iOS 15 may be least exciting version yet

[mjschabow]

I agree 100%. I hope a lot of stability is involved in this release, and I'm happy that they addressed certain apps like Weather that was in need of some updating.

The only thing I would have liked was actual theming/icon support like Google's new updates have for Pixel/Stock Android, but that's not a deal breaker.

 

[mjschabow]

Oh, and the fact that you can now copy text from photos....that's one thing I've really missed from Samsung phones. Glad it's now part of iOS.

 

[macbookguy]

Reload button being tucked away into a submenu and the bar jumping to the top on text entry (instead of being pushed slightly up, like a message box) are the only valid complaints I accept, everything else is a dream come true from an UX perspective and exactly what this place has been asking for.

Muscle memory will get used to the new status quo quickly. Happens all the time, e.g. the changes „slide to unlock > press home to unlock > slide up to unlock“ caused outcry too.

It’s specifically the reload button causing me grief. You’re right that I’ll get used to it, but I will say it’s the only button I wish they’d kept

 

[LordVic]

I wouldn't say boring.

but I'm reserving judgement on iOS15 until I can actually test it.

if it's a "boring" year because Apple focused on refinement and bug fixes under the hood than it's a great year despite not being flashy.

if it's a boring year cause they sat on their ass and just want to collect money for little work, than it's a boring and bad year.

 

[eicca]

I’m just ecstatic that the text selection magnifier is back.

 

[TimFL1]

It’s specifically the reload button causing me grief. You’re right that I’ll get used to it, but I will say it’s the only button I wish they’d kept

I feel like this is still something they can change during the beta if there‘s enough feedback coming in.

 

[Jdhommert]

It seemed like it was going to be like this going in without any big rumored features.

I'll say the same thing now I said before WWDC....I dont mind simple and boring as long as you make up for that by focusing on reliability, performance, battery life, how well it works on older phones and such.

They didnt seem to really talk or brag about that much at all this year. I do remember at least one time in the past when they did this and I remember at WWDC they talked about this a lot and/or it was the focus of the WWDC presentation.

Not that it's currently a problem or I expect it to be a problem, but I'm also not expecting a massive jump in these areas since they didnt really talk about it at all from what I remember.

 

[Jdhommert]

It seemed like it was going to be like this going in without any big rumored features.

I'll say the same thing now I said before WWDC....I dont mind simple and boring as long as you make up for that by focusing on reliability, performance, battery life, how well it works on older phones and such.

They didnt seem to really talk or brag about that much at all this year. I do remember at least one time in the past when they did this and I remember at WWDC they talked about this a lot and/or it was the focus of the WWDC presentation.

Not that it's currently a problem or I expect it to be a problem, but I'm also not expecting a massive jump in these areas since they didnt really talk about it at all from what I remember.

To add to this....I'll add that I feel like the best thing they did or best year was the year they just went hardcore on making iOS work better on older phones, overall reliability/performance/efficiancy etc, and not when they introduced 28 new features.

That could be me just taking all the features I have for granted too though

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

To add to this....I'll add that I feel like the best thing they did or best year was the year they just went hardcore on making iOS work better on older phones, overall reliability/performance/efficiancy etc, and not when they introduced 28 new features.

That could be me just taking all the features I have for granted too though

Yep, iOS 12 is the one you’re thinking. iOS 15 definitely has that feeling in that it feels significantly better on my daily driver 12 Pro, but differs because they’ve also added a nice list of improvements to a handful of native apps. iOS has gotten so heavy over the years that I think overhauling the system year after year is going to take precedence when adding new features really slows down.

 

[fastbagger]

Apple should give us the option of what iOS version we want to use. I would stay on iOS 12 as was the best for me. I know would be hard for Apple to continually update the different versions but I can dream.

 

[FrozenInferno]

Go figure the expected MR response, dont like it buh buy here's a douchey reply with a Wikipedia list of Android devices. It has NOTHING to do with going to Android or not smart guy. Try hearing what other are saying before making up stuff.

Sadly couldnt have left it at a mature response as the first part was on the merits. Which is still incorrect because you are implying no regular users (90% of regular people buying phones) use Android a baseline more complex OS, which is far reality. And they get by just fine. Billions of them who are normal people know nothing about tech or have no other tech in poorer countries.

