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Apple's Software Quality Crisis

eliseomartelli.it

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Re: Apple's Software Quality Crisis

#921

Post by mherrmann »

alberth wrote: post #871
mherrmann wrote: post #867

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really see how that makes a difference. A talk with the title "my API demystified" is an equally bad sign.

> A talk with the title “my API demystified” But that’s not the title of the session. The title of the session was “Background execution demystified” Background execution is a computer science topic that many don’t understand well. Much like font antialiasing or other computer science topics that people don’t have to deal with daily. Note: I’m not saying Apple APIs are great. I was just originally pointing out the co…

I spent an afternoon watching and re-watching this video just to figure out how the otherwise-undocumented behaviors of the API work. It was exclusively about Apple's implementation, and not in any way about the general CS topic.

Re: Apple's Software Quality Crisis

#922

Post by MarcelOlsz »

yalok wrote: post #685

This has been going on for years. I used to do a lot of iOS development, and have an eye for bugs. Almost every Apple app/service has been regressing in quality. Take basic functionality - a phone app (calling). After certain audio sessions use (calling via WhatsApp) I can’t make regular calls over cellular - the UI app immediately cancels the call. Only reboot helps. Or notes - for many years/iOS versions, they live…

My favourite one is getting voicemail spam with no records in my call log for a number to block. Lovely.

Re: Apple's Software Quality Crisis

#923

Post by shermantanktop »

zuhsetaqi wrote: post #615
tkgally wrote: post #513

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wasn’t able to replicate that bug on my Mac, but when I tried to do so I ran into an instance of another bug that has been annoying me for many years: windows that open far away on the screen from where I clicked. Here is where the color picker appeared on my screen after I clicked on the custom color button in the change wallpaper window: https://gally.net/temp/20250304macoswindowopeningposition.jp...

That’s not a bug. The color picker always opens at the bottom left no matter which app opens it. Has always been like that.

Sounds a bit like “you’re holding it wrong” tbh.

I understand your point, once you have absorbed the Apple logic it is reinforced continually and makes sense. But opening a dialog near the use interaction point is a very reasonable expectation.

For me, I’ve never noticed any logic to it, I just know I need to hunt for it.

Re: Apple's Software Quality Crisis

#924

Post by Animats »

saagarjha wrote: post #705
Animats wrote: post #585

Why is device overheating considered a software problem?

Probably something chewing up CPU cycles.

If the hardware can't run at full power, cooling and power consumption are out of balance. What's the point of building such hardware?

Re: Apple's Software Quality Crisis

#925

Post by bored13 »

DanielHB wrote: post #840
jFriedensreich wrote: post #774

I used to think these reports were exaggeration until i had to use the apple tv app to watch severance. I am beyond shocked how bad this app is and how every interaction feels like a downer. Buttons miss hover effects, icons are off center by a few pixels. Whole interaction workflows were obviously never tested and just don't work. I hope the explanation is just that the app was outsourced but if this is the level of…

Man I just got a mini-itx case and use a full-blown windows desktop next to my TV. Bought a "fly-mouse" (wireless mouse that works with gyroscope), set screen DPI to 200%. One thing I didn't expect is that my family ends up using the TV quite a lot for planning stuff, like doing google sheets, planning trips on google maps, booking planes/restaurants/concerts/etc. We have a small normal wireless mouse and keyboard fo…

Bazitte is solid. Added PWA/electron wrappers for any web apps I frequently use (netflix/youtube/etc.) and added them as non-steam-games to my library. Have a steam controller and it is about as easy to use as any streaming stick.

Re: Apple's Software Quality Crisis

#926

Post by bigyabai »

hnthrowaway0315 wrote: post #334
bigyabai wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're only now realizing this? Software quality at Apple has been in a freefall since Cook's appointment. If you sincerely think iOS 18 is the turning point, then I don't even understand what you use your iPhone for.

I never used any Apple products before Cook's appointment. Why did it go down?

Apple became a service company. When they were making bespoke software to compliment their hardware, things were great. Then Cook was instated and it became all about margins. Good software isn't funded by Apple anymore unless it sells a subscription service or similarly low-margin recurring revenue.

Re: Apple's Software Quality Crisis

#927

Post by kazinator »

KempyKolibri wrote: post #636
kazinator wrote: post #417

My work Macbook sometimes drops random characters from the lock screen password input. You hit a key and a black dot does not appear; the password is consequently rejected. It's not exactly this: https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/458099/macos-lock-... The system is not lagging at all. It's not this: https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/08/29/mac-wont-accept-correct-l... It's a bit like this, but only for the system p…

Oh my god, I just thought my typing accuracy mysteriously dropped off at the Lock Screen. My password is long enough that it’s not clear whether a new dot has appeared, but I get frequent rejections.

To be clear, I diagnosed the missing dot issue by typing very slowly and carefully. The issue appears in repeatable streaks for me. For instance, the second character of the password might be dropped. If I repeat this several times, typing very deliberately and slowly, I can see the behavior repeat: no response for second character. Two workarounds are to just backspace and try again until the behavior goes away, or just notice that a character was dropped and type it again.

Re: Apple's Software Quality Crisis

#929

Post by nophunphil »

lynx97 wrote: post #734

VoiceOver user here. I experience a ton of small to medium issues since my first OS upgrade. In my book iOS 5 was the last relatively bugfree version I used. * Around iOS 8, the back button in Safari would crash voiceover. Bug was fixed with next OS update, so I had to deal with it for at least 8 months. * Since roughly iOS 11, VoiceOver cursor will randmly jump away from the currently selected item. So you actually…

Not sure why this was dead. VoiceOver is an iOS/macOS feature and the comment author was expressing that the software quality has been declining.

This is an important issue IMO. After having worked on accessibility for mobile and web applications for several years, I gained a lot of empathy for assistive technology users. Apple should know better.

Re: Apple's Software Quality Crisis

#930

Post by deergomoo »

ant6n wrote: post #770
karmakaze wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My indicator for if Apple is for the customer vs for Apple is how macOS 'negotiates' YPbPr instead of RGB for non-Apple branded monitors (some LG monitors also get a pass) which results in worse color quality. I believe this to be carefully engineered to be a plausible bug rather than a real one. BTW I have found a workaround using BetterDisplay and an EDID override (to more closely match what the monitor is actually…

I once spent hours trying to find out why apple's font rendering is so atrocious for a 1440p monitor on a m3 macbook air (reddit just keeps telling everyone to get higher resolution screens). Turns out it's related to the color scheme - the colors were fine, but the pixels are somehow located wrong, making everything look super pixelated. BetterDisplay provided a workaround, but it needs to be selected every time the…

They also removed subpixel antialiasing several years ago. Since then, “1x” screens (i.e. ~110ppi or lower) have looked like shit on macOS compared to the same display driven by Windows or Linux.
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