Does anybody actually LIKE the new iOS 18 Photos app? [MERGED]

[adrianlondon]

I found the OLD Photos badly designed, as those tabs at the bottom never seemed clear. How to get to recents, how to see albums, where the "deleted" album/folder is for example.

Maybe because I never worked out a smooth workflow (I'd just wait until everything sync'd to my laptop and work from there), I'm happy with the new version.

I usually export and delete the photos after a while (I'm currently sticking with the 5GB iCloud size), and never used anything AI/curated such as memories, holidays, people finder etc..

 

[gank41]

I found the OLD Photos badly designed, as those tabs at the bottom never seemed clear. How to get to recents, how to see albums, where the "deleted" album/folder is for example.

Ha! I was literally about to post how much I MISS the tabs at the bottom, and apparently I'm not alone considering we're on page 8 of this thread

I also DON'T export my photos and currently have over 65,000 photos & videos in my collection. I DO like some of the new utilities, but I miss the older tabs at the bottom so much. If they'd added all of this stuff to a tab and left the Library tab alone, I'd be happy.

 

[jsmith189]

This is gonna sound real boomer of me, but honestly, I miss opening my Photos app and just having my gallery and any folders I made in a list, and just having my photos there without the clutter.

I open the app now, and it’s a split screen between tiny thumbnails of my photos (which I can scroll between for different album options), which I have to kinda awkwardly scroll up to get to, and a whole bottom section of stuff I, to be honest, never use. Recent days, people, pinned collections, memories, trips, albums, shared albums, featured photos, media types, utilities, wallpaper suggestions… like c’mon lol. I will give them credit for the customise option though, I’ve turned the majority of it off.

Gimme a photos app that has one “classic” tab down the bottom (just a list of my albums), and a “discovery” tab with all the rest of it. I kinda just hate going in there now.

 

[gank41]

This is gonna sound real boomer of me, but honestly, I miss opening my Photos app and just having my gallery and any folders I made in a list, and just having my photos there without the clutter.

I open the app now, and it’s a split screen between tiny thumbnails of my photos (which I can scroll between for different album options), which I have to kinda awkwardly scroll up to get to, and a whole bottom section of stuff I, to be honest, never use. Recent days, people, pinned collections, memories, trips, albums, shared albums, featured photos, media types, utilities, wallpaper suggestions… like c’mon lol. I will give them credit for the customise option though, I’ve turned the majority of it off.

Gimme a photos app that has one “classic” tab down the bottom (just a list of my albums), and a “discovery” tab with all the rest of it. I kinda just hate going in there now.

Yes! All I want is to have the ability to (like before for years) start the app on a Tab at the bottom for my Albums. Change can be good! I get it! But removing the tabs at the bottom, forcing folks to have all of the clutter turned on by default? Clearly, most folks are customizing it to turn most of that clutter off... Maybe read the room, Apple?

 

[fw85]

Yes! All I want is to have the ability to (like before for years) start the app on a Tab at the bottom for my Albums. Change can be good! I get it! But removing the tabs at the bottom, forcing folks to have all of the clutter turned on by default? Clearly, most folks are customizing it to turn most of that clutter off... Maybe read the room, Apple?

Do you really think generalizations like that, derived from this thread, somehow represent 'most people'?

It's naive to think that Apple doesn't use a bunch of telemetry throughout their apps to get a precise picture of what features the actual majority of people use and how they navigate these apps.
Perhaps they realized that most people actually never do anything beyond opening the photos app at the default photos grid, scrolling it and *at most* zooming in or out. No albums or anything more complex beyond that.
And so now the main view has been simplified to address the usage of the majority, and a new suite of tools is available to those who like to tinker - revealed by a *truly inaccessible* single swipe...

You might just be reading the wrong room.

 

[gank41]

You might just be reading the wrong room.

Might not be many votes, but it clearly shows otherwise...

 

[jagostini0894]

It seems like such a clear downgrade in every conceivable aspect. I HATE it. I surely can’t bet the only one, I imagine there is going to be some backlash once the wider public sees how it changed, when iOS 18 officially drops.
Way for Apple to ruin something that was simple and functional. Sometimes they don’t know when to stop rethinking the wheel.

