Why has Apple made iOS5 so difficult to grasp?

[aperry]

There are a few examples in iOS 5 that illustrate the confusion for me. Maybe I can get some help from one of the brilliant people on here who can't possibly understand why anyone would find this stuff challenging:

Photostream: Cool feature. Now, how do I delete an individual photo from the stream? If I take 9 blurry pics before arriving at a perfect one, how do I clean this all up so my photo stream folder isn't a crowded mess on all my devices? The fact that videos don't get uploaded is annoying too, but at least somewhat understandable. The fact that I can't see them on iCloud.com is a little odd.

Photo albums: Awesome, I just spent 30 minutes organizing my 1,500 iOS photos into neat little albums using this nice and intuitive feature.......only to find that there is apparently no way to sync the albums back to iPhoto. Is this for real?

This is the kind of stuff that makes me scratch my head and ask myself whether I'm just having a hard time "understanding" iOS5. Because surely these basic use cases can't be missing? I must be using it wrong, right? Can I get some help here?

 

[rdowns]

I don't find iOS 5 and iCloud difficult at all. Problems are to be expected with a new OS release. Many of the "problems" I am seeing are because the user had incorrect expectations as to what iCloud is.

 

[robdam1001]

Even my 14 year old cousin installed iOS 5 on his hand-me-down 3GS without any problems. He uses it better than his iPhone obsessed mother. If you can't "grasp" it and he can, perhaps you need to pay more attention.

This thread is not about installing ios5.

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What?!!

It's so user-friendly, so intuitive that even kids with Down syndrome could grasp it.

Just "wow".

 

[aperry]

I don't find iOS 5 and iCloud difficult at all. Problems are to be expected with a new OS release. Many of the "problems" I am seeing are because the user had incorrect expectations as to what iCloud is.

Just out of curiosity, what were your "expectations" regarding:
a) the ability to remove photos from the photostream
b) syncing or importing albums created in iOS5 back to iPhoto

Thanks.

 

[robdam1001]

The most annoying bug I'm experiencing is with Notification Center. For instance, I have Facebook notifications turned "off" yet they keep appearing.

 

[tigres]

Someone please give me a valid reason for buying more storage. On MM family packs we got iDisk with 20GB standard included.

Now how can anyone use 20 GB with iCloud? Is it the photo stream app?

Please prove it with specific examples on why you would need the >5GB given for EACH separate iCloud account as each device needs its own.

 

[hipnetic]

FWIW, I do not own a Mac and had not used MobileMe previously. My household is getting deeper and deeper into the Apple Ecosystem, and I'm sure that at least one of us will get a MacBook in the not-too-distant future. We currently own two iPhone 4s, and iPhone 4, an iPad 2, and three 2nd-gen Apple TV's.

As many have stated here, iCloud seems to be the biggest source for confusion. If I may be so bold, I think that Apple should have done certain things a while ago, in preparation for iCloud, which would have made things a lot easier to understand. This is what I would have suggested:

1) Possibly merge the iTunes store and the App Store. Or at least rename the iTunes store. Also rename the iTunes app. It's not just about "tunes" (aka music) anymore, and it hasn't been for a long, long time. It's a central store for purchasing all types of media and apps. I might recommend iStore or iMarket. I'm not exactly sure what I'd rename the iTunes desktop app.

2) Rename the Apple ID to iStore ID or iMarket ID. Make it clear that this is an ID, specific to store purchases, which can be shared among family members.

3) Make it clear that the iCloud ID is specific to *you*. Maybe even force users to create an @me.com ID, rather than letting them use whatever ID they want to. Make it clear that this ID is for a single person, but can be used across all of that person's multiple Apple devices (e.g., use the same iCloud ID for Sally's iPhone and iPad, but not for Jimmy's iPhone).

In addition to the confusing aspects which the above could solve, I've also run into some syncing issues with iTunes on my laptop, where it hangs on the last syncing step (I forget what it says). I can wait forever and it won't ever finish, so I end up yanking the cord.

 

[aperry]

Someone please give me a valid reason for buying more storage. On MM family packs we got iDisk with 20GB standard included.

Now how can anyone use 20 GB with iCloud? Is it the photo stream app?

Please prove it with specific examples on why you would need the >5GB given for EACH separate iCloud account as each device needs its own.

Well, I had to disable my Camera Roll from being backed up to iCloud because it was too large for the default 5 GB.

 

[rwwest7]

So, without back reading, is this thread really more about Photo Stream and less about iCloud? The photo thing is the only bad part about this update to me. I delete a photo from the "cloud" from my desktop but it remains in the "cloud" on my devices....WTF Apple!!!

Dear Apple,
Please Google the term "cascade deletes" and then implement it into your product. Thank you.

 

[gloomcookie1]

I think from what I've been reading is looking at what iCloud and your computers are. I think one of the things overlooked a little from the presentation was when Steve said they were demoting the computer to just a device.

