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Is iOS becoming too complicated?

MartyCan

MartyCan

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 31, 2012
1,543
371
Near Toronto, ON
When Steve Jobs and Apple introduced the iPhone and iOS to the world it was a pretty simple to use device and OS. I think Steve Jobs understood that a lot of the appeal of the device/OS combo was that if it were easy to use then the masses would readily eat it up.

Now with each new release Apple talks about how many new features they have added (same is true for OSX of course). But who can remember all these features?

I'm pretty computer literate. I'm not intimidated by electronic devices in general but now I'm finding that I'm inadvertently triggering actions on my devices (Watch, iPhone, iPad) inadvertently with a gesture I didn't know existed. When you don't know what you did to trigger an action in the first place how do you go about undoing it.

To be honest I am actually interested in "force touch" on the new S phones but I won't be shelling out for a new phone any time soon (No "eternal upgrade" option in Canada yet). The force touch gestures I've seen look like really useable shortcuts and since you are dealing with a specific target perhaps more intuitive versus swiping with 1, 2 or 3 fingers, pinching with 2 fingers, pinching with 4 fingers, etc.

Anyway I have not had a chance to try out force touch except on my watch and it is somewhat limited there.

Do you think the engineers at Apple should be looking at things from the "Steve Jobs philosophy" that doing more with less is better?
 
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MartyCan said:
When Steve Jobs and Apple introduced the iPhone and iOS to the world it was a pretty simple to use device and OS. I think Steve Jobs understood that a lot of the appeal of the device/OS combo was that if it were easy to use then the masses would readily eat it up.

Now with each new release Apple talks about how many new features they have added (same is true for OSX of course). But who can remember all these features?

I'm pretty computer literate. I'm not intimidated by electronic devices in general but now I'm finding that I'm inadvertently triggering actions on my devices (Watch, iPhone, iPad) inadvertently with a gesture I didn't know existed. When you don't know what you did to trigger an action in the first place how do you go about undoing it.

To be honest I am actually interested in "force touch" on the new S phones but I won't be shelling out for a new phone any time soon (No "eternal upgrade" option in Canada yet). The force touch gestures I've seen look like really useable shortcuts and since you are dealing with a specific target perhaps more intuitive versus swiping with 1, 2 or 3 fingers, pinching with 2 fingers, pinching with 4 fingers, etc.

Anyway I have not had a chance to try out force touch except on my watch and it is somewhat limited there.

Do you think the engineers at Apple should be looking at things from the "Steve Jobs philosophy" that doing more with less is better?
Click to expand...
Nah, not really. As people use the devices they discover what they want to use and stick to it regardless of how complicated they get. (opinion). Added features are for those who want them and are willing to find a way to make use of them. As much as I use my devices I still don't use or forget to use some features but then I see/talk with others that use them on a regular basis. Anyhow, if you're stuck just hit the home button. Ha.
 
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MartyCan said:
Well I tried Android for a brief while and absolutely hated it. Put me in the school of "if iOS becomes too much like Android what will I do now?"
Click to expand...
Well... The difference is how well Apple implememts the new features. I'm still amazed about the fact how much thought Apple puts into iOS and how it should works. I have HTC One m8 with stock Android L on it and I have to say that iOS 9 wins hands down. iOS is still simpler and more straight forward. It work as I expect mobile OS to work. Can't say same about Android.

What Google doesn't get is the fact that most people don't want to use smartphone like they use desktop computer. I want my smartphone to work straight forward, on demand and easily. Not like my PC.
 
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No.

There's still a huge difference in functionality between iOS and Android. iOS does like 60% what Android does at the benefit of better performance and efficiency.

But, the funny part is, that's not present in iOS 9. It's brutally slow. :p
 
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vertsix said:
No.

There's still a huge difference in functionality between iOS and Android. iOS does like 60% what Android does at the benefit of better performance and efficiency.

But, the funny part is, that's not present in iOS 9. It's brutally slow. :p
Click to expand...
And even funnier is that the iPhone 6's single core benchmarks crushes the Note 4 and yet on iOS 9 its slower than that device
 
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As is usual with most recent x.0 pretty much any higher level discussion iOS thread ends up turning into the same disscussuion of performance issues some are experiencing and are already discussing in about a dozen other threads.
 
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I think that it is doing what people dislike - evolving. To some, like myself, it is becoming more intuitive in some areas and head scratching in others. In the military we have a saying that is similar to the way people feel about OS changes - the two best bases you have been two are you last one and your next one.

People love to wax poetic about "the good old days of iOS" but were they? I'm thinking about the original iOS and the things I really wished it could do and now I can do some, maybe not all but I can do much more than I could.

The two best iOSes - the one you upgraded from and the next one where they "fix all the problems". Is it perfect now? No. Is it as I read in another thread "almost unbearable"? Nope - it is evolving. It will never be the perfect OS for everyone. It can't be.
 
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MartyCan said:
Anyway I have not had a chance to try out force touch except on my watch and it is somewhat limited there.
Click to expand...

3D Touch on the new iPhones is very, very, very different from Force Touch on the watch. Whole different tech on how it's implemented, highly more accurate and faster. 3D Touch is in a whole different league. (If you're into sports, it's like 3D Touch is the Pro team and Force Touch is the farm team.)
 