Gosh, just remembered why I stopped using MR for many years; because of people with his attitude who have ZERO objectivity or desire to hear varying opinions other than thy holy Apple's spoon fed to them. Clearly the Parler of Apple fanatics; the Apple echo chamber.

Agreed. I love a lot of the things Apple does but I also roll my eyes about just as much. Especially the blatant price gouging on so many things. $700 wheels for a Mac Pro? Not a good look. Some things just can’t be defended but yet there are always rabid fanboys who will no matter what.

I’m recently back on an iPhone after spending a few years on an awesome Android phone (best phone I’ve had to date, let’s see if this iPhone 12 can top it) and there are features that I will sorely miss but I don’t expect Apple will ever give us. Not the least of which is the simple ability to put icons or widgets anywhere and customize them further like many have already mentioned. Apple wants to maintain tight control over the simplest things and it’s aggravating. What are they so scared of? Somebody arranging their icons into the shape of a p*n*s? Lighten up.

 

[TimFL1]

I’m going to bend over for Tim just this once and say,

Maybe. Just maybe, iPadOS 16 will get the powerful OS we’ve been begging for.

In April, we saw Tim Cook steal the M1 chip from the MacBook Air. That was only two months ago from WWDC. For Apple to implement FCP, LGIC, Xcode, and all the other powerful features, that would be an unrealistic timeframe, they were too focused on the Mac. They didn’t plan this in advance, obviously, since M1 came out in November. That has to be it.

Now with all these expectations Apple noticed prior to WWDC about the upcoming iPadOS being a powerhouse and users expecting pro apps, maybe they can finally shift over their priorities to the iPad this year for iPadOS 16 now that the hardware is now capable, and give us what we’ve been complaining for.

Because Apple likes to prioritize controversy.

This year was rumored to be that big bang thing for iPadOS.

That big bang: Swift Playground development, Universal Control, Widgets on Home Screen, Landscape iPhone apps

I think next year is the year of the iPhone again.

 

[MozMan68]

Agreed. I love a lot of the things Apple does but I also roll my eyes about just as much. Especially the blatant price gouging on so many things. $700 wheels for a Mac Pro? Not a good look. Some things just can’t be defended but yet there are always rabid fanboys who will no matter what.

I’m recently back on an iPhone after spending a few years on an awesome Android phone (best phone I’ve had to date, let’s see if this iPhone 12 can top it) and there are features that I will sorely miss but I don’t expect Apple will ever give us. Not the least of which is the simple ability to put icons or widgets anywhere and customize them further like many have already mentioned. Apple wants to maintain tight control over the simplest things and it’s aggravating. What are they so scared of? Somebody arranging their icons into the shape of a p*n*s? Lighten up.

Exactly…they don’t want you doing that.

I think the fact that the iPhone isn’t only the top selling phone, if you account for different variants of iPhones sold, it blows away every other phone out there.

Seems like Apple knows what they’re doing.

 

[FrozenInferno]

Exactly…they don’t want you doing that.

I think the fact that the iPhone isn’t only the top selling phone, if you account for different variants of iPhones sold, it blows away every other phone out there.

Seems like Apple knows what they’re doing.

See, how many phones they sell is not the point. That’s another “Apple determined what is good enough therefor I accept it and will preach it to others” answer.

Offer more consumer friendly features and they’d sell even more phones. Offer more features that Android users love and those users are more likely to switch to iPhone. Then it’s a win win. We get more features and Apple gets more money.

We’re obviously never going to get the extreme customization of full on launchers and that sort of thing. Anywhere icon placement and the freedom to put widgets in the center of the screen if we want (*gasp* imagine such rebelliousness) are such stupidly simple things to start with. There’s no good reason other than stubbornness.

 

[MozMan68]

See, how many phones they sell is not the point. That’s another “Apple determined what is good enough therefor I accept it and will preach it to others” answer.

Offer more consumer friendly features and they’d sell even more phones. Offer more features that Android users love and those users are more likely to switch to iPhone. Then it’s a win win. We get more features and Apple gets more money.

We’re obviously never going to get the extreme customization of full on launchers and that sort of thing. Anywhere icon placement and the freedom to put widgets in the center of the screen if we want (*gasp* imagine such rebelliousness) are such stupidly simple things to start with. There’s no good reason other than stubbornness.

I think you need to think about this a little harder….they are outselling Android BECAUSE of the what they offer AND what they don’t! Assuming they will sell more if they copy the features that their competitor has is actually incorrect.

