I like my iPhone 13 Pro rather a lot, however it helped me to appreciate why I love Android. The variety of issues I confronted when switching to an iPhone actually drove the purpose dwelling to me, and there have been a number of points with iOS through the years — a few of that are fully nonsensical. Whereas Apple prides itself on creating the telephone that simply works, there are some components of that have which are downright complicated. iOS 16 is simply across the nook, and it’s nearly sure it received’t repair all the iPhone’s issues.
Right here’s the factor although: the variety of points Apple has in iOS can technically all be mounted in iOS 16. It’s simply that they nearly definitely won’t be. Horrible notifications, sluggish animations, and an rigid dwelling display all frustrate me to no finish, however there’s extra to it than that. iOS as an working system “simply works”, however that mantra is flawed in relation to a number of points. There’s loads that we’re hoping to see in iOS 16, however we’re nearly assured to not get a lot of it in any respect.
Issues with iOS
Notifications want a serious overhaul
Notifications are in all probability probably the most universally understood drawback of iOS, and there are a number of the reason why. They really feel like an afterthought when utilizing an iPhone, and there’s lots of work wanted to make them considerably higher. iOS 15 launched “summaries”, which went a good distance in direction of serving to the scenario, however they’re on no account an answer.
When evaluating iOS notifications to Android, it’s actually no comparability. On Android, from a notification, you may open the app, lengthy press to alter the notification’s precedence, dismiss it by swiping in both path or develop it to get extra contextual-based interactions. You may reply to messages, ship pre-defined actions, and a complete lot extra. iOS has the essential performance of opening the notification or with the ability to swipe it away to the left, however attempt to swipe it to the proper and also you’ll have an issue. Some apps do mean you can maintain down on a notification and get extra performance, however these have a tendency to simply prolong into opening the app in a selected means.
There are different issues with notifications on iOS too, together with with the ability to clear your entire notifications away. It can be carried out by tapping on the ‘x’ button within the notifications middle and tapping it once more, however that doesn’t all the time present up, and it doesn’t clear your most up-to-date notifications both. Notifications work on iPhones, however there are lots of issues and issues that want sharpening, and it appears to be a reasonably common expertise. The notifications system in iOS wants a serious overhaul.
To be clear, rumors suggest that there’s going to be an overhaul of the notification system with iOS 16. Consequently, this can be one of many few points that Apple really does do one thing about. Right here’s hoping for the most effective.
Siri is ten years old-fashioned
The craziest factor about Siri to me is how outdated it has grow to be. I bear in mind when it launched with the iPhone 4s how insanely forward of the competitors it felt. You could possibly speak to a digital assistant and ask it something, from genuinely helpful queries to crazy questions similar to “Siri, what’s the that means of life”. Now, each time I exploit Siri, it looks like I’m utilizing the identical software program from ten years in the past. It’s simply quicker.
Siri is Apple’s long-time voice assistant, and it’s additionally extremely ineffective for any difficult process. The Google Assistant merely fares a complete lot higher, and a big a part of that’s because of the context that Google Assistant really understands. For instance, I requested Siri what the climate was like in Dublin. I then requested when is it anticipated to rain, and it informed me that it was raining in my hometown proper now. In context, I requested Google the identical, and it understood that I used to be asking about rain in Dublin nonetheless. It’s the little issues like this that present simply how far behind Siri really is.
These aren’t the one issues although. If you happen to ask Siri a query that might be Google-able, say, when the Bob’s Burgers film might be launched, you’ll be introduced with a listing of hyperlinks to undergo and choose from. I requested Google the identical query, and was informed “In the USA of America, the Bob’s Burgers film got here out final Friday”. It’s the little issues, however a digital assistant ought to help. If I’m asking an assistant to discover a date for me, I don’t wish to sift via a bunch of hyperlinks to search out the reply like some sort of animal. I might have simply Googled it myself at that time.
So yeah, presently, Siri nonetheless sucks.
