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Ok, I need to say it. This article just has iPhone in the title to get more views. This is a problem with not just all smartphones but all rapidly evolving tech

Ok, I need to say it. This article just has iPhone in the title to get more views. This is a problem with not just all smartphones but all rapidly evolving technology products. Do you think you could hand an android phone to one of those example cases and have them do any better with it? Also half of the time I am in an apple store I am helped by someone who needs to use the accessibility features to check me out/in. I think it is awesome that Apple dog foods their products that way.

bobthepanda 8y ago
Just because all companies handle the problem space really badly, doesn't mean we should excuse it. Apple products, as far as I can remember, do not come with any sort of manual describing the nifty little shortcuts that they have. Even as someone who did IT support and handled a lot of iPhone troubleshooting constantly, I got blindsided by lots of small things, like when they switched the force reboot from power+home to power+volume down, or whatever it is now. If you have a feature but nobody knows how to use it, is it really helpful?
- pcmoney 8y ago
  I wholeheartedly agree that more accessibility focus and ease of adoption for novices is something the industry as a whole should focus on. Historically large manuals do not help users use the device better. Ex. How well do you know how to use the advanced features of your microwave? I would say apple is the least bad at this. They offer classes, every release has “What is new” progressions when you launch. Over time this is going to be an increasingly difficult challenge, as tech develops on a platform it builds on its previous patterns. You get to the point where some competence is assumed (correctly or wrongly). When I get into a car there is no display that tells me “this is a steering wheel, it turns the wheels in proportion to how much you twist it”.
- threeseed 8y ago
  The lack of a manual is quite interesting. They could easily include one but instead they encourage people to come to the Apple Stores and discuss the problem with a Genius. This in turn encourages people to look at at new products and get premium 1-1 support that you don't get from other vendors.
- nrb 8y ago
  The “Tips” feature (Swipe left from home) points you right to the User Guide downloadable from the Books app for the device. It also prompts you with this info shortly after you finish setting up the device. It’s a 600+ page manual that describes every single button, gesture, function, menu, for every preinstalled app on the phone. There’s a section that describes most everything that has changed in the newest iOS release.
  - reaperducer 8y ago
    For those for whom "Tips" does not appear when you swipe left on an iDevice, you use this link† to download manuals. (There was no "Tips" when I swiped left on my iPhone, or any of my Macs.) † https://support.apple.com/manuals https://support.apple.com/manuals
    - nrb 8y ago
      I also just checked the paper insert that comes with the new iPhone and the first thing at the top of the page is the following: iPhone User Guide Before using iPhone, review the user guide at help.apple.com/iphone. You can also use Apple Books to download the guide (where available) or, to view the user guide on iPhone, use the Safari bookmark. Retain documentation for future reference.
  - CamperBob2 8y ago
    The “Tips” feature (Swipe left from home) I think this is sort of his point. How in the world am I supposed to know to do that?
    - nrb 8y ago
      Well there are many ways to get there, tap the Tips app that is preinstalled on the home screen on a newly setup iOS device. As I said, it also sends a notification shortly after device setup directing you there.
      - bobthepanda 8y ago
- reaperducer 8y ago
  Apple products, as far as I can remember, do not come with any sort of manual describing the nifty little shortcuts that they have. My biggest gripe with Apple products is that usability is a freaking treasure hunt.
- trimbo 8y ago
  > Apple products, as far as I can remember, do not come with any sort of manual describing the nifty little shortcuts that they have You would not have needed a manual in the past. Discoverability used to be a core tenet of the Apple HIG. Now that's apparently gone, and we're reduced to hunting through a "Tips" app or trying gestures until something happens.
  - smaddox 8y ago
    Exactly! What's the point in having a graphical user interface if the possible interactions are not discoverable through the GUI itself?!
  - sbuk 8y ago
    > ...or trying gestures until something happens. That is a good definition of discovery...
