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iPhones are hard to use

blog.fawny.org

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Re: iPhones are hard to use

#131

Post by pcmoney »

bobthepanda wrote: post #39
pcmoney wrote: post #21

Ok, I need to say it. This article just has iPhone in the title to get more views. This is a problem with not just all smartphones but all rapidly evolving technology products. Do you think you could hand an android phone to one of those example cases and have them do any better with it? Also half of the time I am in an apple store I am helped by someone who needs to use the accessibility features to check me out/in.…

Just because all companies handle the problem space really badly, doesn't mean we should excuse it. Apple products, as far as I can remember, do not come with any sort of manual describing the nifty little shortcuts that they have. Even as someone who did IT support and handled a lot of iPhone troubleshooting constantly, I got blindsided by lots of small things, like when they switched the force reboot from power+hom…

I wholeheartedly agree that more accessibility focus and ease of adoption for novices is something the industry as a whole should focus on.

Historically large manuals do not help users use the device better. Ex. How well do you know how to use the advanced features of your microwave?

I would say apple is the least bad at this. They offer classes, every release has “What is new” progressions when you launch. Over time this is going to be an increasingly difficult challenge, as tech develops on a platform it builds on its previous patterns. You get to the point where some competence is assumed (correctly or wrongly). When I get into a car there is no display that tells me “this is a steering wheel, it turns the wheels in proportion to how much you twist it”.

Re: iPhones are hard to use

#132

Post by smogcutter »

julianz wrote: post #102
fastball wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. Open Mail 2. Click compose button How could that possibly be difficult of all things?

I've never been able to understand why mail apps insist on the word Compose. Is it an American thing? I've never wanted to compose a piece of text, and never heard the word used in that way.

It's the word gmail uses as well.

Re: iPhones are hard to use

#133

Post by Itaxpica »

Joky wrote: post #120
IggleSniggle wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s odd. On my iPhone, moving the cursor is activated with long touch, and 3D Touch does nothing...and yet I do have 3D Touch

You need to do 3D touch on the keyboard itself.

I had no idea that existed and it is a game-changer. Thank you!

Re: iPhones are hard to use

#134

Post by peapicker »

brandon272 wrote: post #93

One thing I have come across in trying to explain phones to older people is that they have difficulty grasping the difference of cellular vs. WiFi and where they can and can't use data. I have a parent who is terrified to use the internet while on WiFi because they don't want to get a huge bill at the end of the month. I have done some explaining to reduce that anxiety and I'd like to tell them not to worry about it,…

Since iOS doesn't know your plan billing dates, this is up to the carrier. Verizon, as much as I despise how much I pay them, has a fantastic app that does exactly this (show used data this billing cycle), which after installation is in your notification center, one swipe away.

Re: iPhones are hard to use

#135

Post by badwolf »

gmjoe wrote: post #105

This is just silly. News flash: software UX isn't perfect, and it never will be. When you have a phone that can do 10,000 different things limited to a screen a few inches wide, of course it's going to be harder to do some things than others. And there will be some inconsistencies and some annoyances. It's not like any other phone is obviously way better. Yes there are plenty of UX things that could be improved... bu…

This article and most of the comments just scream "I don't like new/different things!" or "I don't know how to do x therefore it's a terrible implementation"

Re: iPhones are hard to use

#136

Post by diegorbaquero »

Joky wrote: post #120
IggleSniggle wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s odd. On my iPhone, moving the cursor is activated with long touch, and 3D Touch does nothing...and yet I do have 3D Touch

You need to do 3D touch on the keyboard itself.

This is one of the best things I've learned this month! Thank you

Re: iPhones are hard to use

#137

Post by entee »

varenc wrote: post #110

Most of this article just lists semi-advanced features that people don't know about. I think that’s Apple’s intention... Having every feature and option up in your face can reduce usability and make simple tasks harder for the average user. Apple wants a product that's easy for anyone to use and that often means keeping non-essential features out of the way. I’d be more interesting in seeing feedback for Apple on how…

I think the points that are well taken are those around identity, relationships and contacts. I've been using iPhones for something like 8-9 years and I didn't know I could specify a contact as a specific family relationship. A while ago when I wanted to configure emergency contact information it took me a google search to figure out that I needed to find the Health app buried on the last screen of the phone.

At the very least, the emergency contact info should be stupid simple to find (I'd say top level in Settings). This isn't an "advanced" feature, it's a fairly vital and basic feature of a cell phone. Family relationship specification should be simpler too.

Re: iPhones are hard to use

#138

Post by songco »

nilkn wrote: post #91
reaperducer wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

3D Touch seems to be the Touch Bar of the mobile world. Both are great ideas, but only sparsely exploited even by Apple, itself.

For what it’s worth, I use 3D Touch pretty much every day. The number one usage for me is moving the cursor around while editing text. I actually did it while writing this post; I decided I wanted to add a comma after “worth” at the beginning and did so easily with this feature.

I also use 3D touch many times every day. Mainly for mobile payments, example: 1. Pay for bus fare: unlock->find app->3d touch->select "show payment barcode" 2. Instant payment in restaurant: unlock->find app(e.g. wechat)->3d touch->"show payment barcode"/OR "scan barcode" to scan restaurant's bar code for payment

Without 3d touch you need one more step to open the app, and maybe more steps to find menu for payments(depends on apps you use)

edit: just found some apps(not all) provide widget to access features like payment...

Re: iPhones are hard to use

#139

Post by bitrrrate »

gricardo99 wrote: post #3
polalavik wrote: post #2

And now dumber than ever. At least on my iPhone 6s with the latest update. Now you have to go through 2 screens to send a photo to someone in imessage, whereas before the most recent photos were easily accessible. And on facetime you have to pull up a menu [that covers the entire screen] to flip the camera around, and if you accidentally hit it a couple times theres no way to know which way your camera is facing with…

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I was feeling old when I became confused by the facetime pull up menu and accidentally disconnected the call, unable to figure out if the camera was flipped, and how to get back to the call.

Agreed on this one. Does FaceTime really have that many controls that they need a separate menu rather than just lining the ever larger device screens with them?

Re: iPhones are hard to use

#140

Post by tylerjwilk00 »

devinus wrote: post #28

I recently switched to iOS from Android after years on Android. I'm coming from being a daily macOS user for almost a decade. I would argue that iOS should no longer be considered the more "user friendly" of the two. That might have been the case years ago, but iOS seems to expect prior experience with what I can only guess are iOS paradigms specifically. Almost every important action I need to take in an iOS app is…

I agree. Android seems to have more consistent UX for apps regardless of developer. Back button is such a key input that I always feel trapped in iOS, where as on Android everything feels intuitive and multitasking is a breeze.
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