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The iPhone 6s Plus I have is a wonderful phone, but I can't help but feel that Apple is losing some of it's perfection. There are some obvious UI annoyances th

The iPhone 6s Plus I have is a wonderful phone, but I can't help but feel that Apple is losing some of it's perfection. There are some obvious UI annoyances that are present. Such as, the Plus is a large phone so you most often open it with the phone tilted somehow, giving you landscape mode. It does not easily revert to the upright state without juggling it around, nor is there an option to not go landscape on the home screen only (seriously who needs that?). It's not even in the settings menu to disable rotation entirely - you have to find it in the pull up menu. Another gripe I have is that all the pull up and down menus also trigger when you don't want it. The screen has gotten really sensitive, which is great, but there are lots of unintended effects now. A fanatical user running the company wouldn't have overlooked this.

SN76477 11y ago
A touch of elegance is missing, I agree.
threeseed 11y ago
> feel that Apple is losing some of it's perfection Apple never had perfection. It's nothing more than revisionist history. Every one of their products has had issues. > A fanatical user running the company wouldn't have overlooked this. Steve Jobs was quite happy to allow dreadful products like OSX 1.0 or the original Retina MacBook to go to market despite a litany of issues. The fact is that the CEO can't be worried about stupid, small details like this. If you actually thought deep about all that goes on at Apple and the increasing need for CEOs to be involved in lobbying you would soon realise how silly your point is.
- hellofunk 11y ago
  Steve Jobs died the year before the first Retina MacBook went to market.
- WildUtah 11y ago
  "Steve Jobs was quite happy to allow dreadful products like OSX 1.0 or the original Retina MacBook to go to market" Original Retina MacBook Pro June 11, 2012 Steve Jobs 1955-2011 I believe you may have made a mistake in judging who made the final decisions on quality control procedures for the initial release of the rMBP.
  - Alupis 11y ago
    Well, in fairness, it's likely this product was already in the funnel back in 2011. However, Jobs wouldn't have been able to do a final review, but then again, do CEO's regularly review all of a company's products, or do they trust their team (product managers, quality testers and managers, etc...?
    - iMark 11y ago
      As important as Apple was to Steve Jobs, he may have had one or two more important matters on his mind in 2011.
      - mixmastamyk 11y ago
        From my understanding, he was giving feedback up until the end, which is both commendable and sad at the same time. Still, it probably helped him not dwell on the negative.
  - pilsetnieks 11y ago
    I think he meant the original MacBook Air
- HSO 11y ago
  > Steve Jobs was quite happy to allow dreadful products like [...] the original Retina MacBook to go to market despite a litany of issues. What are you talking about? I got the first rMBP right out of the gate and was blown away. After 3+ years, it's still a wonderful product. Never had any issues with the hardware except a screen repair that was done under warranty.
jharger 11y ago
It's not a great solution, but last time I tried it "zoomed" display mode made it behave more like the old mode... less like an iPad. The home screen doesn't rotate, etc. The down side, of course, is that you lose some screen real-estate in your apps. They do need an option just for the home screen.
CamperBob2 11y ago
What drives me nuts about my 6s is the way they moved the power button from the top of the phone to the opposite (long) side as the volume buttons. This guarantees that I cannot pull the phone out of my pocket without hitting one button or another inadvertently, and also makes it likely that the button I press first will be a volume button rather than the power button I wanted. I'd like to grab the iPhone's product designer by his or her (designer) lapel and make one thing very clear: I should not have to look at my phone in order to turn it on, or to orient it for use. This stuff should be obvious basic ergonomics, but ever since they released the infamous iPhone 4 with its perfectly symmetrical surfaces, they've always felt compelled to do at least one minor but annoying thing wrong. My previous iPhone 5 was a nice exception, but like its predecessors, it was just too small. Gotta love all these First World problems, I suppose.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- gareim 11y ago
  "Just avoid holding it that way." - Steve Jobs EDIT: Interesting. Watching the votes go up and then down makes me think that half of the people do not appreciate my comment. In that case, I feel like I should elaborate. If the phone is in your pocket, then reaching in has two options. One is wrapping your hand around the sides and the other is a pinch on the front + back. With OP's button pressing issue, I think it's more likely to be wrapping. I personally don't see how it would be a problem even with wrapping, unless you're used to squeezing hard, but it can be remedied easily by putting the phone in so that the home button is oriented top side. That also brings along the benefits of being unable to unlock quickly and allowing you to listen to music without straining your headphone jack as much. If Apple had kept the home button on the top, there would be more complaints. A top button is hard to reach, especially on the new, taller iPhones. It was already a complaint when the iPhone 5 form factor was released. Having to reach up to lock makes your grip on the phone a bit more tenuous. Combined with exerting a downward force cause you're pressing the home button, dropping an iPhone becomes more likely. Frankly, this is the first complaint I've seen directed towards a side power button. For right handed users (sorry, lefties), the button is easily accessible to the thumb now. There's less balancing required to lock the phone. I've only seen reviews that were upset at top home buttons on big phones (HTC One series), never ones about side power buttons.
WildUtah 11y ago
"A fanatical user running the company wouldn't have overlooked this." I love this subtle invocation of the principle of 'this never would have happened if Steve Jobs were still alive.'
- scott_karana 11y ago
  I think you put words in GP's mouth. Jobs, a fanatical user? I doubt it. He culled as many useful features as he added. He was against many things users asked for: iPad minis. Larger iPhones. Styluses. Sounds more fanatical ideologue than a fanatical user. The only "usage" based feature I specifically remember being attributed to him is Gorilla Glass, after he scratched up a prototype's screen with keys in the same pocket.
mrcwinn 11y ago
I have an iPhone 6s Plus, which I love, and almost never use landscape mode to reach UI controls. I am quite sure Tim Cook is a fanatical user of Apple products.
Jtsummers 11y ago
I've never used a 6 Plus or 6S Plus. Does the rotation lock not work on it like it does on the iPad? That seems like a strange oversight, it's not like it should be running through substantially different code paths.
_ph_ 11y ago
I noticed the orientation problems too, but they are completely gone with 9.1, so I guess they fixed them.
NamTaf 11y ago
I've noticed more software bugs in the last couple of iOS releases than previously. Sometimes the top status bar (time, battery, rotation lock/silence symbols, etc.) will disappear, fail to change colour, etc. Sometimes apps think they're in landscape when the phone itself thinks it's in portrait, making the app half the height and twice the width of the screen. On iOS9 specifically, sometimes the touch digitiser just stops working and I have to force a reboot. There's also small things that seem unpolished to the traditional "Apple" level. For example even 2 years after the iOS7 release, the size of the status bar at the top changes between the lock screen and the homescreen, which means that not only does text size change but also the number of symbols that show up near the battery display changes too if you're right at the limit of real estate there. Yes, it's minor, but stuff like that didn't seem to happen several generations ago, but I'm noticing it more and more.
- alextgordon 11y ago
  > the size of the status bar at the top changes between the lock screen and the homescreen Presumably this is so it's easier to read. It's a nice touch.

