Not Really Loving iOS 14

[macsound1]

Only feature I'm using from iOS 14 is the back tap. Love being able to turn on some indirect lighting without opening the app.
Feature I'm still looking for are the shortcuts that used to be on the leftmost page. Where did they go?
Otherwise, I had to rearrange all my apps so my phone looked different enough after the update since everything else is the same. I'm ok with the lackluster update though.

 

[C DM]

Only feature I'm using from iOS 14 is the back tap. Love being able to turn on some indirect lighting without opening the app.
Feature I'm still looking for are the shortcuts that used to be on the leftmost page. Where did they go?
Otherwise, I had to rearrange all my apps so my phone looked different enough after the update since everything else is the same. I'm ok with the lackluster update though.

https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/favorites-widget/ might be of some help.

 

[nick42983]

The worst part about iOS 14 for me (there is always a hidden, unpleasant surprise in every iOS update for years now) is the Calendar redesign. These changes always hit close to home for me because I bought an iPhone back in 2008 specifically for the Calendar as a replacement for my Palm Pilot.

The new design is very clunky, nothing about it is aesthetically pleasing, more efficient to use or information dense. Adding events used to be a snap, and now it's a hunt-and-peck mess. Why do I need to see the entire monthly calendar to add an event that most likely happens within a week or less? I almost never add an event in the past and instead of scrolling along a wheel naturally conveys a sense of going forward in time, not to mention that it conveniently showed you the day of the week right alongside the date. Now I have to re-arrange my thinking process relative to stupid red dots and ~30 mostly irrelevant calendar days that I don't need to see. Adjusting the time also makes you want to pull your eyes out, multiple steps are now added beyond what was there before. If you still want to use the microscopic scroll-wheel, besides being a tiny target point, you can't scroll forward and back between AM and PM like you always could, now you have to manually click on one or the other! I never use the totally pointless day view since events starting after 9pm and before 8am are very rare, why do I need to see this huge blank block of time? My beloved list view however is more practical, but the redesign bizarrely spaces out events and makes it far less clear when one day ends and the other begins.

I keep telling myself I'm going to hold off on new iOS updates, but then how are we supposed to know how badly our workflow and muscle memory will be screwed up until we try it? The tech media only focuses on what Apple tells them to and they never dig down to see what has been unnecessarily "improved", because, you know, new and different is better marketing than proven and "just works". Downgrading is a royal pain and they'll force you to "upgrade" sooner or later anyway. The entire Calendar app design team should be pilloried, tarred and feathered under the rainbow in the middle of Apple's campus for screwing with such basic, core components of people's daily lives.

 

[Pagemakers]

100% agree about the calendar. It’s woeful. Terrible on the iPhone too.

 

[AZhappyjack]

100% agree about the calendar. It’s woeful. Terrible on the iPhone too.

I don't get the "terrible on the iPhone too" thing... this is a thread about iOS 14 (which ONLY runs on iPhone... macOS and iPadOS are different beasts).

 

[Pagemakers]

I don't get the "terrible on the iPhone too" thing... this is a thread about iOS 14 (which ONLY runs on iPhone... macOS and iPadOS are different beasts).

I’m primarily talking about the iPhone especially the list layout. It’s almost impossible to tell the days apart. Easy to miss something.

However, the time and date entry is subtilely different on the iPad too and not in a better way.

 

[Robsdc]

Keep in mind there are two separate issues:
1) Design that some don't like, which won't be fixed
2) Bugs that will get fixed

The cluster f that is iOS 14 seriously has me considering selling all this rubbish and moving to Android.

My Health Data is absolutely pooched. my watch is useless and can't perform basic functions. What's the point of having developer & public betas if the Final release is a steaming pile.

 

[Robsdc]

Not sure what you mean about the font. On my iPhone 8 upgraded to ios 14, the font seems to be the default system font (San Francisco?), though some of the Calendar app fields like event name/subject seem bold version of that font. Is your Display Zoom setting for View on standard or zoomed view?

