Confused on the App Library's organization

[Donnation]

I'm really confused on the app Library. None of it seems very organized and I don't see how having these random folders that Apple decides what goes in them is beneficial.

Example: I moved Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram off of my home screen. There is no folder that they went in besides "recent" and the only apps that Apple puts in my "social" folder are Phone, Messages, and FaceTime. Is this how this is going to be? Without this being editable why would allowing Apple decide where to put my apps be better than me sticking them in folders? Or maybe I'm just confused on what the app library is supposed to do. Another example is that if I move WhatsApp from my home screen shouldn't it go into the same folder as messages or put into a folder that is something other than "recents?"

I'm hoping that this is just due to it being Beta but if not I don't see how this is supposed to be better than folders in any way. Am I missing something here with this feature?

 

[casperes1996]

It's not really folders, but more of an "others" pile. Put what you really want on the home screen and the apps where you only really need to respond to notifications or perhaps use for parking or something where you don't want it to be on your home screen, but be there somewhere when you search or need it.

Facebook et. al. should be in Social; The organisation is based on the app's Category label in the App Store - It's the app's responsibility to properly categorise itself. For custom installed apps with no category they fall under the name of the dev certificate

 

[Donnation]

It's not really folders, but more of an "others" pile. Put what you really want on the home screen and the apps where you only really need to respond to notifications or perhaps use for parking or something where you don't want it to be on your home screen, but be there somewhere when you search or need it.

Facebook et. al. should be in Social; The organisation is based on the app's Category label in the App Store - It's the app's responsibility to properly categorise itself. For custom installed apps with no category they fall under the name of the dev certificate

Thank you for this, that does make it clearer for me now. So I would guess that when this is rolled out that the apps should at some point go into the correct categories when if they are labeled as such by the devs.

 

[casperes1996]

Thank you for this, that does make it clearer for me now. So I would guess that when this is rolled out that the apps should at some point go into the correct categories when if they are labeled as such by the devs.

For me they are already in their proper place; Have you tried restarting the phone? May just be a weird state bug

 

[Donnation]

For me they are already in their proper place; Have you tried restarting the phone? May just be a weird state bug

Ah that totally fixed it and it makes much more sense now. Thank you so much.

 

[casperes1996]

Ah that totally fixed it and it makes much more sense now. Thank you so much.

Hehe, cheers; Glad I could help

 

[Ansath]

The apps are put in folders based on the Primary & Secondary categories chosen by the Devs, I'm not sure which it's using, or if it's picking randomly though.

 

[dk001]

So Apple is deciding the categories? That is lame at best. Stifling/Confining at worst.

- Paler and GPSDiagnostic under Reading?
- Feedback under Other?
- Couple of apps under my name (as a Category)?
- Why are most of my Financials under Productivity?
- Only 3 of 5 games under Games?
- Calculator under Education and Utilities?

If Apple wants us to migrate from Folders to App Library some customization needs to be allowed.
At this point I just wish I could turn App Library off.

 

[casperes1996]

So Apple is deciding the categories? That is lame at best. Stifling/Confining at worst.

- Paler and GPSDiagnostic under Reading?
- Feedback under Other?
- Couple of apps under my name (as a Category)?
- Why are most of my Financials under Productivity?
- Only 3 of 5 games under Games?
- Calculator under Education and Utilities?

If Apple wants us to migrate from Folders to App Library some customization needs to be allowed.
At this point I just wish I could turn App Library off.

They don't want you to "migrate from folders to App Library". Folders are for you to organise things how you want on the home screen with a level of hierarchy. The App Library is not taking the place of that. It's not part of the Home Screen, just like the Today View isn't. It's like the "Here's everything" dump. And things listed under your name should only be apps you've code signed so unless you're talking about apps you've written in Xcode, I've no clue how that happened; Must be a bug.

 

[Ansath]

So Apple is deciding the categories? That is lame at best. Stifling/Confining at worst.

- Paler and GPSDiagnostic under Reading?
- Feedback under Other?
- Couple of apps under my name (as a Category)?
- Why are most of my Financials under Productivity?
- Only 3 of 5 games under Games?
- Calculator under Education and Utilities?

If Apple wants us to migrate from Folders to App Library some customization needs to be allowed.
At this point I just wish I could turn App Library off.

See my post above yours..... they're driven by what the Dev has chosen.