I have been with Apple since 2003, and owned all iPhones, several iPads, IMACS, and Mac laptops. I am considering moving on to Google. I do not like it but wow. I have not seen any improvements on any of the Apple Apps. Their mail is a joke, their photo god forbid that you need to do a restore, resulting in lost of dates and places. In reality, Apple sales hardware, and I am tired of using google and Microsoft office for everything. The Time Machine is horrible. Finally, google gives its customer 15GB free of space, and Apple 5GB. I think I rather have functionality than security. If the NSA or FBI wants to look at my cals to my mother, sister, etc... that is fine with me. I will hate the move but I am considering it.

 

[gwhizkids]

I have been with Apple since 2003, and owned all iPhones, several iPads, IMACS, and Mac laptops. I am considering moving on to Google. I do not like it but wow. I have not seen any improvements on any of the Apple Apps. Their mail is a joke, their photo god forbid that you need to do a restore, resulting in lost of dates and places. In reality, Apple sales hardware, and I am tired of using google and Microsoft office for everything. The Time Machine is horrible. Finally, google gives its customer 15GB free of space, and Apple 5GB. I think I rather have functionality than security. If the NSA or FBI wants to look at my cals to my mother, sister, etc... that is fine with me. I will hate the move but I am considering it.

Wrong thread.

 

[fw85]

Might not be many votes, but it clearly shows otherwise...


View attachment 2400111

Even dignifying this miniscule sample with a rational thought - it's 12 people who think it's okay or better, compared to 8 who hate it.
Unless I suck at maths, that's the majority of people in this thread not hating it...

 

[pappkristof]

Even dignifying this miniscule sample with a rational thought - it's 12 people who think it's okay or better, compared to 8 who hate it.
Unless I suck at maths, that's the majority of people in this thread not hating it...

Exactly the opposite. 12 people (41%) hate it, and only 8 people (27%) like the change.

It’s not a representative sample though.

 

[spac3duck]

The criticism I've read so far was almost entirely subjective stuff, often without even realizing that e.g. you can customize the app to your liking now.

Any attempted redesign of such a long-established core app is sure to rub some people the wrong way as it breaks a habit.
That doesn't mean the redesign is bad, or unnecessary.

I think it's a nice new design that somehow manages to be simpler by default, and more complex when you need it to be.
That's not an easy balance to strike.

Agreed it is challenging to redesign.

The issue for me is the file management implementation. I agree the ios18 photos app appears minimalist and the focus is on “viewing” the photos and videos/content. However my specific use case is often trying to find a specific thing within a folder/album that I have created. This redesign has overly complicated that process and I don’t want to rely on “searching” for it through the search function or scrolling and swiping through everything.

My fix suggestion would be to maintain what they have to keep their direction but please add in a hidden list function much like we have in iOS Mail that is kept in the top left and expands when you select it. That can enable those who specifically need a better file management system to use it as they see fit.

 

[twdawson]

I have just watched a few videos on this and I will not be upgrading. I was going to just for the new features like search in the journal and the passwords app.

 

[fw85]

Exactly the opposite. 12 people (41%) hate it, and only 8 people (27%) like the change.

It’s not a representative sample though.

I was referring to the screenshot at the time of writing. And there's 3 categories, not just like/hate.

At the time of writing this comment, 19 people are okay with the change or like it, 13 people hate it.
Therefore, the majority of people in this thread still do not hate it.

Agreed it is challenging to redesign.

The issue for me is the file management implementation. I agree the ios18 photos app appears minimalist and the focus is on “viewing” the photos and videos/content. However my specific use case is often trying to find a specific thing within a folder/album that I have created. This redesign has overly complicated that process and I don’t want to rely on “searching” for it through the search function or scrolling and swiping through everything.

My fix suggestion would be to maintain what they have to keep their direction but please add in a hidden list function much like we have in iOS Mail that is kept in the top left and expands when you select it. That can enable those who specifically need a better file management system to use it as they see fit.

I can't speak much for your specific use case, but doesn't it help if you just reorder the sections and put "Albums" on top? Then you just swipe up once and can browse all your albums? Or tap on the section header and the whole list of your albums expands even more legibly than before?

And if you need even more complicated file management with your photos than that, perhaps the Photos app might not be the right tool for you in the first place? Perhaps the Files app, or something like the FileBrowser app might be more useful?

