7 ms·

Well, the screen estate on a mobile device is limited, so the number of actions that are easy to discover needs to be limited too - otherwise the UI would be cl

Well, the screen estate on a mobile device is limited, so the number of actions that are easy to discover needs to be limited too - otherwise the UI would be cluttered. I find Apple good at balancing this. Notice how actions that he mentions are just quicker alternatives to stuff that one can already do in another way.

lcuff 4y ago
Not 'just' quicker. Easier. Less frustrating. Important elements. This is my experience of using the long-spacebar technique for placing the cursor. Digressing: An AI noticing that someone has moved the cursor several time without ever typing anything could pop up a "Want me to show you other ways to move the cursor?" dialog, and teach the 'hard to discover' technique. I await the day ...
- jonchang 4y ago
  Sounds like a rebranding of the much-reviled Clippy.
  - lcuff 4y ago
    I never used Clippy. Reviled? You mean Microsoft took the idea of 'context appropriate useful suggestions' and bungled the user interface? Inconceivable!
- joshgachnang 4y ago
  AI Clippy!
- rajeshr 4y ago
  The Calculator app could suggest that I can swipe on the display at the top if it notices that I'm using 'C' often. This would not even need an AI. I wonder if there are UI frameworks that support the detection and suggestion of "better" actions?
ncann 4y ago
That excuse doesn't hold for the calculator example, where the 0 button takes up 2 spaces for no good reason, and they could easily added a backspace button instead.
- hk__2 4y ago
  > That excuse doesn't hold for the calculator example, where the 0 button takes up 2 spaces for no good reason, and they could easily added a backspace button instead. It would be a really weird place for a backspace button and you would always tap on it by mistake.
  - ncann 4y ago
    It's literally how the Android calculator is, 0 button -> . button -> backspace button. No one ever complained about it. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.calculator&hl=en_CA&gl=US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.and...
    - hk__2 4y ago
      Thanks; I stand corrected.
yccs27 4y ago
This seems crucial to me - most of these 'nondiscoverable' actions are shortcuts, and there is another discoverable way to achieve the same outcome. They are similar to keyboard shortcuts in that way, they just help power users who know them. (The calculator backspace seems to be an exception, which is why I also dislike it.)
- kemayo 4y ago
  There isn't a backspace in the calculator, but the swipe is still (basically) a shortcut for something which does have a button. Pressing the C button clears the current input entirely, after all.

lcuff 4y ago

Not 'just' quicker. Easier. Less frustrating. Important elements. This is my experience of using the long-spacebar technique for placing the cursor. Digressing: An AI noticing that someone has moved the cursor several time without ever typing anything could pop up a "Want me to show you other ways to move the cursor?" dialog, and teach the 'hard to discover' technique. I await the day ...

jonchang 4y ago
Sounds like a rebranding of the much-reviled Clippy.
- lcuff 4y ago
  I never used Clippy. Reviled? You mean Microsoft took the idea of 'context appropriate useful suggestions' and bungled the user interface? Inconceivable!
joshgachnang 4y ago
AI Clippy!
rajeshr 4y ago
The Calculator app could suggest that I can swipe on the display at the top if it notices that I'm using 'C' often. This would not even need an AI. I wonder if there are UI frameworks that support the detection and suggestion of "better" actions?

ncann 4y ago

That excuse doesn't hold for the calculator example, where the 0 button takes up 2 spaces for no good reason, and they could easily added a backspace button instead.

hk__2 4y ago
> That excuse doesn't hold for the calculator example, where the 0 button takes up 2 spaces for no good reason, and they could easily added a backspace button instead. It would be a really weird place for a backspace button and you would always tap on it by mistake.
- ncann 4y ago
  It's literally how the Android calculator is, 0 button -> . button -> backspace button. No one ever complained about it. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.calculator&hl=en_CA&gl=US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.and...
  - hk__2 4y ago
    Thanks; I stand corrected.

yccs27 4y ago

This seems crucial to me - most of these 'nondiscoverable' actions are shortcuts, and there is another discoverable way to achieve the same outcome. They are similar to keyboard shortcuts in that way, they just help power users who know them. (The calculator backspace seems to be an exception, which is why I also dislike it.)

kemayo 4y ago
There isn't a backspace in the calculator, but the swipe is still (basically) a shortcut for something which does have a button. Pressing the C button clears the current input entirely, after all.