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Apple's search is so comically bad. For example, I can click on my applications, and I have an app called Chess. I can often type letters C-H-E-S-S and have it

• MeetingsBrowser 12d ago
  A common one I hit is "blu" showing bluetooth settings, but "blue" does not. Very frustrating to see the thing you are hoping for popup, but then go away as you type more if its name.
  • vladvasiliu 12d ago
    Windows does this, too. So I really wonder how come two companies implemented the same borked behavior.
    • jareklupinski 12d ago
      that space is probably sold to the same ad network by both OSs
    • WD-42 12d ago
      It would be interesting to learn what over engineered solution to fuzzy string matching is being used here to exhibit this behavior, so we never make the same mistake.
    • selcuka 12d ago
      Android keyboard does that too. When I start typing my email address, for example, the keyboard app suggests the correct email after a few characters, but if I keep typing it disappears from the suggestions.
      • Intermernet 12d ago
        I have to send a daily email that always has the subject starting with "Work Diary". If I type "W", it doesn't come up. If I type "Wo" it comes up as the 3rd auto-complete suggestion. If I type any more characters, I have to type the entire two words. This is on Android, but I have a feeling it's no better on iOS. I'd love to know the algorithm they're using for this. Fuzzy search seems like it was a mostly solved problem 20 years ago, and it's definitely worse than it was 10 years ago.
    • PalmPilotProMax 12d ago
      I bet it's some obscure MIT/BSD-licensed fuzzy matching library that both macOS and Windows uses.
  • rootusrootus 12d ago
    Just tried this on iOS 27 and both blu and blue showed me bluetooth settings. I saw someone in a different thread of this discussion mention resetting dictionaries helping with autocorrect, I wonder if there is something that would apply to this situation which helps.
    • rightnutwingjob 12d ago
      Just do a fresh install every two weeks. Aah those were the days. These are too, but those were as well.
    • 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 12d ago
      KDE gets it right, too. And it offers me THREE different chess games I could install!
  • talldan 12d ago
    Not just operating systems. Try the following on the IMDB app or website. Search 'True', you'll get True Detective and True Blood show up as the top results. That seems to work well. But then if you add a space making it 'True ', 'Bill Hader' is the top result!
    • justinclift 12d ago
      People still use IMDB after they introduced mandatory account registration to even see user reviews?
      • deleted 12d ago
        [deleted]
      • ahartmetz 12d ago
        Seems like someone got updated KPIs and decided to try the most ham-fisted enshittification move to raise registrations. Oh, it is now possible again to see about five top reviews per item. Seems like loss of traffic was rough.
    • tmastern 12d ago
      To be fair "Bill Hader" should be the top result no matter what you type.
• jeffrapp 12d ago
  It’s so much worse than that. This happens to me on a daily basis with both MacOS and iOS. Say I’m searching for Chess, I’ll get to the C-H and it’ll show the Chess app, but enter that next -E and it’s totally gone. It feels like the system is designed like “Well, I showed them Chess when they entered CH, but they kept typing, so they must not actually want Chess.” This ends up breaking for me like 95% of the time, and the only way around it is to search like “C”…wait for results…”H”…wait for results…etc. It’s maddening.
  • pwagland 12d ago
    This, and then, if you notice, and backspace to remove the 'e', it doesn't put chess back into the search results, since it figures that everything that matches 'che' also matches 'ch', and so doesn't update it. Sometimes, if you add the 'e' again, it _will_ find chess, sometimes you need to type the 's', or even the final 's' before it gives you chess back again. And sometimes, it finds what you want, but before you can select it, it decides that it has found something better, and places that in the place where you wanted to select, causing you to select the wrong thing. And then it thinks that because you selected this, it must be what you want, and starts to push it to the top… Search is definitely frustrating.
    • docjay 12d ago
      Weird, the same stupid crap happens with Windows. I’ve had to learn the exact N character search to find the things I use often; any more or less and the result with that name is buried. It’s like Microsoft and Apple are just pip installing same broken search package.
      • qsi 12d ago
        On Windows I use PowerToys' Alt+Space command bar which does a much better job. In fact, it's the only search I use on Windows.
        • docjay 12d ago
          Good info, I’ll check it out. Thanks!
• innagadadavida 12d ago
  Turn off all the web search and other domains that the index uses. Apple took a really brain dead decision to include web search in the results, and they are the worst. It is completely useless, and even though the recall has expanded, the precision is abysmal.
• scyzoryk_xyz 12d ago
  Why vibecode - obsidian
• deleted 12d ago
  [deleted]
• josephg 12d ago
  I got so annoyed at this recently I turned off spotlight entirely and replaced it with 3rd party software. I couldn’t be happier with my choice. Check out Raycast / Alfred.