 

[drak22]

I really don't understand what they've done with the photos app. It wasn't a perfect app, but it was intuitive and the main characters were your photos and videos. Now half the screen is full of photos, which we remember is a photos app, and the other half is an endless carousel of things placed in no particular order, when before they were quite well organized in the tabs. Because of this change in design, some things need an extra step, like deleting several photos at once, which I don't understand at all.
I also don't see the point of having protected the deleted and hidden albums, if I want to see their content I also have to take an extra step, because it seems that for Apple having chosen to see them is not enough and it asks for extra confirmation.
Also, I see inconsistency in decision making in general, as if the work teams didn't talk to each other. Because they thought it was great to collect the app settings within the settings, because it was an endless list. However, in the photos app they do the opposite, something that was collected is messed up and put in a huge list. I don't understand it, honestly.

 

[MrRom92]

Why are we claiming that the poll represents the vast majority of people in this thread?

This thread has been active for almost entire month. The poll was only just added to it mere hours ago.


The countless posts voicing displeasure with this update since the beginning of July accurately represent how people feel about it.

 

[fw85]

Why are we claiming that the poll represents the vast majority of people in this thread?

This thread has been active for almost entire month. The poll was only just added to it mere hours ago.


The countless posts voicing displeasure with this update since the beginning of July accurately represent how people feel about it.

Even *if * the majority of people in this thread hated it, it's still largely irrelevant since:

This thread's majority =/= the majority of iOS users.

And I'd imagine it's more likely for people who are displeased to leave a comment, rather than those who are content.

---

It wasn't a perfect app, but it was intuitive and the main characters were your photos and videos. Now half the screen is full of photos, which we remember is a photos app, and the other half is an endless carousel of things placed in no particular order, when before they were quite well organized in the tabs.

Huh? The main screen is now literally a full screen mix of photos and videos, and only once you swipe up you get to extra stuff.

Because of this change in design, some things need an extra step, like deleting several photos at once, which I don't understand at all.

I don't understand how it takes an extra step to delete multiple photos? Open photos app, hit select, either tap or drag your finger to select, then delete.

I also don't see the point of having protected the deleted and hidden albums, if I want to see their content I also have to take an extra step, because it seems that for Apple having chosen to see them is not enough and it asks for extra confirmation.

This is exactly the same behavior as in iOS 17?
And makes sense honestly.

Because they thought it was great to collect the app settings within the settings, because it was an endless list. However, in the photos app they do the opposite, something that was collected is messed up and put in a huge list. I don't understand it, honestly.

I don't understand what you mean by this at all..
There's still all the same generic settings for the photos app in the system settings like before.
Is the new option that you can reorder the sections just the way you want - bad or what?

 

[dburkhanaev]

Absolutely not, even asking that is laughable. If someone really doesn't like Apple's Photo app they will just use a third-party alternative. I think mostly people that don't like it simply fear change. I don't use the Photos app that much to care one way or the other. I'm sure it will get more refined as the beta phases move along. If there is something you don't like or find not useful, report it to Apple, otherwise nothing will ever change.

No, we don't fear change. Apple has made many, many changes over the years and mostly people have liked them on balance, otherwise Apple wouldn't be as successful as they are today. So that fallacious, non-argument, really doesn't fly. There are some legit issues with the new Photos UI as it exists right now. You can read or watch the "Cult of Mac" write up, Cult of Mac

I am all for change as long as it's driven by either necessity or demonstrable improvement in functionality. I don't see either of those criteria met. And it's irksome that anytime there's legitimate criticism with examples given, you see "you just don't like change". Based on what? Where's the counter claim? Where's the evidence? Have you refuted any of the critiques? Or are you just trying to uncritically carry water for Apple for some reason?

Apple is doing quite well. They don't need to people to just run cover for them. They have money and engineers. What they need is all the constructive criticism they can get. Because when Apple does it right- they're usually on fire! But when they get it wrong, that can be equally spectacular. I'm looking at you, "Contact Posters".

 

[dburkhanaev]

I went onto the beta this afternoon and for what it’s worth, for me, the photos redesign is no where near as bad as being made out to be.

Once you’ve gone through the customisation settings, hidden categories you don’t want to see, reordered albums etc it’s fine. No issues with it at all for me and a more modern UI and customisation is welcome

It's kind of a tough thing really. If my choices are: I like it, it's okay, and I hate it. That's not really granular. I don't know if it's as bad as some people make it out to be. But it's not good. And I have to agree with someone else on this thread: Apple + Okay- shouldn't be together in the same sentence. I can pay much better prices for an okay experience on Android or Windows. I'm paying a much higher premium for a much better experience.