“Give your customer what they need, not everything they ever wanted” is the guiding quote I use with my team when developing new products.

Also, this was a very interesting take from Marques on why this has been so successful for Apple even though they are typically second or third when it comes to introducing innovative features.

 

[gwhizkids]

Apple should give us the option of what iOS version we want to use. I would stay on iOS 12 as was the best for me. I know would be hard for Apple to continually update the different versions but I can dream.

That’s actually going to be possible in iOS 15

 

[adrianlondon]

You are proving my point…all of that stuff makes sense to you and you really have no concept of how “stupid” people are when it comes to this stuff.

Then why name their iOS 14 anti-tracking toggle "Turn on the ability to disable the option of companies asking if they can track you and instead don't allow them the option of asking if they can track you". I exaggerate, of course, but pretty much everyone I know with an iPhone either didn't know the feature existed or didn't understand which toggle position did what.

Then there's Focus. Overly complex set of rules where you can allow contacts (to do what, exactly? Send whatsapp messages? Emails? Skype calls?) and apps, but can't allow all then block apps or contacts. And there's a "sleep" option, which has no scheduling but dumps you deep into the Health app where you can schedule sleep. Before, it was jsut "Do Not Disturb". They took a simple feature and made it complex, which I'm sure is going to mean most people never use it. It even sends your laptop (and other devices) into Focus mode if you don't change the default options.

People talk about their elderly grandma not wanting interactive widgets, and hence why should Apple make features available that only the young tech literate want. So now, I assume grandma is spending her days cresting memojis and sharing the latest Music tracks with her friends while enabling spacial audio.

Anyway, despite all that, I liked iOS 14 (various bugs and non-interactive widgets aside), and therefore like iOS 15. I just don't think Apple knows which subset of its users it should be focussing on, if any.

 

[FrozenInferno]

I think you need to think about this a little harder….they are outselling Android BECAUSE of the what they offer AND what they don’t! Assuming they will sell more if they copy the features that their competitor has is actually incorrect.

“Give your customer what they need, not everything they ever wanted” is the guiding quote I use with my team when developing new products.

Also, this was a very interesting take from Marques on why this has been so successful for Ape even though they are typically second or third when it comes to introducing innovative features.

Yes, I’ve seen the video. Apple takes more time to do things so they’re done to Apple’s standards. Maybe in a few more years once Apple perfects the ability to move icons where we want we’ll get the feature done the “right” way.

I’m not going to waste any more time arguing with a defender. I love my iPhone, I do, but it could be better in some aspects. I’m not just going to let Apple pat me on the head and say “it’s already perfect according to us, you just don’t see it”. Again I’m not asking for launchers or the ability to completely change the iOS aesthetic. I just want a few more SIMPLE options. For example let me put my 2x2 small sized widget in the center of the screen rather than snapping it to the left or right edge only. How is something like that so hard? How would that possibly be detrimental the iPhone experience?

 

[gwhizkids]

See, how many phones they sell is not the point. That’s another “Apple determined what is good enough therefor I accept it and will preach it to others” answer.

Offer more consumer friendly features and they’d sell even more phones. Offer more features that Android users love and those users are more likely to switch to iPhone. Then it’s a win win. We get more features and Apple gets more money.

We’re obviously never going to get the extreme customization of full on launchers and that sort of thing. Anywhere icon placement and the freedom to put widgets in the center of the screen if we want (*gasp* imagine such rebelliousness) are such stupidly simple things to start with. There’s no good reason other than stubbornness.

Apple’s goal is not to sell the most phones possible, clearly.

And that’s fine.

Products have niches. Smart companies recognize that and don’t try to shoehorn products and features where they don’t belong. Ask GM/Cadillac about the impact of trying to make a luxury product into an “everyday Joe mobile”. Disaster…that’s what happens.

I know it’s cliche, but if you don’t like Apple’s product offerings, then choose another product that does meet your expectations.

And to the response back that “there’s nothing wrong with demanding new things from Apple”, I will respond that there is something wrong with it when it’s clear Apple is not going to do something (such as freeform app placement on the homescreen) and you keep beating the drum anyway. I can demand that Tesla make hairbrushes and insist that’s insanely stupidly easy to do. But no amount of my demanding this is going to make this happen.

I think by now it should be just as evident that Apple is not going to do certain things with its OSes. And it’s tiring to hear the same demands year after year from those who would have it otherwise.

