Apple no longer "just works," chapter 43: iOS10's stupid behavior for Contacts

[Tozovac]

I want iOS and apps to work well and for iOS to blend into the background. And, to be honest, it does those things amazingly well. Again, I don't know why you're complaining. If you don't like how iOS does things, just move to Android or another mobile operating system. Fairly simple solution in my opinion.

Surprised you recommended that. Unfortunately the other OSs are even more dumbed down flat unintuitive. Remember-Apple had it right out of the gate and just keep refining. Android and everybody else were catch-up copycats and had to come up with something slightly different, which just was not as good. Jony Ive needed to be original, and similarly came up with something that was all re-invented and different just for the sake of being new and different but -- arguably just not as good as before. Like I mentioned already, I and many others are sticking with Apple in spite of them now because they are still slightly a better option than the others instead of how it was before, which was when they were the best and only option.

 

[JM]

I just realized today that spotlight gives you two results when you search for a contact. A Top Hit, which provides no link to the Contacts app, and then immediately below, a few more contacts but this time with a link to the Contacts app. Why the hell they don't add a link to the Contacts app at the Top Hit too or just forgo the Too Hit all togather without a special label and just put the top hit at the very top of the contacts results is beyond me. Another distracrung example of Jony Ive's team trying to be different to be different instead of to be good.

Unfortunately, the search in app option o Ly appears if a: you do not spell out the whole name or b: you spell out the whole name and you have more than one of that name in contacts.

If c: you search for complete name and there is only one... you get a top hit. **** you Apple. Either it's an oversight, or a deliberate choice to encourage purchase of a force touch device.

 

[Apple blogger]

I think that the point of the search is to get the contact info and not open the contact itself... it's for editing... if u would see that each time u search the contact, it presents the contact itself.. not switch app.. so u can share etc right from the Notification Center.. and go back to the app...

 

[Alrescha]

I think that the point of the search is to get the contact info and not open the contact itself.

While I am not a fan of the flat UI, I think this is on the right track. If I am on the run and need to search for a contact, I do not want to accidentally start editing it while walking down the street. Since I have done that before, this change makes sense to me. If I am in the mood to be editing contacts, I will use the app.

I do not want to spoil the OP's fun, but adding a step to go to Phone in order to get to Contacts does seem a *bit* contrived.

A.

 

[Tozovac]

Unfortunately, the search in app option o Ly appears if a: you do not spell out the whole name or b: you spell out the whole name and you have more than one of that name in contacts.

If c: you search for complete name and there is only one... you get a top hit. **** you Apple. Either it's an oversight, or a deliberate choice to encourage purchase of a force touch device.

Aha, this is good to know. I was questioning myself and why I hadn't seen "open in app" during the instance that inspired me to post this thread. I must have been doing choice "c:" above. I agree, **** you Apple - you've gone from designing for the user 90% and for Apple 10% to designing for Apple/Jony Ive 90% and the user 10%, whether it's spotlight behavior, removing headhone jacks & magsafe ports, rendering iTunes/Music App as useless for anyone who owns their own music, or producing iOS/OS's to be showcases for someone's personal minimalist tastes rather than serve as pinnacle examples of the world's best user-focused UI's.
[doublepost=1490638233][/doublepost]

While I am not a fan of the flat UI, I think this is on the right track. If I am on the run and need to search for a contact, I do not want to accidentally start editing it while walking down the street. Since I have done that before, this change makes sense to me. If I am in the mood to be editing contacts, I will use the app.

I do not want to spoil the OP's fun, but adding a step to go to Phone in order to get to Contacts does seem a *bit* contrived.

A.

Thanks for the reply but you completely missed the point. I agree that going to a "shortcut" version of a contact for quick access is fine & great. But stopping there and not granting some kind of quick access to the editable Contact there for all users of the iOS is just nonsense, and is highly noticed because very often I wish to use spotlight to get to a Contact for either editing or I want to see something else for that contact that doesn't show up in the Top Hit.

While we're at it, here's another lame-brain "improvement" by Jony Ive's UI. Before when you went to edit a Contact such as by clicking "add to existing contact," you would see the new phone number or email you wish to add as blue font, which stood out from the black font so you knew which was the new number being added. But now that Jony Ive has eliminated the use of intuitive buttons and chose to rely on colored font to mean "this is an actionable link," the new phone # added to an existing contact no longer shows up as blue but is black and blends in with the rest of the existing contacts data, making you have to guess or worse yet, back out and go back to where you were adding a number to a Contact, to make a note of what the # is so you can later assign it as home/work/mobile, etc. I realize Jony's work around was to add a greyed-out "recent" notification next to the number being added now, but that doesn't always show up consistently. (bug?) The first time I added a number to an existing contact that way and saw the blue font representing the new info to be added, I smiled at Apple's "it just works"-ness. It's another reminder of how many things are less good now vs. before. Thank you Apple.

