Why are settings such a mess?

[Silver78]

controlling auto brightness should be 3 presses.. settings…display.. toggle auto brightness on/off
instead of having to do 14 presses writing “auto brightness”

Also mouse controls are hidden away in a way that gives the feeling that you only should use mouse if you have a handicap.

Apple is the richest company in the world but it seems the highlight of updates are new emojies?

I see teenagers sitting in their dorm room doing better work in apps than apple does with their army of employees.

 

[geneo]

controlling auto brightness should be 3 presses.. settings…display.. toggle auto brightness on/off
instead of having to do 14 presses writing “auto brightness”

Also mouse controls are hidden away in a way that gives the feeling that you only should use mouse if you have a handicap.

Apple is the richest company in the world but it seems the highlight of updates are new emojies?

I see teenagers sitting in their dorm room doing better work in apps than apple does with their army of employees.

Actually it is about 6 "Auto" then select it from the search, then enable it But the conclusions are the same.

 

[Silver78]

Actually it is about 6 "Auto" then select it from the search, then enable it But the conclusions are the same.

On top you tend to want to use both hands when writing and navigate through menu is done with one hand.

in other languages you have to write more letters to reach the autobrightness in search ….you also have to remove keyboard again to reach the auto brightness because keyboard is in the way

 

[sorgo †]

Accessibility is a funny name for something so confusing to navigate.

 

[cnnyy20p]

I hate how the search in the setting handle the sorting. I type "pass" because I want to check my saved password. It instead shows at the end of the list.

 

[DaveP]

I’ve worked for quite a time in a very large corporation as a software developer.

If they can’t speak up, then they’re not good programmers.

I'll assume you mean if they don't speak up and not if they can't speak up as that would reflect on the company being good or not and not the programmer.

A programmer speaking up with his or her opinion doesn't mean that the decision is made to go with that opinion. In this case I'm sure there are factors that I'm unaware of and there may be good reasons why a decision was made that seems poor to me and others. For example, maybe a major settings overhaul in the works for the next iOS release and so the decision was made to just do what was quick and easy for the time being. Or maybe developers were overruled for poor reasons, like politics.

If you worked at a very large (emphasis added) corporation, then you should be well aware that developers can be overruled even if they speak up. In fact, there is probably a rough correlation between the size of the company and the likelihood of a single developer being overruled.

 

[kurtfoster]

It feels like everything new is just thrown into “accessibility“ … the settings on my ipad is really not intuitive.

The menus are are all over the place..
i find myself having to google the placement of many functions.

lately I had to find “auto screen brightness” under accessibility..

why are these setting menus not intuitive?

Completely agree. I emailed this link to Tim Cook. You never know. I do know he reads his emails. Perhaps this will make a difference.

 

[julesme]

OP has it right - The iOS settings are absolutely a mess, with critically important and basic functions that are hidden away in folder ironically named “Accessibility.”

The auto brightness is only one example, but it’s arguably the best example, because it’s a setting that affects everyone who uses an iPhone.

 

[ozapple]

"Hey Siri, turn auto-brightness on"

Job done..

 

[Expos of 1969]

"Hey Siri, turn auto-brightness on"

Job done..

I tried that and it resulted in all the lights in my car being turned on

 

[contacos]

They also do not really highlight new features and either hide them in accessibility or in the iCloud section that no one I know ever checks. For example, why is "Hide my E-Mail" in the iCloud settings and not part of "E-Mail". You also have to stumble upon new features such as adding your EU vaccination certificate to the health app by "mistake" or simply know about it from reading iOS articles online.

Don't get me started on the "3 dots" on the iPad. I still have not understand how this works nor does it impact my workflow and thus I don't bother to figure it out. All I know is that I have 3 dots on my screen now.

Would it be so hard to add a "What is new?" onboarding after a software update?

Oh and why are there like 500 places for "Siri & Search" in the Settings App?

 

[philstubbington]

It feels like everything new is just thrown into “accessibility“ … the settings on my ipad is really not intuitive.

The menus are are all over the place..
i find myself having to google the placement of many functions.

lately I had to find “auto screen brightness” under accessibility..

why are these setting menus not intuitive?

If you know what you’re looking for, use search in settings. That’s how I found “shake to undo” which seemed highly sensitive to any movement!

 

[bluecoast]

The structure of the settings app feels like something that Microsoft would do.

This is not a compliment.

 

[contacos]

If you know what you’re looking for, use search in settings. That’s how I found “shake to undo” which seemed highly sensitive to any movement!

yeah I hate it, especially on iPad.