The house display is just too restrictive
The house display is among the least egregious points that I’ve with iOS, and that’s as a result of it’s each actually good, and actually annoying. On the one hand, it’s simplistic and it really works, and it’s a reasonably good launcher all issues thought of. It’s clean, the widgets are good (although took a LONG TIME to really launch), and it’s feature-packed. Then again, there are nonetheless fairly just a few points. For starters, the very fact it’s not doable to have clean areas wherever on the house display is extremely annoying. It’s simply not doable to take a extra creative strategy to the house display with out resorting to workarounds.
As effectively, widgets themselves are extremely restricted. As we famous in our wishlist, there are not any interactive widgets. You may’t use the Music widget to pause/play/skip, for instance. This makes them so limiting — particularly because the legacy widgets assist controlling an app or getting data with out launching the precise app. Rumors recommend some adjustments to widgets in iOS 16, however none say that we’ll get correct interactivity.
There isn’t any common again gesture
Right here’s a curious omission on iOS that you just may not have essentially realized: there is no such thing as a common again gesture. Whereas each app usually has a option to swipe from left to proper to return, it’s as much as the app the way it needs to include again gestures. Some apps will solely allow you to swipe again on the prime, others require you to press a again button on the prime left.
Consequently, lots of apps are likely to have it barely totally different, and just about no app means that you can swipe from proper to left to return, one thing that’s far more handy when holding the telephone in your proper hand. On Android, this isn’t the case, as a swipe on the proper or the left is dealt with by the system and despatched as an enter to the app to say that you just wish to return.
Animations are too sluggish
iOS has some extraordinarily sluggish animations
iOS has some extraordinarily sluggish animations, to the purpose that I really feel like they decelerate my telephone. Closing apps, opening apps, animations inside apps… all of it feels so sluggish. The Apple Bionic A15 can deal with all of it no query, but it’s irritating to make use of my iPhone once I wish to bounce between totally different functions shortly. It’s a smaller gripe, however one that may typically get on my nerves. You may allow “Scale back movement” within the accessibility settings, however I didn’t actually discover that it elevated the velocity I might do issues on my telephone.
It’s nonetheless probably not doable to sideload apps
It could be amiss to speak about issues with iOS with out mentioning sideloading. It’s doable to do through the likes of AltStore, however it’s not a simple course of. To make use of emulators and different unapproved apps in your smartphone, you’ll want to put in and configure AltStore… you may’t simply obtain an IPA file (the iPhone equal of an APK) and set up it. I by no means realized how a lot I appreciated that freedom till I used to be confronted with a prolonged and annoying course of simply to play Pokemon on my telephone. I don’t assume it will ever be modified, however I’d adore it a lot if it was.
Typing needs to be simpler
Provided that smartphones are smartphones, typing is among the most vital issues we do on our telephones. Consequently, it ought to in all probability be probably the most frictionless expertise of your entire ordeal, however on iPhones, I can’t actually say that it’s.
One of the vital irksome components of typing is when one thing is autocorrected by a letter, and to repair it, you may’t simply faucet into the middle of the phrase to alter it. You both have to backspace via the phrase or faucet to the top of it, then maintain on to the house bar and drag. It’s such a weird option to make minor edits and might take means too lengthy.
As effectively, and that is extra of a private desire, however I hate that I can sort a message and the final letter is auto-corrected in between me hitting enter, and the message really being despatched.
What to anticipate in iOS 16 and when
iOS 16 is anticipated to reach at this 12 months’s Apple’s Worldwide Builders Convention (WWDC), and we’ve already heard lots of rumors of what to anticipate because of Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Gurman purports that Apple will lastly introduce assist for lock display widgets — via a brand new wallpaper format — and herald an always-on show on upcoming iPhone 14 Professional fashions. Moreover, he states that he believes that Apple will assist social network-like options within the Messages app.
WWDC is just every week away, so we don’t have lengthy to attend till we discover out what’s new and what isn’t. Whereas iOS has lots of points, I feel that it’s nonetheless a very good working system, and enhancements and adjustments are good for your entire smartphone ecosystem.
We’re excited, are you?