A lot of people still think of their computer as the "master" device and the cloud is just a "backup".

Now you have to look as "iCloud" as the master device and everything else is the "backup" of sorts.

At first, I thought their strategy was that while everyone thought of the cloud as storage they would actually just use it as a "highway of sorts" to keep the information in all of your devices synced.

Which I still think is the case, because once you have transitioned to iCloud just about everything is automatically synced across your devices whether you make an entry on your calendar on the iPhone to if you add a contact on your computer - it just automatically updates everything without you having to sync.

The difficult part is transitioning how you think about what the cloud is and what syncing is - we're so used to having that "master" device that you sync with your "secondary" device (such as a phone) that it's hard to view both your computer and phone as the same thing.

In the end I think it'll become easier - but there is no doubt, it'll be a difficult transition for a lot of people - hopefully it all works out though.

 

[haruhiko]

I agree with a lot of this thread. I personally work in the IT field and am pretty technical. That being said, I've been using iOS 5 since Tuesday and I think I finally understand most of the iCloud features. I have had to explain how it all works to my non-technical friends, so clearly Apple has not done a good job of making the transition easy for non-technical customers. There is a lot of inconsistencies such as the differences between what you can sync on a PC vs a MAC. Things you can do in MobileMe, that you cannot do in iCloud (such as Gallery and iDisk), In addition, the iTunes Cloud backup vs Wifi Sync has a lot of people confused. There is a lot of overlap in the new features and it's overwhelming for most. I do think a lot of the people who don't understand all of these advanced features will just ignore them and carry on like they did with iOS 4 and enjoy the other great features such as iMessage, camera/photo editing, etc.

Actually, Apple wants you to ditch all your previous iTunes related stuff and do it all iCloud. But, as my camera roll carries photos and video since 2009, 5GB is really not enough for me. Therefore, I can turn on Mail, Calendar, To Do, Documents, Find my iPhone, whatsoever, but no backup.

I still have to tether my iPhone to iTunes for this critical purpose.

It's fine for me, but not so good for my girlfriend, who, as a typical girl (no sexual discrimination!), only sync her iPhone once a year, but with huge camera roll. iCloud seemed to be perfect for her situation, but... so you see, 5GB is not actually that much as Steve suggested.

 

[jsh1120]

Interesting thread. A few observations.

Much of the discussion here centers on the integration of various Apple products. In fact, however, a huge proportion of both iPhone and iPad owners don't own other Apple devices and don't intend to purchase them. They may be deluded consumers who don't understand how their lives would be vastly improved by junking their investments in other brands of technology. Nevertheless, unless Apple intends to await the Rapture it needs to understand that most iPads and iPhones are not purchased by people who have (or want) MBP's, MBA's, or Apple enabled TV's.

It's certainly understandable that Apple wants to improve the integration of their various devices and other products. But it's equally important to keep in mind that most customers want to use their iPads and iPhones as standalone devices or devices that integrate in a simple fashion with Microsoft and Android products.

In short, Apple has a complex challenge if it wants to extend its market penetration AND improve the integration among its own products. Obviously, most of the people on this forum care most about the latter initiative. But just as obviously, Apple's future does not lie in that direction.

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Actually, Apple wants you to ditch all your previous iTunes related stuff and do it all iCloud. But, as my camera roll carries photos and video since 2009, 5GB is really not enough for me. Therefore, I can turn on Mail, Calendar, To Do, Documents, Find my iPhone, whatsoever, but no backup.

I still have to tether my iPhone to iTunes for this critical purpose.

It's fine for me, but not so good for my girlfriend, who, as a typical girl (no sexual discrimination!), only sync her iPhone once a year, but with huge camera roll. iCloud seemed to be perfect for her situation, but... so you see, 5GB is not actually that much as Steve suggested.

Much the same can be said for those with more than 15 gigs of music that were not purchased from iTunes.

 

[zorinlynx]

I don't really see what's difficult about iOS 5.

You don't even have to change the way you do things right now. The cloud is optional; you can simply not use it and continue syncing your device to your computer. That's what I'm doing; I'd rather keep my own backups than trust the "cloud".

For those who don't want to deal with syncing, it's wonderful too, they can just use the cloud and not worry about connecting their device to a computer. And this is especially nice for new users who don't even have a "current way of doing things".

 

[donnaw]

I don't really see what's difficult about iOS 5.

You don't even have to change the way you do things right now. The cloud is optional; you can simply not use it and continue syncing your device to your computer. That's what I'm doing; I'd rather keep my own backups than trust the "cloud".

For those who don't want to deal with syncing, it's wonderful too, they can just use the cloud and not worry about connecting their device to a computer. And this is especially nice for new users who don't even have a "current way of doing things".

