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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

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. Fuck.

JohnTHaller 7y ago
Oh, you want to updates your apps? That's easy. Open up the App Store and then click on your profile picture. Wait, what?
- kccqzy 7y ago
  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.
  - rogy 7y ago
    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
    - vladvasiliu 7y ago
      On the Iphone it works when long pressing in the search results too. (iOS 13.3)
    - frank2 7y ago
      Am curious what you mean by the 'sticky apps'.
  - OGWhales 7y ago
    Thanks for the tip. I always forget how to do it the couple times I've updated.
  - emodendroket 7y ago
    Somehow we've unlearned all those lessons about styling links to look like text and making users play Minesweeper on the screen
- zentiggr 7y ago
  Wow, that's seriously dysfunctional. I get that Apple doesn't do UX testing but maybe they could do some UX testing? Getting at least one user's opinion about a redesign might have nipped some of this in the bud
  - OGWhales 7y ago
    Yeah I think exactly one would be enough lol
  - Razengan 7y ago
    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.
    - riffraff 7y ago
      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. Just all of us who don't live at apple 24/7.
      - domador 7y ago
        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.)
      - domador 7y ago
        The following, classic comic speaks more to Windows-style UI pathologies, but it seems appropriate here as well: http://okcancel.com/comic/4.html http://okcancel.com/comic/4.html
- denzil_correa 7y ago
  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.
  - marcusjt 7y ago
    Presumably they have real stats not just guesses, but still, seems like a dumb place to move it to without any indication/affordance.
    - ianai 7y ago
      They could put an Update Applications pane in the Settings application - like next to the Software Update pane...
- fingerlocks 7y ago
  It makes way more sense when you have multiple profiles with a different set of apps for each of them.
- krtkush 7y ago
  I feel that this is a dark-pattern to force users to enable automatics updates.
  - JBiserkov 7y ago
    They just needed the space previously occupied by "Updates" to promote their "Arcade"
    - xattt 7y ago
      Clearly, the solution would be to place Arcade under Profile. Easily accessible!
  - endorphone 7y ago
    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.
    - ascagnel_ 7y ago
      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". More stuff should allow for the latter option.
- q-base 7y ago
  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.
  - Aeolun 7y ago
    “Upcoming Automatic Upgrades > 82” Something must be going wrong here. It doesn’t appear the ‘automatic’ part of that is working :P
    - ollie87 7y ago
      Yeah I've been having that issue. Along with the email inbox bug they claim to have fixed but is still very much live and well on my iPhone 7 Plus.
- endorphone 7y ago
  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.
- ItsMattyG 7y ago
  Google and Netflix are horrible for this. 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.
  - golergka 7y ago
    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?
    - ItsMattyG 7y ago
      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."
- tzs 7y ago
  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.
- capedape 7y ago
  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.
hellomyguys 7y ago
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.
- month13 7y ago
  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.
  - deergomoo 7y ago
    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. Absolutely bonkers.
    - yaroslavyar 7y ago
      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.
- OGWhales 7y ago
  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.
AlphaSite 7y ago
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.
neor 7y ago
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.
- Dim0N 7y ago
  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.
  - ceejayoz 7y ago
    Yeah, it's an iOS 13 issue. Illustrated here: https://imgur.com/a/giqdiAR https://imgur.com/a/giqdiAR 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.
- SebastianKra 7y ago
  #3: just hold and drag immediately. This is how d&d works anywhere in the system. No need for a special action. One caveat is that you have to drag away from the context menu.
kienkien 7y ago
Too soon to say never
- Razengan 7y ago
  I never really agreed with many of the core fundamentals of Windows/Microsoft, before I had even discovered Macs as an alternative. Like the whole need for installers/uninstallers, worrying about drivers, separate menu bars for each window, and so on. Some of those things will never change as long as Windows remains Windows.
smcl 7y ago
"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 ...
- Razengan 7y ago
  > Yes! What on earth is this for? 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.
  - smcl 7y ago
    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.
    - Tagbert 7y ago
      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.
crispyambulance 7y ago
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.
- Razengan 7y ago
  Oh man, wait till you try to develop for the latest Apple platforms.
emodendroket 7y ago
But see they have to do it this way, because labels and easy-to-understand icons are skeuomorphic.
deleted 7y ago
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whywhywhywhy 7y ago
> Because a flower for photos is not a connection that many people can intuitively make This icon only makes sense if you used earlier versions of iOS where the icon was an actual photo of a flower. Objectively bad design.
- neuronic 7y ago
  What makes it 10x worse for me is that the desktop Slack app icon looks 90% identical. The Photos app icon is a blurred version of the Slack app icon. Ugh. Edit: put them next to each other and took a screenshot to underline my post above: https://imgur.com/jPFJMx4 https://imgur.com/jPFJMx4
Razengan 7y ago
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.
- Wowfunhappy 7y ago
  Two separate points: 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.
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
    > 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.
  - Razengan 7y ago
    The Terminal/NSUserDefaults system is useless for navigation and discoverability of optional settings. How would I see all the options available for an app? We're back to googling and peer support. > For some reason, Apple has now decided that their simple platform needs to be as capable as the more advanced platform. Because they were getting crap for it.
xtracto 7y ago
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. It is super annoying.
tzs 7y ago
> 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.
- Razengan 7y ago
  > 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.
deleted 7y ago
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kuzimoto 7y ago
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.
celticmusic 7y ago
> 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.
randomsearch 7y ago
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.
- shinkarom 7y ago
  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)

