At least we have iOS 6.1 to look forward to.
Larger "Report a Problem" button in Maps
New music controls on lock screen when you double-press home button
Siri can now purchase movie tickets via Fandango (USA only)
LTE now works with several European and American carriers
Individual songs can once again be downloaded or deleted when using iTunes Match
New, persistent Passbook pass explaining service functionality.
It's because the design is dated. Plain and simple. It looks old, overdone, and the UI is flat out inferior to other alternatives (Chrome, Fantastical, Maps). It's stale and is in need of a refresh.
Say what? Where is zbarvian and what have you done with them?
Having a change of heart, a bit, lol
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Don't get me wrong. The home screen works fine for launching apps and is "simple". But nothing else. They need to let users customize it a lot more than just arranging icons stuck to a grid.
There are a few simple steps Apple could do to improve it:
Let us change icon names
Let us change icons
Folders in folders
Get rid of the 12 apps per folder limit
Have the ability to create shortcuts
To the last point, I often toggle my Data and 3G ON/OFF to save on data cost. That needs a number of clicks but I am unable to do a shortcut to the cellular screen - that totally sux - specially since such a shortcut will pop up when I have no internet connection and I get the option to go there directly.
Nothing in 6.1 is worth looking forward to. Maybe number 4 will matter, but the rest is just very minor stuff. If beta 4 doesn't have anything good, I'll just stay on 6.0.1.
12 app limit per folder is because that's all they can fit on the screen. Apple always seems to choose form over function. Users describe it as elegant lol....
That's probably the reason, silly reason though, the touch screen works very well and we know scrolling from most web pages and many apps, even some Apple apps (mail, contacts, etc)
As a side note, it's interesting to see even oldtime Apple fans moving to Android. Obviously there's Woz, who uses both because he likes everything.
The most surprising is Guy Kawasaki... the former Chief Evangelist for Apple who was responsible for promoting the Mac, and pretty much invented Apple cultism... has moved completely to Android:
"To me the great irony is that Apple's slogan was 'Think Different,' but today if you think different you're looking at Android." - Kawasaki
iOS is like missionary only, if you know what I mean.
I know what you mean. Android finds a new way to $&@# you every single day.
Please explain this to me. I see it as a launcher to get me to what I need at the time. I'm not expecting fireworks when I unlock my screen. Android and WP8 are pretty much the same concept launcher wise IMHO. Why would anyone think Android or WP8 as non-boring but iOS boring?
Yes. This alludes to a larger point that I've been making for a while now. Society more or less now knows how to use touch screens and smart devices, and this is largely due in part to Apple themselves! This is a great credit to the accessibility of iOS.
Apple seems to have this fear that if they throw in more features, people won't get it. It's a ridiculous notion that reeks of some part laziness and lots of part stubborn.
People happily line up to take classes at Apple stores for their shiny new Apple product. I see it all the time when I visit the Apple store (I was in there just yesterday! The classes were jam-packed. And they were not miserable. Many were quite ecstatic).
Whatever new "scary" features Apple introduces, they can easily teach to people. iOS is now so simple it's gotten to a point that it's less usable than the competition, especially since the competition has come up with better/faster ways to do some of the same tasks. The intentional slow game of incremental updates (to both hardware, but especially to software) will get them burned in the long run in the face of faster and more aggressive competition.
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Wow. That's very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
iOS vs Android
Hardware: iOS > Android
Software: iOS < Android
Really Apple needs to update iOS 7. Its pretty crazy about the things Android 4.2 devices can do compared to iOS 6.1 for iPhone.
Its actually quite sad.
Please explain this to me. I see it as a launcher to get me to what I need at the time. I'm not expecting fireworks when I unlock my screen. Android and WP8 are pretty much the same concept launcher wise IMHO. Why would anyone think Android or WP8 as non-boring but iOS boring?
Having a change of heart, a bit, lol
Part of it is that iOS is so simplistic in its idea of usage. Basically, one app at a time, with relatively little integration or flow.
For example, iOS can be quite jarring to me because of its lack of a Back button.
I'll be in a native app on my iPad and click a link in a search result list. Safari opens up. Fine so far.
Now I want to go back to the result list. On Android, I just click the main Back button. With iOS I have to double-click the Home button and remember and find which app I was just using and click on it. And that's best case.
It gets worse, the longer the thought (and app) path you followed. For example, if that linked browser page has a document link or photo to view.
Android respects that I might be moving from app to browser to document viewer to editor, and then quickly back again up the chain to take a different path forward. It's more like using a browser, but with apps available as part of your movement between pages.