I hate the font, most noticeable on my calendar app--reminds me of comic sans (I know it isn't but my hatred for it is similar to someone who is a typography enthusiast when presented with comic sans as the only font option).

Not a fan of the very left to the first screen...whatever that's called. I think it's nice I see the battery for my devices e.g. watch, phone and AirPods when in use *but* they could have done better...once I've customized it...however the design of it is....will take some time to get used to.

still the biggest complaint from me is the font. everything else--I can get used to.

 

[macsound1]

https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/favorites-widget/ might be of some help.

Truly, thank you. I can't believe how many steps it took but glad to have it back!

 

[matthutch]

Keep in mind there are two separate issues:
1) Design that some don't like, which won't be fixed
2) Bugs that will get fixed

my issues have nothing to do with design, that’s always going to be down to personal preference.

my issues are with the fact they’ve destroyed large amounts of my data, neutered the functionality of my Apple Watch and the only response is “too bad, so sad”.

They have / had a long beta period. They have their own internal development resources but seem content with releasing half baked releases and not caring.

If I had installed a beta release then I’d accept the data loss, but installing the production public release shouldn’t cause this, and it’s not just me. There are lots of people in the same boat.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time looking into switching but unfortunately there are some gotcha’s with my current setup / use cases that I just can’t seem to find a solution/workaround for, so for now it looks like I have to put up with this crap...

 

[sjsharksfan12]

Two weeks into IOS 14 and I feel like I'm already counting down the days to IOS 15. Why is there such a disconnect between what is shown at WWDC and what is actually released. Heck, I remember when they were showing the demo for app clips, yet I haven't seen anything about that as of yet. I also feel like the Widgets are just glorified apps that don't really update unless you click on them. For example, my email app is Spark and they were one of the first to get widgets. Well, every morning I know I will have about 10 messages. The Widget still says I have 0, and it won't update until I click on it. With that said, what is the point? Now we are 2 weeks into this new IOS and app developers still haven't brought us IOS 14 updates. I have a sports app that would be ripe for an upgrade, but they already said they are not going to utilize it. I have a podcast app that hasn't upgraded for a month, and I don't know when. We are now past the 2 week window between GM release and when developers wanted the official release and it feels like IOS 14 became a dud.

I guess what I'm saying is how can I really utilize IOS 14 to fit my needs. Where are all the cool features we were shown at WWDC? Why does it feel like this upgrade was a waste of time? If I wasn't so entrenched into the Apple ecosystem (Apple TV, Apple Watch, Itunes), I would consider going to Android. Hell, I've been wanting Apple Music to bring in better features for a year and I still subscribed to the annual because it's a better user interface than Spotify, but I just started using a better third party app for my Apple Music needs. Apple prides itself on all these new features and they only want to focus on stupid animated heads. The experience itself leaves a lot to be desired.

Also, there is so much focus on the whole Beta concept that it really does feel like you are missing out if you are not on the Beta program. Stop releasing Beta for 14.2 and actually release something for 14.1 to the public. I mean the whole point of Beta is to try something and provide feedback. Well as we have seen, that seems like it's not really the main reason considering all the new stuff is coming to the Beta programs every week while those who wait are still getting pretty much nothing.

 

[Sam in SoCal]

Two weeks into IOS 14 and I feel like I'm already counting down the days to IOS 15. Why is there such a disconnect between what is shown at WWDC and what is actually released. Heck, I remember when they were showing the demo for app clips, yet I haven't seen anything about that as of yet. I also feel like the Widgets are just glorified apps that don't really update unless you click on them. For example, my email app is Spark and they were one of the first to get widgets. Well, every morning I know I will have about 10 messages. The Widget still says I have 0, and it won't update until I click on it. With that said, what is the point? Now we are 2 weeks into this new IOS and app developers still haven't brought us IOS 14 updates. I have a sports app that would be ripe for an upgrade, but they already said they are not going to utilize it. I have a podcast app that hasn't upgraded for a month, and I don't know when. We are now past the 2 week window between GM release and when developers wanted the official release and it feels like IOS 14 became a dud.