 

[Alrescha]

Thanks for the reply but you completely missed the point.

With all due respect, disagreeing with you is not quite the same thing as missing the point

On the other hand if you want something else to rant about: why can you edit the Text Tone and/or Emergency Bypass from the search results, but not anything else? Consistency, anyone?

A.

 

[C DM]

With all due respect, disagreeing with you is not quite the same thing as missing the point

On the other hand if you want something else to rant about: why can you edit the Text Tone and/or Emergency Bypass from the search results, but not anything else? Consistency, anyone?

A.

Can potentially be seen as and perhaps attributed to a difference of changing options vs changing actual data.

 

[JM]

Aha, this is good to know. I was questioning myself and why I hadn't seen "open in app" during the instance that inspired me to post this thread. I must have been doing choice "c:" above. I agree, **** you Apple - you've gone from designing for the user 90% and for Apple 10% to designing for Apple/Jony Ive 90% and the user 10%, whether it's spotlight behavior, removing headhone jacks & magsafe ports, rendering iTunes/Music App as useless for anyone who owns their own music, or producing iOS/OS's to be showcases for someone's personal minimalist tastes rather than serve as pinnacle examples of the world's best user-focused UI's.
[doublepost=1490638233][/doublepost]


Thanks for the reply but you completely missed the point. I agree that going to a "shortcut" version of a contact for quick access is fine & great. But stopping there and not granting some kind of quick access to the editable Contact there for all users of the iOS is just nonsense, and is highly noticed because very often I wish to use spotlight to get to a Contact for either editing or I want to see something else for that contact that doesn't show up in the Top Hit.

While we're at it, here's another lame-brain "improvement" by Jony Ive's UI. Before when you went to edit a Contact such as by clicking "add to existing contact," you would see the new phone number or email you wish to add as blue font, which stood out from the black font so you knew which was the new number being added. But now that Jony Ive has eliminated the use of intuitive buttons and chose to rely on colored font to mean "this is an actionable link," the new phone # added to an existing contact no longer shows up as blue but is black and blends in with the rest of the existing contacts data, making you have to guess or worse yet, back out and go back to where you were adding a number to a Contact, to make a note of what the # is so you can later assign it as home/work/mobile, etc. I realize Jony's work around was to add a greyed-out "recent" notification next to the number being added now, but that doesn't always show up consistently. (bug?) The first time I added a number to an existing contact that way and saw the blue font representing the new info to be added, I smiled at Apple's "it just works"-ness. It's another reminder of how many things are less good now vs. before. Thank you Apple.

Yeah you just have to trust that the new info is added, and press the "edit" button ( EDIT?! So stupid)

 

[Tozovac]

With all due respect, disagreeing with you is not quite the same thing as missing the point

On the other hand if you want something else to rant about: why can you edit the Text Tone and/or Emergency Bypass from the search results, but not anything else? Consistency, anyone?

A.

With all due respect, you did miss my point if you thought I wanted instantly go to an editable contact by pressing a Spotlight/Top Hit result. I was just whining about Apple not consistently offering a clickable link somewhere in spotlight results to always allow an option to get to the contacts App entry if desired. As JM summarized nicely above, Apple's current iOS let you click to get to the Contacts app for some contact names searched with spotlight results but not all. So if I want to quickly get to a Contacts app to edit, which is often for me, I have to guess as to whether it'll show up in spotlight results. Idiotic. If you're worried about often unintentionally accidentally opening an edible contact on the run, I hope you're not using your phone often when walking, running, or driving.

 

[fmalloy]

I think Apple sees different use cases for different things in different places. Now, whether everyone agrees with their take on it or not, that's certainly another aspect to it all.

Don't see any reason why, when you have a contact open, you'd be prohibited from editing it. Accessing a contact thru the path described by the OP is a fast way to get to it, but you can't edit it?

Yeah, "Apple sees different use cases" - which is their typical arrogant attitude of "YOU don't know what is easy to use and intuitive, WE will tell you what is easy to use and intuitive"

 

[C DM]

Don't see any reason why, when you have a contact open, you'd be prohibited from editing it. Accessing a contact thru the path described by the OP is a fast way to get to it, but you can't edit it?