    - trimbo 8y ago
      Don Norman and Bruce Tognazzini (an original Apple HIG author) wrote a great article about this a few years ago. Here's the excerpt describing discoverability: "Today’s devices lack discoverability: There is no way to discover what operations are possible just by looking at the screen. Do you swipe left or right, up or down, with one finger, two, or even as many as five? Do you swipe or tap, and if you tap is it a single tap or double? Is that text on the screen really text or is it a critically important button disguised as text? So often, the user has to try touching everything on the screen just to find out what are actually touchable objects" Article here: https://www.fastcompany.com/3053406/how-apple-is-giving-design-a-bad-name https://www.fastcompany.com/3053406/how-apple-is-giving-desi...
      - sbuk 8y ago
        I’m a big fan of Don Norman - I read his book when it was called “The Psychology of Everyday Things” while I was studying industrial design in the lat 80’s. I disagree with him on this. Discoverability varies between products depending on the complexity of the interaction model.
mrzool 8y ago
> This article just has iPhone in the title to get more views. This article has iPhone in the title because it talks specifically and exclusively about iPhones. Of course there's always a lot of improve with UI and UX on all devices, but this article focuses on iPhones.
- pcmoney 8y ago
  I disagree unless you are saying: 1. Only iPhones can adjust text size. 2. Only iPhones have mapping functionality 3. Only iPhones have a voice activated digital assistant. 4. Only iPhone have a health app. These are all common smart phone features. They only pertain to iphones because of the title and the author uses specific examples of otherwise generic problems in the context of iphone use. I would say only iPhones have apple stores with classes specifically geared towards teaching the novice user how to use their phones.
  - __david__ 8y ago
    If I were the author and I was only familiar with iPhones then I would be extremely wary of making claims about other phone OSes that I didn't have as much experience with. Nothing in his article says that other phones don't have these problems—he's merely asserting that iPhones do.
    - jsight 8y ago
      Exactly. I mean, Android has most of these issues, but I believe that Google's latest initial setup strongly encourages the configuration of emergency contact information just as one example. If he had tried to imply that it covered Android as well it would have focused on some problems that Android might not have and probably overlooked a dozen more that it does have. I don't think the author thinks that either platform is perfect.
- jpttsn 8y ago
  A name drop no less. “McDonald’s is dead cows.” “Too much Smirnoff will get you drunk.” It implies comparison to the competition, and cheats it’s way in front of an audience that wants to compare products.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
reaperducer 8y ago
This article just has iPhone in the title to get more views While I don't disagree with you, in the United States it feels like more and more the term "iPhone" is used to mean "smart phone." Like how people use the brands TelePrompTer and Dumpster as generic terms. I don't know if this is good or bad, but I've heard the phrase "Android iPhone" twice in public.
Johnny555 8y ago
This article just has iPhone in the title to get more views Don't you think it has iPhone in the title since the author is an iPhone user so the article is about iPhones? Every example he gives in the article is specific to an iPhone. Maybe the article could be generalized to other smartphones, but the author's experience is with iPhones, that's what he wrote about in the article, so it seems appropriate for the title.
- pcmoney 8y ago
  I disagree unless you are saying: 1. Only iPhones can adjust text size. 2. Only iPhones have mapping functionality 3. Only iPhones have a voice activated digital assistant. 4. Only iPhone have a health app. These are all common smart phone features. They only pertain to iphones because of the title and the author uses specific examples of otherwise generic problems in the context of iphone use. I would say only iPhones have apple stores with classes specifically geared towards teaching the novice user how to use their phones.
aetherson 8y ago
Android certainly handles joining wifi better.
fyfy18 8y ago
Microsoft have done a pretty good job with Windows 10 when you first set it up. By default it reads out all the prompts for setting up your PC with Cortana, so if you wish you can setup everything via voice. I haven't ever tried it, so can't comment on how well it works, but it seems like a good start...

