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App Library: I hate it
- Thread starter QCassidy352
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While more options would generally be good to have, it seems that this particular feature is meant to be in the form that it's in so that it basically works on its own without someone needing to or even being able to manage it -- a hassle-free location for all apps together for those who might care to use that instead of organizing things themselves on their home screens or using things in an unorganized way across their home screens.
Given how the Today View has been treated since the beginning and all these years, doesn't seem like that's all that likely. That said, hard to say what a company might or might not ultimately do at one point or another.
That has more or less been the way that many features have been treated over many years (even beyond iOS and Apple, realistically speaking), with the Today Screen essentially being the most directly related comparison.
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Thanks for that 😁 I do something similar.
I like what he has done. Biggest issue I run into something like that (did something similar to his layout in beta testing) was the accuracy of Siri to predict what I need, the stackable widgets having to hunt through them, and the App library apps really making no sense as to placement.
I could see this really being usable if, and that’s a big if, Siri ever gets smart and the App library being far more flexible and able to handle shortcuts.
My layout:
Today containing a few 3rd party widgets
Screen 1 apps I use frequently throughout the day
Screen 2 apps I use maybe daily and shortcuts
Screen 3 folders that are task or project related (ex: school or ERP or ...)
Screen 4 (if needed) overflow apps in folders
Renaming or redefining or ... ?
I look in my Productivity and Finance library folder and have 25 apps. WTH?
Apple needs to come up with something better or allow devs to better flexibility to classify / define where their apps go.
Too many apps can fall into mutliple categories especially depending on how the user uses them.
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Probably why I am one of those who would like to see the alphabetical listing being allowed to be the default view. The ability to alphabetize my Android screen is one feature I find useful and feel it would be here too.
I just found out about how powerful the Siri Suggestions widget is, and I have two of those on the main page, thus putting all my apps in the App Library. I love this widget because it brings in apps I want to use based on past history and it's making things very simplified. I'm getting used to the app library, but I wish it was a swipe up rather than a swipe all the way to the right. Also, I wish you could keep it in list form by default or reorganize the folders. What I don't get is you can already have a listing of apps on the Apple watch, why couldn't the App Library be that way as well. Or you could make the App Library like the bubble app format from the Watch.
Great, no problem! Just let mom have it and me disable it.
People want those that don’t like the feature to ignore it, but those same people can’t even ignore this thread.
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No one here can really change any of it as it's all up to Apple. Most of the commentary is on various misconceptions and inconsistencies, as well as what Apple likely sees it all as and how it has seen similar type of features over the years.
That is part of the “misconception”?
Fidelity app to me is Investment - not Productivity & Finance
Contacts app to me is Information - not Productivity & Finance
Kodex app to me is Development - not ... it’s not even in my App Library folders. It is in the alphabetic listing though.
How an app is labeled, what folders are available for its placement, and how it is actually used all can be very different.
At this stage it is like Apple is trying to chunk the apps into “generic” folders.
And that part of it has been commented on a number of times that this appears to be related to how things are categorized in the App Store based on how the developers (likely with some interaction on Apple's part as well) set things up -- it's something that can likely be improved on, especially now that it all has gotten more prominence beyond just the App Store where it used to be.
However, when it comes to customizing things to one's use if the desired organization differs from the automated ones, it seems that the approach for that is to continue using what has been there for a long time and continues to be there: setting up one's own home screens and folders.
you've just proved my point.
people are saying they dont like something and you are arguing that they have misconceptions, are inconsistent or are over exaggerating it.
why cant you just accept that they dont like it?
Well, looks like misconceptions and exaggerations might be in play even there as the point that I was making related to it all is being pretty much completely overlooked -- in many cases people aren't just stating that, they are stating a variety of other things (various of which are often enough misconceptions of one sort or another or inconsistencies if not exaggerations). Many of the replies are related to that and not just simply to someone liking or not liking something.
Don’t think anyone is not accepting of that fact (although the name of the thread alone gives rise to the exaggerations in play).
I for one have stated many times that I’m not a fan of it.
I don’t use it by not swiping to the right.
I don’t use the older widgets on my phone either - so I don’t swipe left.
Neither of these are inconvenient to me. If I do accidentally swipe too far then an opposing swipe and I’m out.
The way some people have carried on you’d think that the upgrade ripped apart users home screen folders and spread the icons far and wide.
I know you can keep your folders as organized as you want. I was looking at it from the perspective of what if I wanted to use the App Library to its fullest and how I think they could improve on it by adding a way to organize it yourself.
The toggle is for anyone that decides they don’t want it turned on at all. I don’t think anyone is saying that Apple should do away with the App Library entirely but rather offer us a choice.
Having categories is fine however the user should decide where each app fits best. As it is now I will likely never use it. I’m not upset about it by any means. It’s up to Apple to make it better if they want more people to get on board using it. JMO
I understand, it just that it seems Apple has a somewhat different take on it and its use. Options would be good to have, but with something like this it appears that it's not that likely. It looks like for those who prefer their own organization the previously existing methods for that are basically still the way to go (at least so far).