 

[auxbuss]

You need to search within the settings app. The search bar is hidden at the top.

heh I actually went looking for that and didn't find it. It's another inconsistency, since it's right there in Notes, Reminders, Contacts, …

 

[ikir]

It feels like everything new is just thrown into “accessibility“ … the settings on my ipad is really not intuitive.

The menus are are all over the place..
i find myself having to google the placement of many functions.

lately I had to find “auto screen brightness” under accessibility..

why are these setting menus not intuitive?

Just use Android or Windows for few minutes and you will love Settings/Preferences. Other OS settings has no sense or logic, a total mess, instead in Apple side things are quite logical but there are so many things and first time you search something you could lost yourself. Moving and redesigning menus is not always a very user friendly because so many guides, videos, experience point you in the old path, so when things changes many users get frustrated.

 

[ikir]

I think everything that Apple wants to be hidden from the user goes in the “Accessibility” section. With the auto-brightness, for example, I feel like they want to save from battery replacements and lawsuits for degrading battery, for example (as the users might turn off auto-brightness and use full brightness at all times, which would lead to a faster wearing off of the battery than what is suggested on the Apple’s website). I’m sure these decisions are not made to help the end-user, but the company instead.

Furthermore, the search function is pathetic and does not really work properly.

Try search settings on any android device for example.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

It feels like everything new is just thrown into “accessibility“ … the settings on my ipad is really not intuitive.

The menus are are all over the place..
i find myself having to google the placement of many functions.

lately I had to find “auto screen brightness” under accessibility..

why are these setting menus not intuitive?

To me, it feels like Apple is deliberately making it hard to access settings and features that would probably confuse the most tech illiterate iPhone users or "degrade" the iPhone user experience.

Obviously, this is overbearing and too much as it is. I agree on that. There should be two or three "user tech literacy"-modes, where you either hide away advanced settings to get the iOS that we have now, which would be the default for all iPhones out of the box, of course. And then a mode where you get easy access to "power user" settings, where you can customise much more and access and move certain settings to your liking.

But looking at how iOS' UI is laid out right now, if Apple makes the switch for auto-brightness just one swipe or two taps away for everyone then some might unknowingly toggle it to "off". If this user also doesn't realise that display brightness is the biggest draw on power then suddenly their brand new iPhone would not make it through the day, or at best just have the battery wear down long before warranty or AppleCare+ runs out.

I really do think it comes down to Apple wanting to "baby" its users to some extent, that they want to control how we use iPhones to get the most hassle free experience. This is unfortunately done at the expense of the many, many "power"-users who would love to be able to customise iOS.

 

[frifra]

If it would only be settings.

What about Photos? I haven't really seen an update in 6 years.

Why can I not choose a list view for albums? Sorted alphabetically, by date, newest additions....

 

[csalm87]

Completely agree with this. Same thing for me with auto screen brightness. How it’s not under “Display and BRIGHTNESS” is way beyond me.

It used to be under the regular Display and Brightness settings, but then a few versions back they moved it under Accessibility.

 

[Xand&Roby]

The programmers are presumably doing what the designers tell them. And there were many meetings where designers discussed how the settings should be laid out.

No, it’s not what happens.
These menus were developed by engineers, designer’s forma mentis is a little different, designer know what “human” and “ergonomy” words signify.
Every time an engineer produce crap people complaint about designer.
Luckly someone is not an engineer.

 

[MauiPa]

I think everything that Apple wants to be hidden from the user goes in the “Accessibility” section. With the auto-brightness, for example, I feel like they want to save from battery replacements and lawsuits for degrading battery, for example (as the users might turn off auto-brightness and use full brightness at all times, which would lead to a faster wearing off of the battery than what is suggested on the Apple’s website). I’m sure these decisions are not made to help the end-user, but the company instead.

Furthermore, the search function is pathetic and does not really work properly.

I know right, I search for something and there it is pathetic

 

[gonsawa_]

But looking at how iOS' UI is laid out right now, if Apple makes the switch for auto-brightness just one swipe or two taps away for everyone then some might unknowingly toggle it to "off". If this user also doesn't realise that display brightness is the biggest draw on power then suddenly their brand new iPhone would not make it through the day, or at best just have the battery wear down long before warranty or AppleCare+ runs out.

Just add a little informative text. That way you’re giving easy of access to power users and educating the less tech savvy ones

 

[mansplains]

Y’all are forgetting that it used to be there in older iOS

Then this WWDC they'll rename the section to "Display" despite brightness still making sense to fit within

 

[dk001]

The structure of the settings app feels like something that Microsoft would do.

This is not a compliment.

But things are easier to find in Windows. Now that is alarming.