JohnTHaller 7y ago

Oh, you want to updates your apps? That's easy. Open up the App Store and then click on your profile picture. Wait, what?

kccqzy 7y ago
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.
- rogy 7y ago
  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
  - vladvasiliu 7y ago
    On the Iphone it works when long pressing in the search results too. (iOS 13.3)
  - frank2 7y ago
    Am curious what you mean by the 'sticky apps'.
- OGWhales 7y ago
  Thanks for the tip. I always forget how to do it the couple times I've updated.
- emodendroket 7y ago
  Somehow we've unlearned all those lessons about styling links to look like text and making users play Minesweeper on the screen
zentiggr 7y ago
Wow, that's seriously dysfunctional. I get that Apple doesn't do UX testing but maybe they could do some UX testing? Getting at least one user's opinion about a redesign might have nipped some of this in the bud
- OGWhales 7y ago
  Yeah I think exactly one would be enough lol
- Razengan 7y ago
  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.
  - riffraff 7y ago
    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. Just all of us who don't live at apple 24/7.
    - domador 7y ago
      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.)
    - domador 7y ago
      The following, classic comic speaks more to Windows-style UI pathologies, but it seems appropriate here as well: http://okcancel.com/comic/4.html http://okcancel.com/comic/4.html
denzil_correa 7y ago
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.
- marcusjt 7y ago
  Presumably they have real stats not just guesses, but still, seems like a dumb place to move it to without any indication/affordance.
  - ianai 7y ago
    They could put an Update Applications pane in the Settings application - like next to the Software Update pane...
fingerlocks 7y ago
It makes way more sense when you have multiple profiles with a different set of apps for each of them.
krtkush 7y ago
I feel that this is a dark-pattern to force users to enable automatics updates.
- JBiserkov 7y ago
  They just needed the space previously occupied by "Updates" to promote their "Arcade"
  - xattt 7y ago
    Clearly, the solution would be to place Arcade under Profile. Easily accessible!
- endorphone 7y ago
  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.
  - ascagnel_ 7y ago
    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". More stuff should allow for the latter option.
q-base 7y ago
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.
- Aeolun 7y ago
  “Upcoming Automatic Upgrades > 82” Something must be going wrong here. It doesn’t appear the ‘automatic’ part of that is working :P
  - ollie87 7y ago
    Yeah I've been having that issue. Along with the email inbox bug they claim to have fixed but is still very much live and well on my iPhone 7 Plus.
endorphone 7y ago
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.
ItsMattyG 7y ago
Google and Netflix are horrible for this. 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.
- golergka 7y ago
  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?
  - ItsMattyG 7y ago
    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."
tzs 7y ago
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.
capedape 7y ago
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.

hellomyguys 7y ago

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.

month13 7y ago
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.
- deergomoo 7y ago
  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. Absolutely bonkers.
  - yaroslavyar 7y ago
    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.
OGWhales 7y ago
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.

AlphaSite 7y ago

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.

neor 7y ago

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.

Dim0N 7y ago
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.
- ceejayoz 7y ago
  Yeah, it's an iOS 13 issue. Illustrated here: https://imgur.com/a/giqdiAR https://imgur.com/a/giqdiAR 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.
SebastianKra 7y ago
#3: just hold and drag immediately. This is how d&d works anywhere in the system. No need for a special action. One caveat is that you have to drag away from the context menu.

kienkien 7y ago

Too soon to say never

Razengan 7y ago
I never really agreed with many of the core fundamentals of Windows/Microsoft, before I had even discovered Macs as an alternative. Like the whole need for installers/uninstallers, worrying about drivers, separate menu bars for each window, and so on. Some of those things will never change as long as Windows remains Windows.

smcl 7y ago

"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 ...

Razengan 7y ago
> Yes! What on earth is this for? 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.
- smcl 7y ago
  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.
  - Tagbert 7y ago
    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.

crispyambulance 7y ago

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.

Razengan 7y ago
Oh man, wait till you try to develop for the latest Apple platforms.

emodendroket 7y ago

But see they have to do it this way, because labels and easy-to-understand icons are skeuomorphic.

deleted 7y ago

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whywhywhywhy 7y ago

> Because a flower for photos is not a connection that many people can intuitively make This icon only makes sense if you used earlier versions of iOS where the icon was an actual photo of a flower. Objectively bad design.

neuronic 7y ago
What makes it 10x worse for me is that the desktop Slack app icon looks 90% identical. The Photos app icon is a blurred version of the Slack app icon. Ugh. Edit: put them next to each other and took a screenshot to underline my post above: https://imgur.com/jPFJMx4 https://imgur.com/jPFJMx4

Razengan 7y ago

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.

Wowfunhappy 7y ago
Two separate points: 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.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
  > 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.
- Razengan 7y ago
  The Terminal/NSUserDefaults system is useless for navigation and discoverability of optional settings. How would I see all the options available for an app? We're back to googling and peer support. > For some reason, Apple has now decided that their simple platform needs to be as capable as the more advanced platform. Because they were getting crap for it.

xtracto 7y ago

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. It is super annoying.

tzs 7y ago

> 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.

Razengan 7y ago
> 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.

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kuzimoto 7y ago

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.

celticmusic 7y ago

> 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.

randomsearch 7y ago

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.

shinkarom 7y ago
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)