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Anyone else hate having all the search bars at the bottom?

robfoll

robfoll

Contributor
Original poster
Mar 22, 2020
313
382
Melbourne
When I pick up my phone, my eyes automatically go to the top of the screen (where historically all the search bars were visible or available to pull down). Now it seems most of them are moving to the bottom, where to my mind it's much harder to move the eye down and not in a natural place.

Be interested in feedback from other users.
 
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I don’t hate this change, but it has taken a while to adjust to this one. I’ve adapted to the shift in location though I still get thrown off by the double X buttons sometimes and end up closing the search bar instead of cleaning the contents.
 
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i don't hate it but i do need to get used to it. only been using it for about a week
 
Not too bad to get used to on my phone, but on the iPad, it sucks like in Podcasts or Music IMO.
 
robfoll said:
When I pick up my phone, my eyes automatically go to the top of the screen (where historically all the search bars were visible or available to pull down). Now it seems most of them are moving to the bottom, where to my mind it's much harder to move the eye down and not in a natural place.

Be interested in feedback from other users.
Click to expand...
They're 100x easier to reach with your thumb at the bottom. If Apple paid any attention to software ergonomics there wouldn't be any interactions outside the bottom half of the screen.

Id put money on a good percentage of phone droppages being caused by people trying to over-reach to the top of their phone screen with a thumb and taking a knock.
 
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It’s great for folks that are able to use their phones with one hand. For those that have ALWAYS used two hands, I’d guess it’s no easier or harder, they just have to remember a new place to tap.
 
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robfoll said:
When I pick up my phone, my eyes automatically go to the top of the screen (where historically all the search bars were visible or available to pull down). Now it seems most of them are moving to the bottom, where to my mind it's much harder to move the eye down and not in a natural place.

Be interested in feedback from other users.
Click to expand...
At first glance, I found it strange. However, I realized that it’s better to have it at the bottom because there’s a reason for it:

- A cleaner look.
- Maximising the space for content on your iPhone screens across various apps.

Also, do you remember iOS 15 introduced the Safari address bar at the bottom? You can also switch it back to the top if you prefer. I hope Apple does the same for the search bar in iOS apps.
 
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You're right in the sense that it's not in the natural place. We process info top to bottom, left to right so it's a different process and not necessarily better. Plus right now not every app is the same and on desktop/tablet the search bar is still at the top.

However, for using the device the bar at the bottom makes more sense. As devices get larger it's harder to reach the top of the screen with one hand. It won't be surprising when they move control center to be accessible from the top right to the bottom right.
 
I understand it makes sense to be on the bottom of the screen, from an ergonomic standpoint.

From a visual standpoint, though, I prefer having it at the top. Cell signal, clock, notifications - all basic information that one needs to orient themselves is at the top of the screen and hence address bar, search bar, etc should also be at the top of the screen.

Ideally we would just be given the option, the same way we have an option for the address bar in Safari.
 
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I absolutely don’t like the new iOS 26 UI. It feels more complicated than the last one. We had that glass stuff already and I was very happy when it disappeared 🤣
 
I can't tell yet. I only have it installed on an SE, and since its a home button phone it has a different layout. I haven't minded it so far though.
 
dannyyankou said:
Just like when Apple moved the URL bar in Safari a few years ago, it was weird at first but I got used to it. And I even prefer it now. It's easier to reach.
Click to expand...
👍 I did mention that iOS 15 change in my post. And Apple should give y’all an option to switch the search bar to the top if you want.
 
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since I use os xx on a laptop/desktop the top seems normal to me, I switched to Firefox as my default browser on iOS devices with duck duck go as the search engine. suit yourself
 
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