Was just looking at it again just now and it seems like I was right about how it was going to show you different things. The Social stack moved up and Creativity switched with Information & Reading.
Then what about apps that go in your renamed category, that doesn’t suit its new name, but did suit the original? You still get inconsistency.
For people that want their own structure, use Home Screen folders. For those that don’t want the hassle of that, and want folders that are sorted for them, they have the App Library.
There are people that want the ability to ditch the Home Screen and just use the App Library and the Today view, but they can’t get that either
I have no use for the Today view. Never have, but I don’t kick up a fuss that I cannot disable it.
The comparison stands.
While conversing with @C DM I noticed that the app Kodex was in my Development folder, in the App Library alphabetic list, but not in any of the App Library folders.
Oops?
[automerge]1600713779[/automerge]
For you. We disagree.
But that’s okay.
Oops?
[automerge]1600713779[/automerge]
For you. We disagree.
But that’s okay.
I actually agree that there will be some people who just want the App Library and the today view, in fact there is part of me that thinks that would be less annoying than what we have now, but as you say, its weirdly not possible. I just tried it by putting all apps into the App Library thinking surely it will take away the blank home page but no it sits there, with the shade for the menu bar and a blank screen. stupid.
see we could all be happy, allow both the home page and the App Library to be hidden, obviously only one at a time and no one can complain.
Wow...17 pages of this hot steaming mess. Well, at least its all in this thread and not the main beta thread.
I am always open to changing my homescreen, because personally, if I don't try a new setup for sometime, I won't know for sure if it works better for me than my current setup.
I have 46 apps and all of them are in a single homescreen, in some way.
Two of them are as app icons, the rest of them are in folders. I also have 4 small widgets.
That way, I have access to everything without ever swipping, left or right.
Still, I was tempted to try the App Library, because I prefer some medium widgets, instead of their smaller versions. For example, I prefer the medium Batteries widget, because it also shows percentage, or the medium Weather widget, because it shows more info.
So, I thought that maybe, I could try deleting some of my less used folders, to make space for medium widgets. I could still access the apps in App Library.
I did this for about 10 days and then returned to my previous setup. Here are the reasons:
One thing I didn't like about the App Library, is that when opening or closing any category folder, the visual effect is slower, compared to the same effect when opening or closing a common folder in the homescreen.
Most people might not even notice the difference, but to me, it was really annoying.
Another issue I had, is that the folders were often changing positions. It made it harder for me to find what I wanted.
Once I was getting used to where my Entertainment folder was, suddenly, it moved a row above.
I also didn't like the fact that I could not disable the Recently Added folder.
I have disabled Siri Suggestions all over my phone, so I never came across that one, but Recently Added is not possible to be removed.
I don't like seeing duplicate icons and duplicate badges, because if an app is in the Recently Added folder, it also appears in its Category folder.
Lastly, I understand that most people consider the fact that App Library makes your most used apps easily clickable an advantage, but to me, this is totally useless.
Because my most used apps, are already placed on my homescreen and it's easier for me to launch them that way.
For my kind of usage, It would be useful to have a setting: "if the app is in the homescreen and is always launched that way, don't place it on the top 3 apps of the category folder".
But probably, this will never happen
I have 46 apps and all of them are in a single homescreen, in some way.
Two of them are as app icons, the rest of them are in folders. I also have 4 small widgets.
That way, I have access to everything without ever swipping, left or right.
Still, I was tempted to try the App Library, because I prefer some medium widgets, instead of their smaller versions. For example, I prefer the medium Batteries widget, because it also shows percentage, or the medium Weather widget, because it shows more info.
So, I thought that maybe, I could try deleting some of my less used folders, to make space for medium widgets. I could still access the apps in App Library.
I did this for about 10 days and then returned to my previous setup. Here are the reasons:
One thing I didn't like about the App Library, is that when opening or closing any category folder, the visual effect is slower, compared to the same effect when opening or closing a common folder in the homescreen.
Most people might not even notice the difference, but to me, it was really annoying.
Another issue I had, is that the folders were often changing positions. It made it harder for me to find what I wanted.
Once I was getting used to where my Entertainment folder was, suddenly, it moved a row above.
I also didn't like the fact that I could not disable the Recently Added folder.
I have disabled Siri Suggestions all over my phone, so I never came across that one, but Recently Added is not possible to be removed.
I don't like seeing duplicate icons and duplicate badges, because if an app is in the Recently Added folder, it also appears in its Category folder.
Lastly, I understand that most people consider the fact that App Library makes your most used apps easily clickable an advantage, but to me, this is totally useless.
Because my most used apps, are already placed on my homescreen and it's easier for me to launch them that way.
For my kind of usage, It would be useful to have a setting: "if the app is in the homescreen and is always launched that way, don't place it on the top 3 apps of the category folder".
But probably, this will never happen
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