SN76477 11y ago

A touch of elegance is missing, I agree.

threeseed 11y ago

> feel that Apple is losing some of it's perfection Apple never had perfection. It's nothing more than revisionist history. Every one of their products has had issues. > A fanatical user running the company wouldn't have overlooked this. Steve Jobs was quite happy to allow dreadful products like OSX 1.0 or the original Retina MacBook to go to market despite a litany of issues. The fact is that the CEO can't be worried about stupid, small details like this. If you actually thought deep about all that goes on at Apple and the increasing need for CEOs to be involved in lobbying you would soon realise how silly your point is.

hellofunk 11y ago
Steve Jobs died the year before the first Retina MacBook went to market.
WildUtah 11y ago
"Steve Jobs was quite happy to allow dreadful products like OSX 1.0 or the original Retina MacBook to go to market" Original Retina MacBook Pro June 11, 2012 Steve Jobs 1955-2011 I believe you may have made a mistake in judging who made the final decisions on quality control procedures for the initial release of the rMBP.
- Alupis 11y ago
  Well, in fairness, it's likely this product was already in the funnel back in 2011. However, Jobs wouldn't have been able to do a final review, but then again, do CEO's regularly review all of a company's products, or do they trust their team (product managers, quality testers and managers, etc...?
  - iMark 11y ago
    As important as Apple was to Steve Jobs, he may have had one or two more important matters on his mind in 2011.
    - mixmastamyk 11y ago
      From my understanding, he was giving feedback up until the end, which is both commendable and sad at the same time. Still, it probably helped him not dwell on the negative.
- pilsetnieks 11y ago
  I think he meant the original MacBook Air
HSO 11y ago
> Steve Jobs was quite happy to allow dreadful products like [...] the original Retina MacBook to go to market despite a litany of issues. What are you talking about? I got the first rMBP right out of the gate and was blown away. After 3+ years, it's still a wonderful product. Never had any issues with the hardware except a screen repair that was done under warranty.

jharger 11y ago

It's not a great solution, but last time I tried it "zoomed" display mode made it behave more like the old mode... less like an iPad. The home screen doesn't rotate, etc. The down side, of course, is that you lose some screen real-estate in your apps. They do need an option just for the home screen.