I guess what I'm saying is how can I really utilize IOS 14 to fit my needs. Where are all the cool features we were shown at WWDC? Why does it feel like this upgrade was a waste of time? If I wasn't so entrenched into the Apple ecosystem (Apple TV, Apple Watch, Itunes), I would consider going to Android. Hell, I've been wanting Apple Music to bring in better features for a year and I still subscribed to the annual because it's a better user interface than Spotify, but I just started using a better third party app for my Apple Music needs. Apple prides itself on all these new features and they only want to focus on stupid animated heads. The experience itself leaves a lot to be desired.

Also, there is so much focus on the whole Beta concept that it really does feel like you are missing out if you are not on the Beta program. Stop releasing Beta for 14.2 and actually release something for 14.1 to the public. I mean the whole point of Beta is to try something and provide feedback. Well as we have seen, that seems like it's not really the main reason considering all the new stuff is coming to the Beta programs every week while those who wait are still getting pretty much nothing.

Grumble grumble, bitch bitch, complain complain. Android android. Lol we see so much of these comments as a staple on macrumors. It’s ok. You’re entitled to your opinion and viewpoint. here’s the thing. Utilize what works for you and don’t use what doesn’t. The UI can remain a constant for you from past updates by just doing what you did before you updated. There are some improvements that have nothing to do with widgets such as the new call UI and Siri not taking up the whole screen when you call upon her or him. Just go over the update notes and see if you missed anything That will make your experience better. Updates also cover bugs and security so there’s always a reason to update just for that. Widgets are not the end all be all and they’re obviously not for you. P.s. I don’t know what’s going on with app clips either. There may be an update on this in the near future. Hang tight.

 

[sjsharksfan12]

Grumble grumble, bitch bitch, complain complain. Android android. Lol we see so much of these comments as a staple on macrumors. It’s ok. You’re entitled to your opinion and viewpoint. here’s the thing. Utilize what works for you and don’t use what doesn’t. The UI can remain a constant for you from past updates by just doing what you did before you updated. There are some improvements that have nothing to do with widgets such as the new call UI and Siri not taking up the whole screen when you call upon her or him. There’s also other improvements or aesthetics that may make your experience better. Just go over the update notes and see if you missed anything. Updates also cover bugs and security so there’s always a reason to update just for that. Widgets are not the end all be all and they’re obviously not for you. P.s. I don’t know what’s going on with app clips either. There may be an update on this in the near future. Hang tight.

I get what you are saying, and yeah I just spent some time reorganizing my home screen to something that does work for me. I do like that Siri doesn't take up the whole screen now. However, my complaints are really more about Apple's unwillingness to refine what they have. That's why I brought up Apple Music. You have this service that doesn't get updated unless it's the big yearly update, so what do they do to make Apple Music better? Not much of anything. They change names on tabs, they might have improved recommendations, but it could be so much better and they refuse to go further. They pretty much have a year to make IOS better with each update, yet when that update comes, it feels like they could have done better. I guess it's my fault for expecting them to deliver when I see what they have that's new during the WWDC presentation and then feeling like those expectations are not met, considering the 8 betas and the nearly a year they have to develop and refine the new IOS.

 

[bousozoku]

I get what you are saying, and yeah I just spent some time reorganizing my home screen to something that does work for me. I do like that Siri doesn't take up the whole screen now. However, my complaints are really more about Apple's unwillingness to refine what they have. That's why I brought up Apple Music. You have this service that doesn't get updated unless it's the big yearly update, so what do they do to make Apple Music better? Not much of anything. They change names on tabs, they might have improved recommendations, but it could be so much better and they refuse to go further. They pretty much have a year to make IOS better with each update, yet when that update comes, it feels like they could have done better. I guess it's my fault for expecting them to deliver when I see what they have that's new during the WWDC presentation and then feeling like those expectations are not met, considering the 8 betas and the nearly a year they have to develop and refine the new IOS.

The trouble is that Apple, as well as most other electronics companies, have no single person who is a visionary.

