What's the point of the new app switcher?

[mazz0]

The double clicking is silly though, especially since this is a touch device. It's like Apple doesn't even bother coming up with gestures anymore. Why can't we just pinch-to-the-middle the entire screen to bring it up?

I actually think that's a good idea, at least on iPhone. To differentiate it from in-app pinch you could say it has to be from off-screen, like sliding down the notification bar, but from two opposite edges at once.

Wouldn't work on iPad very well, but iPad has the four finger gesture.

 

[C DM]

The double clicking is silly though, especially since this is a touch device. It's like Apple doesn't even bother coming up with gestures anymore. Why can't we just pinch-to-the-middle the entire screen to bring it up?

Probably because of a few different reasons. Like they probably want something as basic as app switcher to be accessible with the use of one finger. And they probably want it to be accessible even in cases that your screen/app is frozen for some reason and thus screen interactions aren't working and you need to close the app.

 

[MikeyMike01]

The double clicking is silly though, especially since this is a touch device. It's like Apple doesn't even bother coming up with gestures anymore. Why can't we just pinch-to-the-middle the entire screen to bring it up?

So you want to trade double-tap home, which requires one hand, for some pinch-gesture which requires two hands? How is that better?

 

[KALLT]

The only apps you really need to close are ones that are intentionally made to run in the background the entire time ... like maps or music streaming apps ... etc.

You don't even need to do that. Background audio can be switched off by pausing it in Control Centre or on the lock screen. The app will be suspended after that. Same with Maps, where you simply have to cancel any active navigation. Apple Maps for instance only uses your GPS while you are using the app or while using it for turn-by-turn navigation (shown by the blue bar on the home screen). Otherwise it will be suspended normally. Force-close can be a time-saver though.

Personally, I have found the energy consumption of background app refresh negligible. After all, the system is only going to refresh individual apps when it predicts that you will use these apps soon, based on prior usage, location, cell coverage and other factors. Apps you rarely use won't be refreshed or at least very rarely. Ideally, background app refresh is not using more energy, it simply moves the activity that you normally would exercise anyway to the background, with the benefit that your screen does not have to be turned on while your system loads external data (the screen is one of the biggest energy consumers). Background app refresh is thus mostly a no-brainer for me. The only reason why I turn it off is because it can draw some serious amounts of data during the day when not connected to Wi-Fi. It was especially costly for me when I had roaming enabled, that was pretty dumb.

 

[Richardgm]

Just tell me one thing:

Has the scrolling physics changed? Because I find it absolutely infuriating when I'm swiping and not allowed to go into an app because scrolling has not finished.

 

[KmanOz]

Still no "close all apps" button.

iOS isn't Android

 

[quackers82]

I prefer the new app switcher on my iPad , but on the iPhone it feels like its a little cramped to control easy and i sometimes catch the wrong window.

 

[mrex]

does the new switcher still show old screenshots of apps depending on the screen orientation? i just saw some old photo on my ipad, when i was switching to another app and was surprised to see it, because the photo was deleted but my ipad was still showing that pic when the orientation was upside down.

 

[wakinghour]

This helps you see the hierarchy of your apps easier like a deck of cards. As you swipe through them your mind develops an reference understanding of the position of the apps. The other way is harder since everything comes by in single file.

 

[Shirasaki]

View attachment 560350 View attachment 560351
Looks disgustingly similar to me

Just looks flat. And that is all.

 

[Shirasaki]

same with the iOS 7-8 one. the idea is it makes it quicker to switch back to your last app, which is what you often want to do. (the app switcher in iOS 4-6 didn't even list the current app btw.)
i wouldn't mind a close all option, but if it's any consolation to you and anyone else reading, it just took me around 6 seconds to close 30 apps, so around 5 per second.

there's always the hardware home button...

I would like to assume what he says is the ability to bring back to home page of an app, not home screen.

 

[Prabas]

I like this new layout, much easier and faster to navigate and no, you can't click if animation hasn't stopped, but scrolls faster. It's much better than iOS 8 switcher.

 

[betabeta]

I do not like the new switcher at all, I mostly look at the icons, and like them larger and on the bottom near my thumb. Quickly looking at just the screenshots is not great, also liked seeing 2 screens side by side sometimes to compare things in 2 apps.

On the iPad its ok, but still needs larger icons, also prefer the bottom for the icons.

 

[nj-morris]

I like it. You can scroll through faster, it's better looking, bigger cards, more cards on the screen at once, nicer animations, no more annoying contacts, etc, etc. Sure, it looks like Android, but that doesn't change anything.