  • TYPE_FASTER 12d ago
    Yeah, Alfred is one of the first things I install on a new MacOS install. Also enjoying Rectangles WM.
    • kccqzy 12d ago
      Alfred is wonderful for launching applications and custom actions, but it’s actually worse than Spotlight search for searching for files and folders. It finds a lot of results but inexplicably it likes to rank partial matches ahead of exact matches.
• amoorthy 12d ago
  I struggle daily with Finder's search. It cannot find files in my Downloads folder even if I type the exact name. Do I need to rebuild some index or some other setting?
  • heddhunter 12d ago
    It couldn't hurt. I don't have problems like that. mdutil -E -a That command will erase and rebuild Spotlight index on all volumes. Since Tahoe, Spotlight has multiple modes. You might have better luck forcing it into folder & files mode. That's command-2. So command-space, spotlight UI appears, keep holding command key, press 2. There's also 1 for applications only, 3 for "actions" and 4 for clipboard history.
    • amoorthy 10d ago
      Thank you so much! I rebuilt the index and it's much better. And good to know about command-2 option; that's helpful. Thank you again!
  • ljm 12d ago
    The annoying thing with Finder is when you're in a folder, you start to search, and then it defaults to "This Mac" and not the god damn folder you're in. Bloody daft.
    • danaris 12d ago
      That's because you have that set in your Finder Settings. With the Finder open, go to Settings > Advanced, and change the drop-down at the bottom to "Search the Current Folder". This is something I do on the first run of every new Mac I set up.
      • darkwater 11d ago
        No, that's because it's a default value, so the complain is 100% spot on. Bad defaults should be treated as a bug. "Search this Mac" should be confined to Spotlight OR as a fallback if the local folder doesn't return anything.
• SnowingXIV 12d ago
  Same example: I search Spotlight for “Voice Memos,” a built-in Apple app. Nothing. Ask Siri? It’s horrible.
• megablast 12d ago
  I’ll have it not show Xcode. It’s apples main developer ide. Most of the time it works. Then it gets into some weird loop. Only shows the Xcode website. Very helpful.
• Gravityloss 12d ago
  At some point I got the damn Chess app every time I wanted to switch to Chrome. You know, typing cmd-space, ch and enter. I've learned I can't remove Chess from my computer. After numerous incantations of various spells and reboots and updates I think it started working normally again. Breaking interfaces, Linus Torvalds had something to say about it that Apple should heed.
• fhub 12d ago
  FWIW, I find if I’m pushing the disk limit, Spotlight search becomes unusable. So I free up ~100GB (easy to do with iOS/Android dev artifacts, emulators, etc.) and then force a Spotlight re-index from the command line: sudo mdutil -E / You can check indexing status with: mdutil -s / After that it’s usually fine again until I start pushing the disk limit. Every sibling comment's issues I've experienced. But a reindex after freeing enough disk space seems to be a semi-stable solution for me. If only I could write a tool to remind me to free disk space before it screws up spotlight. It would be nice if MacOS put the index on its own partition.
  • parasubvert 12d ago
    Exactly this. Spotlight remains the best local search but it falls apart with disk space limits.
• opan 12d ago
  [dead]
• harha 12d ago
  Search feels like it used to be much better in finding a balance between showing app vs files vs web - feels really broken somehow and I wonder if there’s any setting I can change.
• kalleboo 12d ago
  For me it's gotten way better in iOS/macOS 27. It's also way faster. They claim to have rewritten the spotlight index to handle the new Siri integration.
  • paul7986 12d ago
    The new Siri UX needs improvement and to match the UX of talking to chatGPT. At least in settings have an option to keep the Siri window always on top (just have a prominent X out to go to the screen below) and always listening ready to continue your conversation like the experience is with chatGPT. Been running the beta since June -- on the latest beta now and 8 out of ten times to continue the conversation with Siri (most notably in the car with my phone docked) I have to constantly say "Hey Siri." One thing it's current UX has over chatGPT voice tech as it shows you the text and provides visuals while chatGPT's UI shows no text and or visuals.
• LoganDark 12d ago
  Ever since they re-did Spotlight I've had issues. When I type something and press Return it should activate. I shouldn't have to wait for it to populate the results and then press Return a second time. Moreover they've broken the ability for me to use Cmd to locate files quickly. I have to awkwardly Cmd-double-click the result with my cursor because trying to Cmd-Return triggers Ask Siri!
• djbiccboii 12d ago
  The first thing I do on any mac is replace the default search, usually with alfred.
  • gsinclair 12d ago
    Same. But Alfred is not immune to these frustrations.
    • djbiccboii 12d ago
      True, but it's way better in my experience.