Yeah, "Apple sees different use cases" - which is their typical arrogant attitude of "YOU don't know what is easy to use and intuitive, WE will tell you what is easy to use and intuitive"

Well, it can be said that the reasoning is similar to how widgets and apps work--you can have a bit of information in a widget or quite a bit including some functionality even, but generally you won't have most of app's functionality there. Similar logic can be applied to this and how Spotlight/Siri shows information and what options it provides.

 

[JM]

Never felt like a robot of Apple before.. ha.

 

[Tozovac]

Well, it can be said that the reasoning is similar to how widgets and apps work--you can have a bit of information in a widget or quite a bit including some functionality even, but generally you won't have most of app's functionality there. Similar logic can be applied to this and how Spotlight/Siri shows information and what options it provides.

Only reason I disagree, is that I recall spotlight searches on prior iOS's always taking you to the contact where you then choose to edit it. Now, it's different, change for the sake of change, and not only without any improvement, but actually now with reduced function. All just to have something different at each iOS update.

 

[C DM]

Only reason I disagree, is that I recall spotlight searches on prior iOS's always taking you to the contact where you then choose to edit it. Now, it's different, change for the sake of change, and not only without any improvement, but actually now with reduced function. All just to have something different at each iOS update.

Seems like they took a somewhat different approach to it as I mentioned on my earlier reply. Whether everyone agrees with it or likes it is certainly one part of it all, but it seems it's not just change for sake of change.

 

[Tozovac]

...but it seems it's not just change for sake of change.

Respectfully, what do you mean? Care to hazard a guess as to how "reducing functionality by allowing an edit option only sometimes instead of consistently always like before" is a purposeful, intentional change meant to be an improvement over the prior iOS for the better?

 

[C DM]

Respectfully, what do you mean? Care to hazard a guess as to how "reducing functionality by allowing an edit option only sometimes instead of consistently always like before" is a purposeful, intentional change meant to be an improvement over the prior iOS for the better?

I didn't mention anything about something being better or worse. Simply talking through the design and what's possibly behind it or perhaps played into it:

I think Apple sees different use cases for different things in different places. Now, whether everyone agrees with their take on it or not, that's certainly another aspect to it all.

Well, it can be said that the reasoning is similar to how widgets and apps work--you can have a bit of information in a widget or quite a bit including some functionality even, but generally you won't have most of app's functionality there. Similar logic can be applied to this and how Spotlight/Siri shows information and what options it provides.

 

[Tozovac]

I didn't mention anything about something being better or worse. Simply talking through the design and what's possibly behind it or played into it:

Ok.

 

[PNutts]

If you have an model with force touch (6S or higher) search your contact in spotlight, long press on the resulting name, tap on the contact name again it will open in the contacts app where you can edit it.

Thank you! I was afraid it was something like this. Now when I can't figure out how to do something I have to perform the same actions again except trying with force touch. Every update makes it less usable.

 

[JM]

Thank you! I was afraid it was something like this. Now when I can't figure out how to do something I have to perform the same actions again except trying with force touch. Every update makes it less usable.

Original criticism of ForceTouch: because it's not implemented everywhere, it's impossible to know when to use it.

 

[Tozovac]

Original criticism of ForceTouch: because it's not implemented everywhere, it's impossible to know when to use it.

This is a very hard to describe criticism, but: it seems the trickier Apple tries to get over time, actually the more frustrated I get over time. I just realized completely by accident this week that you can pull down on a text message notification and respond right there without leaving the app you're in. Before, I would click on the notification and get taken away from the app I was in and ported over to the messaging app. Then I would have to click a few times to get back to the app I was in. How would I know to pull down the notification window?? Some of these shortcuts are completely not obvious, and I would have to go on a hunt online to learn about things like this. Even then, I may not learn about some available shortcuts and functions. So now, things that I don't even realize are there are now a new criticism I have to add to my criticisms about things in plain sight, with Apple and Jony Ive trying so hard to be tricky since 2013 with iOS 7 and re-vamping every function to work differently than before and usually not as well or obvious or intuitive as before. Too often now they're thinking they're producing something that is helping the user experience and making it more interesting, when really most everything since iOS 7 has been more frustrating and less easy with cues and functions that are not so obvious, resulting in either having to struggle to find a certain function or completely overlooking an available function because they're so well hidden for the sake of maintaining a clean interface. Continually more and more disgusted and disappointed with today's Apple every year it seems.

