/iCloud password.
> Furthermore, it should but on icon on the front page named "Finish Setup" or something like that which kicks off finishing setup of everything that needs your Apple/iCloud password.
They do have that, but it may ask you to sign-in again when you download apps, books, music etc. or sometimes seemingly at random.
My most-hated thing is bringing up the brightness controls. Not intuitive, and isn't explained when you first set up the iPad. Sometimes it even takes me several attempts because I'm not close enough to the corner I guess.
Honestly, The way I see a lot of things, e.g, control Center, etc is layered complexity. The simplest most consistent way to change all of this is in settings, if you want a shortcut, then use control Center, etc.
Fast forward to a month ago. I purchased one of the newer low-end iPads as another gift for someone else who didn’t use computers.
It was depressing.
The setup process was kinda annoying. No, we don’t want Apple Pay, thank you. I had to enter the Apple/iCloud account credentials multiple times at different points before it stopped asking me to sign in again.
There were a lot of bugs in the system UI and the preinstalled apps.
I had to disable the multitasking gestures because they would be confusing for a new user.
They have removed labels for the Dock icons with no way to restore them, so I had to keep apps with less obvious icons out of the Dock, so they could have labels. Because a flower for photos is not a connection that many people can intuitively make.
I had to explain that dragging down from the right corner of the top edge brings up the brightness control.
Dragging down from anywhere else on the top edge brings up the notifications.
Dragging down on a blank part of the home screen’s background, away from edges, brings up the search bar.
Fuck.