• ramgine 12d ago
  I use Raycast and it’s much better than spotlight imo
  • jbverschoor 12d ago
    Raycast2 has its own index and it's way more reliable and fast. I don't understand how Apple does not care about many of the core services of their OS. Searching in Mail is a coinflip
• y1n0 12d ago
  It works fine for me but my wife has this exact problem. It’s absolutely mystifying how something so basic could get so messed up.
• pdntspa 12d ago
  Windows 10 start menu is the same way. How is it these things are so bad??
• x3n0ph3n3 12d ago
  This is why I use Alfred instead of spotlight. https://www.alfredapp.com/ https://www.alfredapp.com/
  • boxed 12d ago
    Alfred afaik uses the spotlight index too, so if that's the problem you're out of luck.
• sippingabonedry 12d ago
  Spotlight worked best in OS X 10.4. It was near instantaneous on what is now considered ancient hardware. It's been steadily downhill from there. Mostly because people still expect to use it to find "Recipe for Egg Salad.docx" without searching the entire Internet or executing some bizarre natural language query.
• dackdel 12d ago
  i still use alfred. wish it was there for ios
• undershirt 12d ago
  Cmd+space, cmd+1 to search apps only
• sandgiant 12d ago
  I did just that. Took me half a day. I haven't used Spotlight since. I did try alternative launchers, but they are all bloated. I just need an app launcher and simple arithmetic - that's all it does. https://github.com/askielboe/lightning-launcher https://github.com/askielboe/lightning-launcher
  • sincarne 12d ago
    Check out TinyStart. It’s 5€, and the best 5€ I’ve spent in ages. It’s super fast, and handles basic math. Even lets you put the results on the pasteboard! https://tinystart.app/ https://tinystart.app/
• Jackknife9 12d ago
  By default finder search searches all files rather than the current folder. You have to go to finder preferences to change it.
• bullfightonmars 12d ago
  The number one thing I want to use it for is opening folders eg Downloads. It has such a hard time ever recommending the right thing.
• dbgrman 12d ago
  alfred and quicksilver etc. all work surprisingly well.
• torginus 12d ago
  On my incredibly midrange PC that has a midrange SSD in it, the Linux `find` and `grep` commands usually can find stuff much quicker than any 'accelerated' and 'cached' desktop search, even though the only caching they usually get is when the files are in the page cache because I have interacted with them. Even when that's not the case, it's faster AND more accurate that GNOME search or whatever search is in Windows Explorer. Windows is the same - searching the fs is faster and more accurate than using these 'quick search' tools, which are borderline broken.
• lostlogin 12d ago
  > Apple's search is so comically bad. There needs to be more rage at search in Mail.app. It’s quicker to rollback through them all than it is to use search, but when you get tens or hundreds a day it’s excruciating. Please Apple, fix email search.
  • geden 12d ago
    I quit Apple Mail (due to its poor handling of Gmail accounts) and started using Mimestream years ago. Truly excellent mail client. Actively and thoughtfully developed. Paid but worth every penny.
  • parasubvert 12d ago
    They did fix it (macOS 27, my experience). I have like 600,000 mail messages - there was a period where Mail search was awful but these days it's fast and accurate. It really comes down to whether you need to rebuild your index.
• realty_geek 12d ago
  This should be the top comment!!! It is so incredibly bad that for years I have assumed it must be me or my specific laptop. And then the years go by I just accept it. Anytime Apple is mentioned "comically bad search" should be mentioned. It is the association I have in my mind.
• Razengan 12d ago
  What makes it amazingly worse is that all of this USED to work SO much better! Use EasyFind for no-nonsense file search: https://www.devontechnologies.com/apps/freeware https://www.devontechnologies.com/apps/freeware
• sgt 12d ago
  You mean, like this? https://imgur.com/a/pmtihO1 https://imgur.com/a/pmtihO1 That's a user error, you simply had "This Mac" selected (preselected) instead of narrowing scope to be Applications.
• parasubvert 12d ago
  Spotlight works for me across files and apps on Mac, iOS, visionOS, pretty well - it has failed occasionally but usually it's because my disk is full. I haven't really found anything better (Alfred is good but is just a wrapper around Spotlight)
• calderwoodra 12d ago
  Use Raycast, and never look back
• abustamam 11d ago
  I thought i was going to greener pastures when I switched from Windows to Ubuntu but Ubuntu native search is pretty bad too. I typed "printer" so I can get to my printer settings and the first three are printer icons/emoji. I cant imagine why these would be more important
  • NetMageSCW 11d ago
    The good part is you have the source so you can just fork it, fix the code to prioritize results properly, compile and install it to fix Ubuntu, then see if you can get your patch upstreamed. /s
    • abustamam 11d ago
      Just vibe code it my man! /s
  • abustamam 10d ago
    I joked about vibe coding the solution to this but I did have Claude tell me how to fix it and apparently there is a config to change search sources.