 

[MozMan68]

Yes, I’ve seen the video. Apple takes more time to do things so they’re done to Apple’s standards. Maybe in a few more years once Apple perfects the ability to move icons where we want we’ll get the feature done the “right” way.

I’m not going to waste any more time arguing with a defender. I love my iPhone, I do, but it could be better in some aspects. I’m not just going to let Apple pat me on the head and say “it’s already perfect according to us, you just don’t see it”. Again I’m not asking for launchers or the ability to completely change the iOS aesthetic. I just want a few more SIMPLE options. For example let me put my 2x2 small sized widget in the center of the screen rather than snapping it to the left or right edge only. How is something like that so hard? How would that possibly be detrimental the iPhone experience?

See…right there in your first paragraph, you missed the entire point of the video.

It’s NOT that Apple wants to do it THEIR way…they are “late” with all of these enhancements (or don’t introduce them at all) so that they can provide a consistent experience across every model of iPhone, iPad, Mac…whatever…as much as functionally possible.

That means more to its users and why they always come back than any one feature Android can offer.

And until people on here understand that THIS is the driving force behind why apple does what it does, they will always be disappointed with new product/software releases.

This is why the Apple ecosystem is mentioned so often…have you ever heard anyone talk about people buying Samsung products because of the Android ecosystem? Hah

They don’t do everything right…they do make mistakes and leave out stuff that might be easy to do…but they do it better than probably any other company out there.

 

[-BigMac-]

It runs like a dream on my 12 Pro. I couldn’t be more happy with it. New features be damned; give me a smooth experience for the few things I need to do and I’m happy.

It was so laggy for me I had to downgrade.. 12 Pro Max 256

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

It was so laggy for me I had to downgrade.. 12 Pro Max 256

No kidding? In what sorts of tasks were you noticing the lag? Was it frame drops or actual lag in the touch interface?

I’ll be on the lookout for any sort of delayed input going forward but I can’t think of a single instance in the time I’ve been using it.

 

[Aoligei]

I don‘t know. I think this update is pretty much as packed as iOS 14. SharePlay is massive, the Maps redesign (although very limited availability) is really good, the Focus mode and Notification redesign are top notch, the new AI content in photos is really useful, Universal Control is the future and people probably don’t even grasp how big Matter for HomeKit is going to be (hint: very big). Calling this 14.8 is pretty insulting.

We all had hopes for certain features, but it was clear as night and day that you‘re not getting your macOS feature parity for iPadOS (or the hardware utilized properly) or that there wont be a Siri 2.0.

For people who really doesn't care about FaceTime, iMessage.. SharePlay or any other improvement are pretty boring. Notification redesign is still cluttered, it is still not same level as Android 11. Focus mode is something remain to see if it will work properly.

I am more hoping Home Screen changes and multitasking improvement. I am more or less looking for split screen on iPhone, come on this is long overdue. I am also looking for new Home Screen design and new icons. I have been looking at same Home Screen for like decades now.

To me, the whole iOS 15 is very boring. I don't care about FaceTime, iMessage, Home Kit, these AI content (hint, not as good as Google Photo or any Google related service. And I don't give crap about how Google is selling my data).

But one thing I am happy about, it is that my iPhone 7 get live 2 more years (iOS 17 oh yeah)...

 

[Aoligei]

No kidding? In what sorts of tasks were you noticing the lag? Was it frame drops or actual lag in the touch interface?

I’ll be on the lookout for any sort of delayed input going forward but I can’t think of a single instance in the time I’ve been using it.

No iPhone 12, I am not willing to install beta on my primary phone. But iOS 15 is lag fast on iPhone 7 (I know it is beta). It is four day now, so don't tell me it is still indexing.

Although I like new Safari, but it is pretty laggy. Lot of blank pages when scrolling, pages will refuse load. Phone runs very hot all day and battery life is bad.

I have restored to iOS 14.6, much nicer experience.

Again, I know it is beta and I am not mad... I am fully expected bad experience...

 

[-BigMac-]

No kidding? In what sorts of tasks were you noticing the lag? Was it frame drops or actual lag in the touch interface?

I’ll be on the lookout for any sort of delayed input going forward but I can’t think of a single instance in the time I’ve been using it.

Yea pretty obvious. I even let it index for a day or two and it was really bad. General choppiness in the ui interface, scrolling homepages, anything safari.
I like the new UI but my phone didnt agree with it