 

[KALLT]

I like it. You can scroll through faster, it's better looking, bigger cards, more cards on the screen at once, nicer animations, no more annoying contacts, etc, etc. Sure, it looks like Android, but that doesn't change anything.

Actually, you can’t scroll through it faster. The momentum is a lot heavier per swipe, I haven’t seen something like this on iOS in a while. Whether it is better looking is a matter of taste, but as betabeta (above) said, you don’t see as much important information anymore and the icons – which are very distinctive – are smaller and obscured. You also don’t see more: the cards were smaller after all, allowing you to see more at a glance. You were always able to disable the contacts by the way. By reversing the scroll direction, it would also confuse people for a while. We should see it for what it is: a purely cosmetic change with no clear advantages.

 

[nj-morris]

Actually, you can’t scroll through it faster. The momentum is a lot heavier per swipe, I haven’t seen something like this on iOS in a while. Whether it is better looking is a matter of taste, but as betabeta (above) said, you don’t see as much important information anymore and the icons – which are very distinctive – are smaller and obscured. You also don’t see more: the cards were smaller after all, allowing you to see more at a glance. You were always able to disable the contacts by the way. By reversing the scroll direction, it would also confuse people for a while. We should see it for what it is: a purely cosmetic change with no clear advantages.

If you swipe while keeping your finger on the left, it is a lot quicker. You don't see as much important information? Don't really get you. Icons are obscured, yes, but it's still an extra one there, unlike on iOS 8. With the cards, I see as much as I need to see. I see what app it is, and that's what's important. That's why it has it. People don't need to have the whole thing there when you don't need it. And I did disable contacts, don't remember why I put that there.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

The double clicking is silly though, especially since this is a touch device. It's like Apple doesn't even bother coming up with gestures anymore. Why can't we just pinch-to-the-middle the entire screen to bring it up?

There is a gesture for the app switcher.

4-5 finger swipe up.

 

[batting1000]

There is a gesture for the app switcher.

4-5 finger swipe up.

(iPad only.)

 

[The Mad Hatter]

But y did they move from scrolling left to scrolling right??? They made it untraditional ... And I don't like the feeli since it should have been the other way round

I'm thinking they did it to make it more right-hand-centric for one-handed use. Because they also switched the 'start' button in the timer app to the right as well.

Just my 2¢

 

[The Mad Hatter]

(iPad only.)

Hmm. There's no gestures switches under the multitasking section in settings for the iPhone? (I wouldn't know, as I only put 9 on my iPad).

That seems lame.

 

[dagamer34]

Just tell me one thing:

Has the scrolling physics changed? Because I find it absolutely infuriating when I'm swiping and not allowed to go into an app because scrolling has not finished.

Touch latency has decreased and touch sampling has increased in iOS 9. Pre-iPad Air 2, touch samples are predictive which apps can access (helpful in drawing apps). On the iPad Air 2 and up (I assume), touch sampling is doubled to 120Hz.

 

[C DM]

I like it. You can scroll through faster, it's better looking, bigger cards, more cards on the screen at once, nicer animations, no more annoying contacts, etc, etc. Sure, it looks like Android, but that doesn't change anything.

Contacts could always be disabled if desired, so that's more or less moot.

 

[C DM]

Hmm. There's no gestures switches under the multitasking section in settings for the iPhone? (I wouldn't know, as I only put 9 on my iPad).

That seems lame.

Gestures never existed for the iPhone, unfortunately.

 

[Shirasaki]

Uh ... what? Of course they won't.


???

My discussion has been about how closing apps is bad for battery life ... except for apps that run constantly in the background that don't "freeze" when put in the background ... such as steaming apps, maps, etc.. and if those are left open will chew through battery life. Then someone made a suggestion about turning off background processes for those apps, in which I stated would be a bad idea for certain apps like maps because that will remove important functionality needed for the app. Then you quoted me and went off on a tangent.

Seems that google maps doesn't require background app fresh to function properly. If I use google maps for navigation, I would better parking my car or stoping walking to make a phone call or reply a text message. This is much safer.

 

[Shirasaki]

Part of the reasoning, I am sure, is that you are (may be) more likely to interact with someone with whom you've had recent contact. Not sure I buy that, but that was a theory that was presented to me. I get really confused by the "here it is" in one release and "we take it away" in the next. Grrrrr.

Sounds like Apple is teasing user in this feature.

Not mention there are two ways to do search.