 

[dk001]

They don't want you to "migrate from folders to App Library". Folders are for you to organise things how you want on the home screen with a level of hierarchy. The App Library is not taking the place of that. It's not part of the Home Screen, just like the Today View isn't. It's like the "Here's everything" dump. And things listed under your name should only be apps you've code signed so unless you're talking about apps you've written in Xcode, I've no clue how that happened; Must be a bug.

Thanks for the reply. That's why I wish I could turn it off.
Once Folders was introduced, I made an effort to utilize these and ended up with 8 folders specific to my needs. Based on that and how I arrange my apps, I have no need to "Search" for apps and App Library is useless for me unless it is a Folder replacement.

Have to wait and see what is allowed at release. However I sadly doubt it will be the flexibility I need.
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See my post above yours..... they're driven by what the Dev has chosen.

But will Devs be allowed to decide or will they be forced to pick from a predefined list?
I worry it will be the latter.
Some flexibility would be nice but not the WWW.

 

[casperes1996]

But will Devs be allowed to decide or will they be forced to pick from a predefined list?
I worry it will be the latter.
Some flexibility would be nice but not the WWW.

It's the App Store categories. That's the list. If Devs could write their own category for the App Library you'd wind up with a full category for each app with only 1 app in each. A predefined list is better with this type of organisation system

But yeah, I agree it should be something you can turn off

 

[Ansath]

Thanks for the reply. That's why I wish I could turn it off.
Once Folders was introduced, I made an effort to utilize these and ended up with 8 folders specific to my needs. Based on that and how I arrange my apps, I have no need to "Search" for apps and App Library is useless for me unless it is a Folder replacement.

Have to wait and see what is allowed at release. However I sadly doubt it will be the flexibility I need.
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But will Devs be allowed to decide or will they be forced to pick from a predefined list?
I worry it will be the latter.
Some flexibility would be nice but not the WWW.

They pick a Primary & Secondary from the categories list provided by Apple as part of building their apps, it's been in existence forever, it's not new to iOS 14. The categories are part of the App Store, so of course it has to be pre-defined. You cannot have devs making up random categories! Apple built the App Library to tap into what the Dev chooses from the list, but what I am not sure on is which one it's using (like to think Primary, but there might be some logic around other apps of same category though).

Read more on categories here:

Categories and Discoverability - App Store - Apple Developer

The categories you assign to your app help users discover it on the App Store. Learn how to choose the most accurate and effective categories for your app.

developer.apple.com

Simply put, if you think an App has the wrong category, communicate with the Developer about it.

 

[hlfway2anywhere]

I don't follow the logic that the app library should be able to be turned off. Literally just don't swipe to it. i use the first two pages of my home screen and haven't looked at App Library for two weeks.

 

[jhfenton]

I don't follow the logic that the app library should be able to be turned off. Literally just don't swipe to it. i use the first two pages of my home screen and haven't looked at App Library for two weeks.

1. I want to make sure that there are no accidentally "missing" apps that aren't showing up on my home screen. (I have every app categorized, and everything fits on one screen.) As long as the App Library is turned on, there's a possibility that I'm not seeing every app on my home screen.

2. I occasionally swipe right by accident. I would prefer there be nothing to swipe right to.

 

[dk001]

They pick a Primary & Secondary from the categories list provided by Apple as part of building their apps, it's been in existence forever, it's not new to iOS 14. The categories are part of the App Store, so of course it has to be pre-defined. You cannot have devs making up random categories! Apple built the App Library to tap into what the Dev chooses from the list, but what I am not sure on is which one it's using (like to think Primary, but there might be some logic around other apps of same category though).

Read more on categories here:

Categories and Discoverability - App Store - Apple Developer

The categories you assign to your app help users discover it on the App Store. Learn how to choose the most accurate and effective categories for your app.

developer.apple.com

Simply put, if you think an App has the wrong category, communicate with the Developer about it.

That is the issue. It doesn't have the flexibility I need.
Banks? - Financial not Productivity
Cloud Accounts - I have a Folder called ... Cloud. Not Productivity.
A Folder called Social - however ...
I use 3 different calculators and they show up in 3 different App library folders.

You likely get my point. Generality is great for indexing but pretty useless for a persons normal needs.
This looks more to be driven by "Search" than anything else.
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I don't follow the logic that the app library should be able to be turned off. Literally just don't swipe to it. i use the first two pages of my home screen and haven't looked at App Library for two weeks.