CamperBob2 11y ago

What drives me nuts about my 6s is the way they moved the power button from the top of the phone to the opposite (long) side as the volume buttons. This guarantees that I cannot pull the phone out of my pocket without hitting one button or another inadvertently, and also makes it likely that the button I press first will be a volume button rather than the power button I wanted. I'd like to grab the iPhone's product designer by his or her (designer) lapel and make one thing very clear: I should not have to look at my phone in order to turn it on, or to orient it for use. This stuff should be obvious basic ergonomics, but ever since they released the infamous iPhone 4 with its perfectly symmetrical surfaces, they've always felt compelled to do at least one minor but annoying thing wrong. My previous iPhone 5 was a nice exception, but like its predecessors, it was just too small. Gotta love all these First World problems, I suppose.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
gareim 11y ago
"Just avoid holding it that way." - Steve Jobs EDIT: Interesting. Watching the votes go up and then down makes me think that half of the people do not appreciate my comment. In that case, I feel like I should elaborate. If the phone is in your pocket, then reaching in has two options. One is wrapping your hand around the sides and the other is a pinch on the front + back. With OP's button pressing issue, I think it's more likely to be wrapping. I personally don't see how it would be a problem even with wrapping, unless you're used to squeezing hard, but it can be remedied easily by putting the phone in so that the home button is oriented top side. That also brings along the benefits of being unable to unlock quickly and allowing you to listen to music without straining your headphone jack as much. If Apple had kept the home button on the top, there would be more complaints. A top button is hard to reach, especially on the new, taller iPhones. It was already a complaint when the iPhone 5 form factor was released. Having to reach up to lock makes your grip on the phone a bit more tenuous. Combined with exerting a downward force cause you're pressing the home button, dropping an iPhone becomes more likely. Frankly, this is the first complaint I've seen directed towards a side power button. For right handed users (sorry, lefties), the button is easily accessible to the thumb now. There's less balancing required to lock the phone. I've only seen reviews that were upset at top home buttons on big phones (HTC One series), never ones about side power buttons.

WildUtah 11y ago

"A fanatical user running the company wouldn't have overlooked this." I love this subtle invocation of the principle of 'this never would have happened if Steve Jobs were still alive.'

scott_karana 11y ago
I think you put words in GP's mouth. Jobs, a fanatical user? I doubt it. He culled as many useful features as he added. He was against many things users asked for: iPad minis. Larger iPhones. Styluses. Sounds more fanatical ideologue than a fanatical user. The only "usage" based feature I specifically remember being attributed to him is Gorilla Glass, after he scratched up a prototype's screen with keys in the same pocket.

mrcwinn 11y ago

I have an iPhone 6s Plus, which I love, and almost never use landscape mode to reach UI controls. I am quite sure Tim Cook is a fanatical user of Apple products.

Jtsummers 11y ago

I've never used a 6 Plus or 6S Plus. Does the rotation lock not work on it like it does on the iPad? That seems like a strange oversight, it's not like it should be running through substantially different code paths.

_ph_ 11y ago

I noticed the orientation problems too, but they are completely gone with 9.1, so I guess they fixed them.

NamTaf 11y ago

I've noticed more software bugs in the last couple of iOS releases than previously. Sometimes the top status bar (time, battery, rotation lock/silence symbols, etc.) will disappear, fail to change colour, etc. Sometimes apps think they're in landscape when the phone itself thinks it's in portrait, making the app half the height and twice the width of the screen. On iOS9 specifically, sometimes the touch digitiser just stops working and I have to force a reboot. There's also small things that seem unpolished to the traditional "Apple" level. For example even 2 years after the iOS7 release, the size of the status bar at the top changes between the lock screen and the homescreen, which means that not only does text size change but also the number of symbols that show up near the battery display changes too if you're right at the limit of real estate there. Yes, it's minor, but stuff like that didn't seem to happen several generations ago, but I'm noticing it more and more.

alextgordon 11y ago
> the size of the status bar at the top changes between the lock screen and the homescreen Presumably this is so it's easier to read. It's a nice touch.