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I fail to see how dumping documentation for a cryptic feature at such an unfriendly URL counts as "informing".

by beager 9y ago

IBM 9y ago
The UI informs the user directly that they're disconnecting from a network. This support document explains the change and how it all works in-depth for anyone who will actually care to know (everyone who reads HN or tech blogs and pretty much no one else).
- flukus 9y ago
  > The UI informs the user directly that they're disconnecting from a network. The UI (mis)informs the user that wifi has been turned off by greying it out, at the very least it's inconsistent with other toggle buttons. Or are there other things apple decides that you don't really want turned off?
- beager 9y ago
  Can you describe a reasonable scenario where a layperson would see the support document prior to encountering some sort of frustration with the feature in question?
- jonahx 9y ago
  > The UI informs the user directly that they're disconnecting from a network. I'm honestly confused... Do you really believe that most users have distinct concepts in their mental model for "wifi off" and "disconnected from a network"? They look at the button, it's not blue anymore, it's off. Then later they think... "Wait how did this randomly turn on again?" I believe this will be the experience even of the majority of tech savvy users, let alone typical ones.
  - IBM 9y ago
    Most users when turning "off" Wi-Fi, particularly from the control center, are doing so to get them off whatever network they're on. What their mental model is for what "Wi-Fi off" is doesn't matter because the user shouldn't be responsible for managing the radios in their phone. And any of them that do try to are probably under the impression that it saves them battery life, when it actually doesn't (unless connected and transmitting). The new control center behaves in the way that most people actually use the buttons. More importantly it solves a major problem in that it no longer requires the user to know what radios need to be on for various features they use to work. Apple probably has all the support call stats they need to decide this was a better behavior.
    - jonahx 9y ago
      > What their mental model is for what "Wi-Fi off" is doesn't matter It always matters if you're trying to minimize user frustration and confusion. The mental model determines what the user expects their actions to do. > because the user shouldn't be responsible for managing the radios in their phone. > The new control center behaves in the way that most people actually use the buttons. More importantly it solves a major problem in that it no longer requires the user to know what radios need to be on for various features they use to work. I don't think anyone (certainly not me) is arguing that this isn't a useful feature for the phone to have and is what many people want, at least some of the time. The argument is that the feature's behavior should be clear rather than misleading. > Apple probably has all the support call stats they need to decide this was a better behavior. Again, fine, but don't suggest one thing and silently do the "better" thing. Either allow the user to confirm the behavior, or create a UI that clarifies the behavior so people aren't misled into believing that "off until 5am" or "off until you move" means "off."
    - Pyxl101 9y ago
      I will concede that I almost always used the "bluetooth off" button in order to disconnect my current bluetooth device. I did this because it was faster and more convenient than going into the Settings menu and disconnecting that device specifically. It's fewer clicks this way. So if most iPhone users are using these buttons to disconnect from their current network, or to disconnect the current bluetooth device, then I understand why they'd change them to have that meaning. Disconnecting from the current wifi network or disconnecting the current bluetooth device probably comes up somewhat frequently as a task the user wants to accomplish, whereas actually disabling the radios likely does not come up much at all outside of airplane mode. So I get what Apple is doing. I wonder why they chose to maintain the button UI though. Perhaps it's because people are expecting it, and are used to it?
      - KozmoNau7 9y ago
        When I manually disconnect from a network or a bluetooth device, I want it to stay off until I specifically ask it to reconnect.
    - 9y ago

I fail to see how dumping documentation for a cryptic feature at such an unfriendly URL counts as "informing".

by beager 9y ago

I fail to see how dumping documentation for a cryptic feature at such an unfriendly URL counts as "informing".

IBM 9y ago

The UI informs the user directly that they're disconnecting from a network. This support document explains the change and how it all works in-depth for anyone who will actually care to know (everyone who reads HN or tech blogs and pretty much no one else).

flukus 9y ago
> The UI informs the user directly that they're disconnecting from a network. The UI (mis)informs the user that wifi has been turned off by greying it out, at the very least it's inconsistent with other toggle buttons. Or are there other things apple decides that you don't really want turned off?
beager 9y ago
Can you describe a reasonable scenario where a layperson would see the support document prior to encountering some sort of frustration with the feature in question?
jonahx 9y ago
> The UI informs the user directly that they're disconnecting from a network. I'm honestly confused... Do you really believe that most users have distinct concepts in their mental model for "wifi off" and "disconnected from a network"? They look at the button, it's not blue anymore, it's off. Then later they think... "Wait how did this randomly turn on again?" I believe this will be the experience even of the majority of tech savvy users, let alone typical ones.
- IBM 9y ago
  Most users when turning "off" Wi-Fi, particularly from the control center, are doing so to get them off whatever network they're on. What their mental model is for what "Wi-Fi off" is doesn't matter because the user shouldn't be responsible for managing the radios in their phone. And any of them that do try to are probably under the impression that it saves them battery life, when it actually doesn't (unless connected and transmitting). The new control center behaves in the way that most people actually use the buttons. More importantly it solves a major problem in that it no longer requires the user to know what radios need to be on for various features they use to work. Apple probably has all the support call stats they need to decide this was a better behavior.
  - jonahx 9y ago
    > What their mental model is for what "Wi-Fi off" is doesn't matter It always matters if you're trying to minimize user frustration and confusion. The mental model determines what the user expects their actions to do. > because the user shouldn't be responsible for managing the radios in their phone. > The new control center behaves in the way that most people actually use the buttons. More importantly it solves a major problem in that it no longer requires the user to know what radios need to be on for various features they use to work. I don't think anyone (certainly not me) is arguing that this isn't a useful feature for the phone to have and is what many people want, at least some of the time. The argument is that the feature's behavior should be clear rather than misleading. > Apple probably has all the support call stats they need to decide this was a better behavior. Again, fine, but don't suggest one thing and silently do the "better" thing. Either allow the user to confirm the behavior, or create a UI that clarifies the behavior so people aren't misled into believing that "off until 5am" or "off until you move" means "off."
  - Pyxl101 9y ago
    I will concede that I almost always used the "bluetooth off" button in order to disconnect my current bluetooth device. I did this because it was faster and more convenient than going into the Settings menu and disconnecting that device specifically. It's fewer clicks this way. So if most iPhone users are using these buttons to disconnect from their current network, or to disconnect the current bluetooth device, then I understand why they'd change them to have that meaning. Disconnecting from the current wifi network or disconnecting the current bluetooth device probably comes up somewhat frequently as a task the user wants to accomplish, whereas actually disabling the radios likely does not come up much at all outside of airplane mode. So I get what Apple is doing. I wonder why they chose to maintain the button UI though. Perhaps it's because people are expecting it, and are used to it?
    - KozmoNau7 9y ago
      When I manually disconnect from a network or a bluetooth device, I want it to stay off until I specifically ask it to reconnect.
  - 9y ago