Except that your criticism is invalid instead, while his is not.
Apple routinely prides iOS as 'the most advanced operating system' in the world. Marketing speech for sure, but everyone knows they hold themselves to a certain quality ever since iPhone OS 1.
Should customers adjust our customisations BASED ON Apple's incoherent design choices, or should Apple design iOS based on a no-brainer consideration for every single colour palette in the world? Of the 2, which do you think should be more likely? Obviously the latter.
The fact that Apple's font is only legible against certain backgrounds is THEIR design flaw, plain and simple. They should have accounted and adjusted for all background colours during the design process, which they clearly haven't.
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@Feyl, don't mind the Apple defenders in this thread. I agree with your sentiment.
Many folks often come to the defense of Apple's choices without considering what Apple could've done better. The common excuses like 'why are you even bothering about such a small thing' or 'just do something else to mitigate X' or 'nobody cares' are pathetic. Caring about the small things was what made iOS so great in the first place, and over the years, people have forgotten about that and lowered their expectations/demands of standard from Apple. When it comes to Apple, it seems like almost every thing can be forgiven or written off. I wonder why are these people so inclined to cut this trillion dollar company some slack when it comes to the design and usability of their software used on the most common smartphone around the world.
If a design in a software is bad to the extent that a user needs to work around that, then it is just plain shoddy and there shouldn't be any excuses for that. Small or big flaw, it's still a flaw.
People are too busy justifying the greatness of Tim Cook's Apple that they have chosen to look past the degradation in iOS's design over the past few years. iOS used to be the epitome of simplicity, but not anymore. Here are a few examples that people choose to stick their heads in the sand and not talk about:
1. On iPhone 10 brethren, there are two ways to access in the camera in the lockscreen - pressing the on screen button or swipe left to reveal the camera interface. Why do we need 2 different interactions to access camera? This is so open that I can't believe the iOS software team green-lighted this and haven't changed it till now.
2. At your home screen, there are 2 ways to access music controls - by swiping to access control center or by accessing notification center. Again, why 2 different places to do the same thing?
3. 2 different places to access search - widget panel on the left side of your home screen and by swiping down on the home screen. Why is that?
4. What is the rationale for the big ass, left-aligned, titles in 1st party apps? Apple has never explained that. It is purely change for the sake of change, to accommodate the notch that is now occupying the middle of the top section of the screen. If I open messages, I already know I'm in messages. Do I need to be reminded that 'HEY YOU ARE NOW IN MESSAGES' in bold and extra big fonts?
5. No consistency across iOS devices. Control center is accessed up swiping up on iPhone 8 and earlier, but accessed by swiping down on the right top of the screen on the iPhone 10 brethren. Why is that? Why is the new Stocks app on dark mode for iPhone, but white for iPad? Why are some apps in dark mode, while others are in white?
6. 3D Touch, although a touch control with a lot of potential, is not intuitive. How does a user know where he can 3D Touch, and where he cannot? How many iPhone users out there know you can 3D Touch the edge of the screen to access multitasking? How many users know you can 3D Touch the keyboard to use it like a mouse? These are examples of what happens when you implement software design without thinking about making it intuitive.
These are just a few of the many design flaws that are currently present in iOS, and they should not be swept under the carpet just because it's 'Apple's' software. They deserved to be called out for what they are - flaws.