But I also understand that it's a beta and there's a Feedback Assistant on all of the platforms. I have left feedback and I suggest everyone else do so as well. But leave constructive feedback. Be specific! Take screenshots if possible. Apple engineers aren't imagineers. They can't fathom from nothing what it is that we need changed.

 

[dburkhanaev]

It depends on the kind of person you are. If you’re the kind of person that is willing to adapt to new things, then there won’t be a problem. However, if you’re the kind of person that doesn’t like change, then the Photos app on iOS 18 is the least of your problems.

There's a few UI choices where functions are a little too obscure for one. There are too many redundant "smart" albums in the expanded section below. And the grids that show media type, etc. have many choices but only show 2 at a time, causing you to have to scroll too many times to get to more useful options than the ones that are prioritized first.

Sorry, it's not fully baked and there are reasonable issues to take with it: SEE HERE

I'm sure there's more than one article. But this one is rationally and clearly articulated so I don't see the point in reinventing the wheel. There are plenty of folks on YouTube who do this sort of review for a living. You can look there. I also work on the IT service desk and some of these changes are just the kind of thing that sends call volumes up with folks having to dig to find things that were front and center before.

I'm a fan of Apple as well. But if the pie ins't fully baked, it ain't fully baked. Apple needs good and specific feedback from their users.

 

[dburkhanaev]

I don't understand the issue either, the redesign is just fine.

People probably just resent change more than it is actually a bad design.

There's a littany of issues that need to be addressed SEE HERE
People "resenting change" is as much of an argument as you you simply "not wanting to understand" the issue. See how neither of those are arguments? Just because you don't have the capacity to understand something, doesn't mean there's not an issue.

 

[dburkhanaev]

Ha! I was literally about to post how much I MISS the tabs at the bottom, and apparently I'm not alone considering we're on page 8 of this thread

I also DON'T export my photos and currently have over 65,000 photos & videos in my collection. I DO like some of the new utilities, but I miss the older tabs at the bottom so much. If they'd added all of this stuff to a tab and left the Library tab alone, I'd be happy.

I also didn't love the old layout very much either. But I do like the fact that if I most recently accessed the "albums" tab and went back into Photos.app then I'd still see the Albums tab and the "Recents" album right there where I needed to be like 90% of the time.

I think that it was a little better organized and less scattered than the new iteration, not that it was flawless. But I kind of miss some older iterations as well.

 

[iFone88]

11 days using the new UI, several times daily and it’s all muscle memory now.

It works very well for me and I’m a heavy user of the Photos app

 

[fw85]

There's a littany of issues that need to be addressed SEE HERE
People "resenting change" is as much of an argument as you you simply "not wanting to understand" the issue. See how neither of those are arguments? Just because you don't have the capacity to understand something, doesn't mean there's not an issue.

Oh, do take care not to fall off that high horse and hurt yourself

I've seen that "littany" of "issues" and those were subjective views of the person who wrote the article.
Those views don't represent the majority of people, and neither does my own view - by which the new design is pretty good and doesn't bother me.

Perhaps you don't have the capacity to understand that I don't have to accept your opinion, or anyone else's for a fact.

I'm sure Apple will be collecting feedback at scale and basing their design decisions off of that.

 

[Ledsteplin]

I'm in the "don't like it" camp. I liked it better before. I do like the sort and view options feature. But don't like the layout. I don't use a lot of that extra stuff, like pinned collections and Recent Days. I just use Photos or the Camera Roll. I left the suggestion to revert back in the Feedback app.

 

[Ipadonly1]

I quite like the new layout.

I have only the one tile/tab/whatever thing at the top, so sliding either way just gives a "Customise" screen. It'd be nice if that could be disabled but I've not swiped accidentally at all, so it's fine.

Under that I have Albums. That's it.

Change I'd like to see: Allow me to see and edit photo Titles (not just the Caption/Description field) as Photos on MacOS shows Titles underneath the photo. As I export all my photos to upload elsewhere, I want an exif/iptc title.

I've written an Applescript that takes the first sentence from Caption and writes it to Title, and then leaves the remaining text, if anything, in the Caption field. But it would be great to skip that step, and see the Titles in the iOS Photos app when the Titles get re-synced back from MacOS Photos.

Yes that would be one of my only suggestions- let us disable the ‘customise’ buttons