They need a person who can throw a device out of his/her office while screaming something about dog crap, and returning next week with something usable. They had that person twice. There have to be other people who could do that but a Board of Directors doesn't like that. Therefore, accountants often run companies into the ground, just to please the shareholders.

I'm still on iOS 13.7 and it is okay. Give me 14.1.1 and some ibuprofen.

 

[Tapoma]

there is always a hidden, unpleasant surprise in every iOS update for years now

This is really true. There's always little things they change that aren't big enough to get any mention in the release notes and you only find out after you have upgraded.

In iOS 14 for me it was the change to the calendar widget so that you can no longer see upcoming events more than a few days away. I use the calendar app for key reminders and I liked how with the old widget I had an ever-present reminder of the next thing on my calendar, no matter if it was weeks away.

In a previous iOS version it was when they changed the speak screen accessibility feature so that you could no longer increase the speed beyond 2.0x without going directly into settings (and remains so to this day). It's pretty obscure and not really a headline feature so I get why it doesn't receive any mention.

I'm basically LongtimeUser4 in the spacebar heating XKCD. https://xkcd.com/1172/

 

[rainafterthesun]

Not sure what you mean about the font. On my iPhone 8 upgraded to ios 14, the font seems to be the default system font (San Francisco?), though some of the Calendar app fields like event name/subject seem bold version of that font. Is your Display Zoom setting for View on standard or zoomed view?

Standard.

the font was more circular but now it’s better since the mini update since? Though it’s still more spaced out which is annoying but not as annoying as it was previously.

I do like this addition (something that wasn’t in the bigger ios update but now apparently with the mini update):

 

[Robsdc]

I had a weird font experience late yesterday on 14.0.1... the font on the wide calendar widget was the right size, but it was pixelated, like it was lower resolution than it it should have been. Just the font, not the rest of the screen. I tried a few things with zoom vs. standard display, text size, etc. Nothing worked until I did a hard reboot, and the font looked OK after that.

Standard.

the font was more circular but now it’s better since the mini update since? Though it’s still more spaced out which is annoying but not as annoying as it was previously.

I do like this addition (something that wasn’t in the bigger ios update but now apparently with the mini update):

 

[vinegarshots]

deleted

 

[cuzo]

I'm having a issue finding a app I installed, I cannot delete from the app library and I don't see it on the homescreen.

Maybe I'm blind but I dislike this about 14.

 

[fisherking]

I'm having a issue finding a app I installed, I cannot delete from the app library and I don't see it on the homescreen.

Maybe I'm blind but I dislike this about 14.

this is a moment you're having, not a defining quality of ios 14.

meanwhile, what happens when you try to delete it from the app library? and have you tried rebooting your phone?

 

[Robsdc]

I like the back tap too. I have set two taps for control center, three for undo typing. It’s is a great use for back tap because Apple keeps changing gestures with major releases for frequently used actions and app controls. I wish I could customize more gestures like on MacOS

Only feature I'm using from iOS 14 is the back tap. Love being able to turn on some indirect lighting without opening the app.
Feature I'm still looking for are the shortcuts that used to be on the leftmost page. Where did they go?
Otherwise, I had to rearrange all my apps so my phone looked different enough after the update since everything else is the same. I'm ok with the lackluster update though.

 

[C DM]

I'm having a issue finding a app I installed, I cannot delete from the app library and I don't see it on the homescreen.

Maybe I'm blind but I dislike this about 14.

Have you tried restarting your device to see if that helps? You can also delete an app from Settings > General > iPhone Storage

 

[cuzo]

this is a moment you're having, not a defining quality of ios 14.

meanwhile, what happens when you try to delete it from the app library? and have you tried rebooting your phone?

Have you tried restarting your device to see if that helps? You can also delete an app from Settings > General > iPhone Storage

Correction you can delete a app from the app library, I didn't need to restart my phone.

Thanks

 

[Indigo212]

I have an issue when someone calls me, I don't see anything but the phone is ringing...

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I’ve finally found a widget that is actually useful for me and it doesn’t even require anything other than a visual need. Thank goodness for third party developers.