bobthepanda 8y ago

Just because all companies handle the problem space really badly, doesn't mean we should excuse it. Apple products, as far as I can remember, do not come with any sort of manual describing the nifty little shortcuts that they have. Even as someone who did IT support and handled a lot of iPhone troubleshooting constantly, I got blindsided by lots of small things, like when they switched the force reboot from power+home to power+volume down, or whatever it is now. If you have a feature but nobody knows how to use it, is it really helpful?

pcmoney 8y ago
I wholeheartedly agree that more accessibility focus and ease of adoption for novices is something the industry as a whole should focus on. Historically large manuals do not help users use the device better. Ex. How well do you know how to use the advanced features of your microwave? I would say apple is the least bad at this. They offer classes, every release has “What is new” progressions when you launch. Over time this is going to be an increasingly difficult challenge, as tech develops on a platform it builds on its previous patterns. You get to the point where some competence is assumed (correctly or wrongly). When I get into a car there is no display that tells me “this is a steering wheel, it turns the wheels in proportion to how much you twist it”.
threeseed 8y ago
The lack of a manual is quite interesting. They could easily include one but instead they encourage people to come to the Apple Stores and discuss the problem with a Genius. This in turn encourages people to look at at new products and get premium 1-1 support that you don't get from other vendors.
nrb 8y ago
The “Tips” feature (Swipe left from home) points you right to the User Guide downloadable from the Books app for the device. It also prompts you with this info shortly after you finish setting up the device. It’s a 600+ page manual that describes every single button, gesture, function, menu, for every preinstalled app on the phone. There’s a section that describes most everything that has changed in the newest iOS release.
- reaperducer 8y ago
  For those for whom "Tips" does not appear when you swipe left on an iDevice, you use this link† to download manuals. (There was no "Tips" when I swiped left on my iPhone, or any of my Macs.) † https://support.apple.com/manuals https://support.apple.com/manuals
  - nrb 8y ago
    I also just checked the paper insert that comes with the new iPhone and the first thing at the top of the page is the following: iPhone User Guide Before using iPhone, review the user guide at help.apple.com/iphone. You can also use Apple Books to download the guide (where available) or, to view the user guide on iPhone, use the Safari bookmark. Retain documentation for future reference.
- CamperBob2 8y ago
  The “Tips” feature (Swipe left from home) I think this is sort of his point. How in the world am I supposed to know to do that?
  - nrb 8y ago
    Well there are many ways to get there, tap the Tips app that is preinstalled on the home screen on a newly setup iOS device. As I said, it also sends a notification shortly after device setup directing you there.
    - bobthepanda 8y ago
reaperducer 8y ago
Apple products, as far as I can remember, do not come with any sort of manual describing the nifty little shortcuts that they have. My biggest gripe with Apple products is that usability is a freaking treasure hunt.
trimbo 8y ago
> Apple products, as far as I can remember, do not come with any sort of manual describing the nifty little shortcuts that they have You would not have needed a manual in the past. Discoverability used to be a core tenet of the Apple HIG. Now that's apparently gone, and we're reduced to hunting through a "Tips" app or trying gestures until something happens.
- smaddox 8y ago
  Exactly! What's the point in having a graphical user interface if the possible interactions are not discoverable through the GUI itself?!
- sbuk 8y ago
  > ...or trying gestures until something happens. That is a good definition of discovery...
  - trimbo 8y ago
    Don Norman and Bruce Tognazzini (an original Apple HIG author) wrote a great article about this a few years ago. Here's the excerpt describing discoverability: "Today’s devices lack discoverability: There is no way to discover what operations are possible just by looking at the screen. Do you swipe left or right, up or down, with one finger, two, or even as many as five? Do you swipe or tap, and if you tap is it a single tap or double? Is that text on the screen really text or is it a critically important button disguised as text? So often, the user has to try touching everything on the screen just to find out what are actually touchable objects" Article here: https://www.fastcompany.com/3053406/how-apple-is-giving-design-a-bad-name https://www.fastcompany.com/3053406/how-apple-is-giving-desi...
    - sbuk 8y ago
      I’m a big fan of Don Norman - I read his book when it was called “The Psychology of Everyday Things” while I was studying industrial design in the lat 80’s. I disagree with him on this. Discoverability varies between products depending on the complexity of the interaction model.

mrzool 8y ago

> This article just has iPhone in the title to get more views. This article has iPhone in the title because it talks specifically and exclusively about iPhones. Of course there's always a lot of improve with UI and UX on all devices, but this article focuses on iPhones.

pcmoney 8y ago
I disagree unless you are saying: 1. Only iPhones can adjust text size. 2. Only iPhones have mapping functionality 3. Only iPhones have a voice activated digital assistant. 4. Only iPhone have a health app. These are all common smart phone features. They only pertain to iphones because of the title and the author uses specific examples of otherwise generic problems in the context of iphone use. I would say only iPhones have apple stores with classes specifically geared towards teaching the novice user how to use their phones.
- __david__ 8y ago
  If I were the author and I was only familiar with iPhones then I would be extremely wary of making claims about other phone OSes that I didn't have as much experience with. Nothing in his article says that other phones don't have these problems—he's merely asserting that iPhones do.
  - jsight 8y ago
    Exactly. I mean, Android has most of these issues, but I believe that Google's latest initial setup strongly encourages the configuration of emergency contact information just as one example. If he had tried to imply that it covered Android as well it would have focused on some problems that Android might not have and probably overlooked a dozen more that it does have. I don't think the author thinks that either platform is perfect.
jpttsn 8y ago
A name drop no less. “McDonald’s is dead cows.” “Too much Smirnoff will get you drunk.” It implies comparison to the competition, and cheats it’s way in front of an audience that wants to compare products.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

reaperducer 8y ago

This article just has iPhone in the title to get more views While I don't disagree with you, in the United States it feels like more and more the term "iPhone" is used to mean "smart phone." Like how people use the brands TelePrompTer and Dumpster as generic terms. I don't know if this is good or bad, but I've heard the phrase "Android iPhone" twice in public.

Johnny555 8y ago

This article just has iPhone in the title to get more views Don't you think it has iPhone in the title since the author is an iPhone user so the article is about iPhones? Every example he gives in the article is specific to an iPhone. Maybe the article could be generalized to other smartphones, but the author's experience is with iPhones, that's what he wrote about in the article, so it seems appropriate for the title.

pcmoney 8y ago
I disagree unless you are saying: 1. Only iPhones can adjust text size. 2. Only iPhones have mapping functionality 3. Only iPhones have a voice activated digital assistant. 4. Only iPhone have a health app. These are all common smart phone features. They only pertain to iphones because of the title and the author uses specific examples of otherwise generic problems in the context of iphone use. I would say only iPhones have apple stores with classes specifically geared towards teaching the novice user how to use their phones.

aetherson 8y ago

Android certainly handles joining wifi better.

fyfy18 8y ago

Microsoft have done a pretty good job with Windows 10 when you first set it up. By default it reads out all the prompts for setting up your PC with Cortana, so if you wish you can setup everything via voice. I haven't ever tried it, so can't comment on how well it works, but it seems like a good start...