 

[Evelyn Harthbrooke]

This is a very hard to describe criticism, but: it seems the trickier Apple tries to get over time, actually the more frustrated I get over time. I just realized completely by accident this week that you can pull down on a text message notification and respond right there without leaving the app you're in. Before, I would click on the notification and get taken away from the app I was in and ported over to the messaging app. Then I would have to click a few times to get back to the app I was in. How would I know to pull down the notification window?? Some of these shortcuts are completely not obvious, and I would have to go on a hunt online to learn about things like this. Even then, I may not learn about some available shortcuts and functions. So now, things that I don't even realize are there are now a new criticism I have to add to my criticisms about things in plain sight, with Apple and Jony Ive trying so hard to be tricky since 2013 with iOS 7 and re-vamping every function to work differently than before and usually not as well or obvious or intuitive as before. Too often now they're thinking they're producing something that is helping the user experience and making it more interesting, when really most everything since iOS 7 has been more frustrating and less easy with cues and functions that are not so obvious, resulting in either having to struggle to find a certain function or completely overlooking an available function because they're so well hidden for the sake of maintaining a clean interface. Continually more and more disgusted and disappointed with today's Apple every year it seems.

LOL, you can't expect things to stay the same forever. That is physically impossible and will never be the case. Everything changes eventually, and you have to learn to get used to changes, cause they are going to happen with every single iOS release. And also, small tip: Read the User's Guide for iOS more often. That's why it's there. So you can figure out how to use your phone. Just sayin', fam.

 

[Tozovac]

LOL, you can't expect things to stay the same forever. That is physically impossible and will never be the case. Everything changes eventually, and you have to learn to get used to changes, cause they are going to happen with every single iOS release. And also, small tip: Read the User's Guide for iOS more often. That's why it's there. So you can figure out how to use your phone. Just sayin', fam.

Lol, fair enough, about the user's guide! I have to accept that gone are the days where the iOS's UI was so completely intuitive and easy to use that referring to a user's guide was completely unnecessary (did early iPhones come with users guides?), resulting in Apple developing this amazing reputation of producing things for which 99% of the time you could perform the task you needed to do almost as if there was an unspoken voice guiding your eyes & fingers to accomplish what you wanted to do or to access the options available....almost as if....things just worked! (And in addition, the UI/UX would often perform in ways you didn't expect but in a good way. So much surprise & delights instead of confusion and frustration!) This resulted in people noticing how Apple's OSX would not radically change with each new OS but continually just stick to a good recipe and keep refining, further resulting in people flocking in droves away from Windows and Microsoft's ridiculous OS reinventions every few years (which could be interpreted as Windows saying they completely blew it 3 years ago so try THIS!). Those were amazingly fulfilling days, but nothing good should last forever. Fortunately for Apple users worldwide, the New Guard recognized how extremely important it was to change and freshen things up, since designing with "it just works" in mind was deemed to no longer be needed by both experienced customers (who Apple decided were so beyond needing such a beautiful & intuitive UI) and also new customers who.....um.....would no longer need....I mean, do not need an intuitive & clear UI that was based on decades of UI/UX development and lessons learned because.....um......because MINIMALISM AND THINNESS AND LOW CONTRAST FONT ON WHITE BACKGROUNDS FULL OF WASTED SPACE WITH CIRCLES EVERYWHERE (BECAUSE "DIFFERENT!") WITH HIDDEN FUNCTIONS YOU HAVE TO HUNT FOR OR STUMBLE UPON OR FIND A USERS MANUAL ABSOLUTELY RULES!

 

[Tozovac]

Finally, others out there are getting what I've known ever since iOS 7 was introduced.

http://www.npr.org/sections/alltech.../523035456/has-apple-lost-its-innovation-mojo

 

[C DM]

Finally, others out there are getting what I've known ever since iOS 7 was introduced.

http://www.npr.org/sections/alltech.../523035456/has-apple-lost-its-innovation-mojo

Again, all this kind of talk has been around since at least iOS 7 days (and much more of it in those days), and yet here we still are.

 

[Tozovac]

Again, all this kind of talk has been around since at least iOS 7 days (and much more of it in those days), and yet here we still are.

Maybe in smaller doses though. This is certainly the first short spurt I've heard criticizing Apple like that and comparing Tim versus Steve on NPR. Just need more critical mass.