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One concern I have always had with iOS is that it follows the path of iTunes. A whole lot of additional functionality serially applied on top of a simple useful system. I don't think iOS has reached anywhere near that stage yet, however :rolleyes:
I am seeing iOS become more complex from a user perspective with less thought on how to really use the system.
In my opinion Settings needs to be redone - half makes sense, the other half you find yourself asking "why is this here" or "where the heck is it" or "why do I have to go out and back to Settings for a simple change?".
iOS also needs:
  • An easier way to find help on how to do things.
  • Allow user customizing - aka themes? Such a low-hanging win!
  • Alternate default apps ... please
I can go on. This and other reasons that although I use an iPhone for my primary work, my go to device is a Note 5: a device I can set up to perform the way I need it and how I need it. :cool:
 
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MartyCan said:
When Steve Jobs and Apple introduced the iPhone and iOS to the world it was a pretty simple to use device and OS. I think Steve Jobs understood that a lot of the appeal of the device/OS combo was that if it were easy to use then the masses would readily eat it up.

Now with each new release Apple talks about how many new features they have added (same is true for OSX of course). But who can remember all these features?

I'm pretty computer literate. I'm not intimidated by electronic devices in general but now I'm finding that I'm inadvertently triggering actions on my devices (Watch, iPhone, iPad) inadvertently with a gesture I didn't know existed. When you don't know what you did to trigger an action in the first place how do you go about undoing it.

To be honest I am actually interested in "force touch" on the new S phones but I won't be shelling out for a new phone any time soon (No "eternal upgrade" option in Canada yet). The force touch gestures I've seen look like really useable shortcuts and since you are dealing with a specific target perhaps more intuitive versus swiping with 1, 2 or 3 fingers, pinching with 2 fingers, pinching with 4 fingers, etc.

Anyway I have not had a chance to try out force touch except on my watch and it is somewhat limited there.

Do you think the engineers at Apple should be looking at things from the "Steve Jobs philosophy" that doing more with less is better?
Click to expand...

Yes it is and you can blame users. Years of whining how iOS cant do what Android can do has made iOS what it is today.
 
What gestures can you do accidentally on an iPhone before 6s? Swipe to go back? Reachability? Multitasking? I find for the most part it's still pretty straight forward. (iPad is a bit more complicated though)
 
Armen said:
Yes it is and you can blame users. Years of whining how iOS cant do what Android can do has made iOS what it is today.
Click to expand...

I'm just glad Apple doesn't cave in and add EVERYTHING. If iOS included all the options members on this forum wanted, it would be THE most bloated piece of software in the history of software. Option menus would be 100 miles long and the OS would be so slow and riddled with hundreds of bugs because of it. More options and a more open policy on customization leads to more issues.
 
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Paddle1 said:
What gestures can you do accidentally on an iPhone before 6s? Swipe to go back? Reachability? Multitasking? I find for the most part it's still pretty straight forward. (iPad is a bit more complicated though)
Click to expand...

There are so many and so many changes for each iOS upgrade.
9.x has like 7 or 8 new ones o_O

You need a playbook to keep track.
 
Technology and how it fits into everyday life progresses all the time, that's how life is. A car of today has many more controls than one from just a little while ago. A TV of today has many more options than one from a while ago.
 
speaking of "complicated" i am probably the only person i know who knows what the share sheet is for or that it even exists. same as "extensions" no one i know is even aware of those things
 
lagwagon said:
I'm just glad Apple doesn't cave in and add EVERYTHING. If iOS included all the options members on this forum wanted, it would be THE most bloated piece of software in the history of software. Option menus would be 100 miles long and the OS would be so slow and riddled with hundreds of bugs because of it. More options and a more open policy on customization leads to more issues.
Click to expand...

The problem is Apple is actually adding features people are asking for instead of questioning their usefulness or
Rhonindk said:
Don't agree :cool:
It definitely has influenced some aspects of iOS, but the majority, no.
Just my opinion. ;)
Click to expand...

We have a swipe up (control center), swipe down (notification center), Swipe left (Siri suggestions screen), swipe down from middle (spotlight search).

5 different gestures just from the main screen. Is that necessary?

The iPhone used to be easy to use for people's parents and non techy people. It's become way too complex for it's own good in my opinion.
 
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It may not be specific features but it is users and the market that demands more and more features. If today there were no more features and abilities in the current phone than there were in the phones of 4 years ago - there would be no iPhone or this forum, etc. Companies like Apple react to what needs to happen to keep up with and ahead of demand.
 
bushido said:
speaking of "complicated" i am probably the only person i know who knows what the share sheet is for or that it even exists. same as "extensions" no one i know is even aware of those things
Click to expand...

My step dad found the control center by accident on his and called me to ask what it was.
 
The first iPhone had to be simple because it needed to appeal to boomers, who are tech idiots. Now that we're finally managing to stuff their drooling selves into nursing homes, tech can advance more quickly.
 
C DM said:
Technology and how it fits into everyday life progresses all the time, that's how life is. A car of today has many more controls than one from just a little while ago. A TV of today has many more options than one from a while ago.
Click to expand...

Cars today are actually much simpler today than 50 years ago because they have to appeal to younger generations which are tech geniuses, but mechanical idiots.
 
Aston441 said:
The first iPhone had to be simple because it needed to appeal to boomers, who are tech idiots. Now that we're finally managing to stuff their drooling selves into nursing homes, tech can advance more quickly.
Click to expand...

Lol. Or you know, it could be the fact that tech in the smartphone world is moving at a ridiculous rate. So the OS's are getting more complex to use the new tech.
 
Good thread.
I was thinking about that a few days ago...
A lot of users , mainly Android former users, keep requesting more features and choices.
Apple can't please everyone, but if you think about the Settings menu in iOS 4-5 and compare to iOS 9 you can notice that.
I'm happy about that, but my wife probably would be more comfortable with a simpler iOS ...
 
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