In a way I agree with you but I travel a lot and always worried what would happen if I'm in Europe (or CA for that matter and something happened and I needed to restore. Carrying a laptop just in case defeated the purpose of an iPad for me. I would assume ifonedependedon their iPhone it would be even more critical. So the iCloud sync is good.

For me the questions revolved around exactly what was happening. For one, PhotoStream, it syncs up to 1000 photos and keeps them for 30 days. What happens to each at the end of the 30-day cycle. It's on my PC in my PhotoStream folder. But is that folder a mirror of iCloud or is it cumulative? I found that I think it's cumulative. If not then I need to know that I have to address that folder a lot more often.

Also I keep all my contacts, etc. synced with my Live account. I couldn't get it to sync to iCloud. Took me a couple of days to find out that apparently you can't sync if it's set up as an Exchange account. It's Exchange or iCloud - period.

And Bookmarks, I have them set to sync to icloud but I can't see them and with all the sync issues how do I know they are there?

It's these little questions like that that seem to cause the ruckus. For some folks just 'set and go' works fine (especially if you are invested completely in the Apple ecosystem). For me (and I know I'm not alone in this) I prefer to know what's going on and what to expect rather than wake up to a bad sitituation months down the road when it may be too late to fix.

 

[miamialley]

I thought (incorrectly) that iCloud would serve the same function as Dropbox. Of course, it doesn't. I won't use iCloud, but rather, will wifi sync and will use Dropbox to backup and sync folders to the cloud and my MBP. I have no use for iCloud. Especially considering how iDisk never worked, I don't trust Apple to back u anything...yet.

 

[austinguy23]

Well, I think Photostream is kinda nice I guess but all I think people really want is for their pictures & vids to be automatically uploaded to a locker in the sky that will keep them safe forever.

This notion of having to move your pics to a photo album or lose them after 1,000 pics or 30 days is just silly and it's stupid that I can't log in to my "locker in the sky" to view my gallery of pictures any longer. I think they once had that feature in MobileMe but tossed it.

 

[b0dyr0ck2006]

Ok so explain to me this please.

UK users generally get unlimited text messages on their contracts - how does iMessage make a difference to us?

iCloud syncing with other devices - I have an iPhone. No iPad, no itouch, no mac, just a normal windows pc. How's does this make life any easier? Yes I can sync my photos through the stream, after I've created two new folders (also my parents on xp can't do this and to upgrade means buying a new computer)

I have a 3GS so no Siri, no geotagging which to me was Apples major selling point. Yes I have the notification bar, that's nice.

I have a nice camera button on the lock screen but when taking a photo with the volume did apple forget the camera would be at the bottom, where your fingers are to hold the phone??

What's the deal with the .me email accounts? I have two already, why do I need one from apple too?

Wifi syncing - but only plugged in, so I might as well plug the phone into the pc and sync as normal

 

[austinguy23]

It would be boring without the little niggles it has !

I thought we weren't supposed to say "niggles" anymore...

 

[richard.torble]

Ok so explain to me this please.

UK users generally get unlimited text messages on their contracts - how does iMessage make a difference to us?

Wifi syncing - but only plugged in, so I might as well plug the phone into the pc and sync as normal

Not all users have unlimited texts. I used to but I wanted to reduce the cost of my contract so now I have like 500 or something. Which still seems like a lot but can easily been eaten through over the course of the month. With iMessage I don't need to worry (as much). Also, I can chat to my friends outside of the UK (and create chaos with a MacRumours group chat ), without having to pay. That said, I do think that Apple saw the enormous success of the Blackberry Messenger service and felt like they needed to have a similar product.

WiFi syncing won't be a benefit for everyone. It will to me, because my MBP is in a different room to where I normally charge my phone. I very very rarely backed it up manually, now it will happen every day. It took me a little while to work out why they needed this with iCloud but now I realise they backup different things. I still would love if it was done over iCloud though.

 

[globalist]

Wifi syncing - but only plugged in, so I might as well plug the phone into the pc and sync as normal

I believe you can manually initiate a wi-fi sync, either from iTunes or from iPhone itself, even when not plugged in.

 

[b0dyr0ck2006]

It took me a little while to work out why they needed this with iCloud but now I realise they backup different things. I still would love if it was done over iCloud though.

Can you explain this for me please. I don't have auto backup I have to manually do it

 

[jfrancis04]

The scary thing is, if we're having trouble with it then all the "casual" iPhone owners are going to be lost.

 

[b0dyr0ck2006]

This is the problem with my parents and gf. I know what I'm doing, pretty good with computers and I found some of the iOS, iCloud and general setup of the whole shebang a little confusing

 

[richard.torble]

Can you explain this for me please. I don't have auto backup I have to manually do it

Do you mean iCloud or iTunes WiFi sync backups?

 

[b0dyr0ck2006]

The difference with what they backup.

In my iTunes I've selected sync over wifi and sync to iCloud.