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There's a lot to unpack here, and a lot to disagree with, as I believe there's plenty of evidence Apple cares a lot about accessibility. Also harping on specif

There's a lot to unpack here, and a lot to disagree with, as I believe there's plenty of evidence Apple cares a lot about accessibility. Also harping on specific terminology like password vs passcode is not really productive in terms of improving the underlying UX, as the word gets translated into tons of languages which may or may not have the same level of nuance. While I don't necessarily agree with the premise, especially when compared with the competition, I will say that iOS has not gotten easier to use over time. Features like 3D touch are implemented inconsistently both at the hardware level, and in the UX — Worst is how undiscoverable they are. Here's the crazy part: Apple is about to release the iPhone XR, their 1 and only phone without 3D touch!.

TomMarius 8y ago
I've read on a lot of sites that 3D touch is going away with the next flagship.
- akvadrako 8y ago
  This is highly likely, since most people (off this site) don't seem to use it and one of the newest phones omits it.
  - toasterlovin 8y ago
    I sure hope not. If I were buying a new phone this year, that single feature would get me to pay the extra $250 or whatever to get an XS instead of an XR.
- dkonofalski 8y ago
  No it won't. Pressure sensitivity is built into the hardware. 3D Touch is just a feature of that hardware functionality. Unless they get rid of the hardware, which doesn't seem likely since it's used for other things, 3D touch is probably here to stay.
reaperducer 8y ago
3D Touch seems to be the Touch Bar of the mobile world. Both are great ideas, but only sparsely exploited even by Apple, itself.
- nilkn 8y ago
  For what it’s worth, I use 3D Touch pretty much every day. The number one usage for me is moving the cursor around while editing text. I actually did it while writing this post; I decided I wanted to add a comma after “worth” at the beginning and did so easily with this feature.
  - stiGGG 8y ago
    Since iOS12 you can do this by holding the spacebar on devices without 3D touch
    - krrrh 8y ago
      On devices with 3D Touch you can also press harder to activate text selection, which is something I use daily.
      - cpuguy83 8y ago
        Long press does this.
        randomdata 8y ago
        But you are already long-pressing in order to use the cursor?
      - canuckintime 8y ago
        With the spacebar alternative method you can also activate text selection.
    - Matthias247 8y ago
      Tried it on my iPhone 8 (by disabling 3d touch). It seems to be a lot less precise for whatever reason. And one issue is also that the swipe always starts at the lowest end of the screen and it's not easily possible to scroll downwards with it, since one starts at the spacebar which is at the very bottom of the screen. With 3d touch one starts the gesture somewhere in the middle of the keyboard, which provides room in every direction.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
rayiner 8y ago
It's gotten worse. Screens keep getting bigger, but more and more functionality keeps getting hidden behind undiscoverable swipes and taps. I've been an iPhone user since the 3G, I used to program computers for a living, and I don't have a reliable mental model of what the available gestures even are these days. I'm reduced to randomly tapping and pressing and swiping like some sort of idiot.
- tartoran 8y ago
  I feel the same. And when I learn how it works I get it but it doesn't rub right to me, I say to myself weird. I think it's apple without Steve Jobs super crazy attention to detail and the overall feel of it degraded over time.
- saagarjha 8y ago
  > but more and more functionality keeps getting hidden behind undiscoverable swipes and taps I think the issue is that Apple keeps adding functionality to iOS, but seldom removes functionality. So all these "non-essential" features end up relegated to harder to discover actions.
  - dkonofalski 8y ago
    I don't think that's the biggest part of the issue, though. I think it's that whatever functionality is there has to work across a broad range of devices. Someone mentioned consistency and that's what's key here that I think most people are missing. Using an iPad is, generally, the same experience as using an iPhone even though an iPad has a completely different set of utility than an iPhone. That means that the fact that phone screens have gotten larger is irrelevant because whatever complications or features are added have to work broadly and consistently amongst devices of varying screen sizes. Web developers actually have it down best when it comes to responsive design but even responsive design makes for a different experience on mobile vs. desktop and I think Apple is trying to avoid that. An iPhone might be "hard to use" for someone that's not tech savvy but, once they learn how to use it, they now have an easier time across Apple's entire product line, not just that one device.
- 8y ago

TomMarius 8y ago

I've read on a lot of sites that 3D touch is going away with the next flagship.

akvadrako 8y ago
This is highly likely, since most people (off this site) don't seem to use it and one of the newest phones omits it.
- toasterlovin 8y ago
  I sure hope not. If I were buying a new phone this year, that single feature would get me to pay the extra $250 or whatever to get an XS instead of an XR.
dkonofalski 8y ago
No it won't. Pressure sensitivity is built into the hardware. 3D Touch is just a feature of that hardware functionality. Unless they get rid of the hardware, which doesn't seem likely since it's used for other things, 3D touch is probably here to stay.

reaperducer 8y ago

3D Touch seems to be the Touch Bar of the mobile world. Both are great ideas, but only sparsely exploited even by Apple, itself.

nilkn 8y ago
For what it’s worth, I use 3D Touch pretty much every day. The number one usage for me is moving the cursor around while editing text. I actually did it while writing this post; I decided I wanted to add a comma after “worth” at the beginning and did so easily with this feature.
- stiGGG 8y ago
  Since iOS12 you can do this by holding the spacebar on devices without 3D touch
  - krrrh 8y ago
    On devices with 3D Touch you can also press harder to activate text selection, which is something I use daily.
    - cpuguy83 8y ago
      Long press does this.
      - randomdata 8y ago
        But you are already long-pressing in order to use the cursor?
    - canuckintime 8y ago
      With the spacebar alternative method you can also activate text selection.
  - Matthias247 8y ago
    Tried it on my iPhone 8 (by disabling 3d touch). It seems to be a lot less precise for whatever reason. And one issue is also that the swipe always starts at the lowest end of the screen and it's not easily possible to scroll downwards with it, since one starts at the spacebar which is at the very bottom of the screen. With 3d touch one starts the gesture somewhere in the middle of the keyboard, which provides room in every direction.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

rayiner 8y ago

It's gotten worse. Screens keep getting bigger, but more and more functionality keeps getting hidden behind undiscoverable swipes and taps. I've been an iPhone user since the 3G, I used to program computers for a living, and I don't have a reliable mental model of what the available gestures even are these days. I'm reduced to randomly tapping and pressing and swiping like some sort of idiot.

tartoran 8y ago
I feel the same. And when I learn how it works I get it but it doesn't rub right to me, I say to myself weird. I think it's apple without Steve Jobs super crazy attention to detail and the overall feel of it degraded over time.
saagarjha 8y ago
> but more and more functionality keeps getting hidden behind undiscoverable swipes and taps I think the issue is that Apple keeps adding functionality to iOS, but seldom removes functionality. So all these "non-essential" features end up relegated to harder to discover actions.
- dkonofalski 8y ago
  I don't think that's the biggest part of the issue, though. I think it's that whatever functionality is there has to work across a broad range of devices. Someone mentioned consistency and that's what's key here that I think most people are missing. Using an iPad is, generally, the same experience as using an iPhone even though an iPad has a completely different set of utility than an iPhone. That means that the fact that phone screens have gotten larger is irrelevant because whatever complications or features are added have to work broadly and consistently amongst devices of varying screen sizes. Web developers actually have it down best when it comes to responsive design but even responsive design makes for a different experience on mobile vs. desktop and I think Apple is trying to avoid that. An iPhone might be "hard to use" for someone that's not tech savvy but, once they learn how to use it, they now have an easier time across Apple's entire product line, not just that one device.
8y ago