If it is a function not being used and adds a page of "crap". If I look in "Productivity", it is chock full of stuff that I would have to dig into just to see if what I need is there.

Personally, If I don't need it, why am I forced to have it on a screen? At least give the ability to hide it or something.
Right now it is an object I am testing. Outside of that, nada in terms of useful.
MHO YOMV

 

[Ansath]

That is the issue. It doesn't have the flexibility I need.
Banks? - Financial not Productivity
Cloud Accounts - I have a Folder called ... Cloud. Not Productivity.
A Folder called Social - however ...
I use 3 different calculators and they show up in 3 different App library folders.

You likely get my point. Generality is great for indexing but pretty useless for a persons normal needs.
This looks more to be driven by "Search" than anything else.

Again, it’s not Apple’s fault, it’s the developers fault.

It sounds like you’re better off making your own folders. App Library isn’t for you, but is useful for other people.

 

[swandy]

1. I want to make sure that there are no accidentally "missing" apps that aren't showing up on my home screen. (I have every app categorized, and everything fits on one screen.) As long as the App Library is turned on, there's a possibility that I'm not seeing every app on my home screen.

2. I occasionally swipe right by accident. I would prefer there be nothing to swipe right to.

(1) Apps are initially installed both on your Home Screen and the App Library. You then have the option of moving it to wherever you want or delete it only from the Home Screen if you only want it in the App Library. There is no possibility that something you installed is maintained only in the in the Library unless you removed it from your various Home Screens.
(2) So you can quickly swipe left if you hit it by accident. Not a huge issue. (But there should be an option of not having it for those who feel it is useless. Personally I like the idea - just not the folder implementation.)

 

[Donnation]

I like the idea of it, I just wish it was customizable. I'd like to be able to name the different folders as well as put in them what I wanted to put in them. I guess that's the same as putting them in folders though so it doesn't really matter.

 

[jhfenton]

(1) Apps are initially installed both on your Home Screen and the App Library. You then have the option of moving it to wherever you want or delete it only from the Home Screen if you only want it in the App Library. There is no possibility that something you installed is maintained only in the in the Library unless you removed it from your various Home Screens.
(2) So you can quickly swipe left if you hit it by accident. Not a huge issue. (But there should be an option of not having it for those who feel it is useless. Personally I like the idea - just not the folder implementation.)

I agree that there shouldn't be a possibility of a "missing" or "hidden" app that I don't know about, but that assumes no accidents or bugs. All it takes is hitting "Eliminar de la pantalla de Inicio" instead of "Eliminar" and you have a "hidden" app that you thought you deleted. (I haven't seen those iOS 14 options in English yet.)

It's not a big deal, but I'd prefer the option of turning off App Library. All it offers is a weak implementation of what I already do myself (i.e. organization).

 

[Marlon DLTH :)]

1. I want to make sure that there are no accidentally "missing" apps that aren't showing up on my home screen. (I have every app categorized, and everything fits on one screen.) As long as the App Library is turned on, there's a possibility that I'm not seeing every app on my home screen.

2. I occasionally swipe right by accident. I would prefer there be nothing to swipe right to.

Apple made the App Library in a way that you can completely ignore it if you don’t like it. All your apps will show up on the Home screen unless you change that in Settings.

 

[jhfenton]

Apple made the App Library in a way that you can completely ignore it if you don’t like it. All your apps will show up on the Home screen unless you change that in Settings.

Until you accidentally "delete" an app from the Home screen when you meant to delete the app from the phone because the two options are right above/below each other.

 

[itsmilo]

I’d like to be able to hide apps from the App Library or if I toggle them off for Siri & Search, it should also not appear in the App Library. I don’t want my „naughty“ Apps to be shown IN YOUR FACE so to speak in the „Recent“ category for everyone to see

 

[Donnation]

I’d like to be able to hide apps from the App Library or if I toggle them off for Siri & Search, it should also not appear in the App Library. I don’t want my „naughty“ Apps to be shown IN YOUR FACE so to speak in the „Recent“ category for everyone to see

Lol what constitutes a naughty app? Just curious as that made me laugh.

 

[itsmilo]

Lol what constitutes a naughty app? Just curious as that made me laugh.

the Grindr App for example. I don’t need my little nephew to click on it, even if it’s by mistake.