iPhone 15 Pro Beautiful hardware but a poor UIX

[mtl83]

I bought an iPhone 15 Pro a few days ago. It's my first iPhone since 2008. I wanted to try again. I've owned Macs since the Performa 630. I love the MacOS. I have an iCloud account, an Apple TV account, an Apple Music account. All of these are hobbled or mostly unusable for those with an Android device (this is avoidable, but that's for another post). I wanted an iPhone. My memories of the iOS, as well as proprietary adapters were red lines for me and when the EU legislated sensibly to bring in USB C I was excited. Sideloading was a bonus. So, I bought an iPhone.

The hardware was beautiful. The software features also great. Excellent face ID. Stunning photos. Great interaction with my iCloud account services. What is incredibly lacking, and why did I return my iPhone? UIX.

This is a retina display, capable of any number of resolutions, but we're locked into the equivalent of a 24" iMac running at 1024 x 768. It feels like madness. Text can be shrunk, yes. And the settings and certain app screens looks great when you do. Back to the home screen and we're back to large-land, where widgets and icons are huge. It makes for an incredibly inconsistent UI experience that is far from easy on the eye. As for resolution, a basic example (there are many more):

I held my Google Pixel 5 - roughly the same screen size - against the iPhone 15 Pro. I opened MS Outlook. I could fit 4-5 more emails horizontally in my list on the Pixel. What a waste of potential screen real-estate.

Then there's the "desktop". Why is changing an app icon a multi-stage and laborious process that involves creating a shortcut to an existing app. Seems rather 1990s. Why can't I interact with widgets?

Then there's the keyboard. Why can't I resize it?

It appears that Apple has decided to remove any sort of autonomy from the UI and in so doing, is missing out on a huge share of the market. Many people don't buy iPhones because they can't be customised at even the most basic level. This feels like an own goal.

I returned my iPhone. Sad times. I will buy one again if Apple allows me to customise my £1k handheld computer.

Am I alone in wishing Apple would allow a little basic customisation?

 

[eyoungren]

I bought an iPhone 15 Pro a few days ago. It's my first iPhone since 2008. I wanted to try again. I've owned Macs since the Performa 630. I love the MacOS. I have an iCloud account, an Apple TV account, an Apple Music account. All of these are hobbled or mostly unusable for those with an Android device (this is avoidable, but that's for another post). I wanted an iPhone. My memories of the iOS, as well as proprietary adapters were red lines for me and when the EU legislated sensibly to bring in USB C I was excited. Sideloading was a bonus. So, I bought an iPhone.

The hardware was beautiful. The software features also great. Excellent face ID. Stunning photos. Great interaction with my iCloud account services. What is incredibly lacking, and why did I return my iPhone? UIX.

This is a retina display, capable of any number of resolutions, but we're locked into the equivalent of a 24" iMac running at 1024 x 768. It feels like madness. Text can be shrunk, yes. And the settings and certain app screens looks great when you do. Back to the home screen and we're back to large-land, where widgets and icons are huge. It makes for an incredibly inconsistent UI experience that is far from easy on the eye. As for resolution, a basic example (there are many more):

I held my Google Pixel 5 - roughly the same screen size - against the iPhone 15 Pro. I opened MS Outlook. I could fit 4-5 more emails horizontally in my list on the Pixel. What a waste of potential screen real-estate.

Then there's the "desktop". Why is changing an app icon a multi-stage and laborious process that involves creating a shortcut to an existing app. Seems rather 1990s. Why can't I interact with widgets?

Then there's the keyboard. Why can't I resize it?

It appears that Apple has decided to remove any sort of autonomy from the UI and in so doing, is missing out on a huge share of the market. Many people don't buy iPhones because they can't be customised at even the most basic level. This feels like an own goal.

I returned my iPhone. Sad times. I will buy one again if Apple allows me to customise my £1k handheld computer.

Am I alone in wishing Apple would allow a little basic customisation?

With the exception of a Google Pixel 3a XL from May 2020 to February 2021 every phone I've used since 2012 has been an iPhone. Currently using the 11 Pro Max.

I think you may be under some misconception that Apple has gone backwards in customization. That just isn't the case. If anything, they have opened things up more over the years. But it's nowhere near what Android has.

You either accept that in order to have iOS and find other ways to work around things - or stay with Android. I chose a middle ground, and with the exception of my 11 Pro Max, every iPhone I've used since 2012 has been jailbroken. I had many things long before Apple allowed them. Dark mode in iOS 6 in 2013 for example.

The other work around I chose was not to engage with Apple's services. Why? Because while I was ready to use them in 2012, Apple cut off old PowerPC Macs. I didn't have my first Intel Mac until mid-2013 and even then Apple still didn't support it. As an Android user you may appreciate that Google's services work on many devices.

Guess what? They also work on the iPhone. And that's what I use. I also use Dropbox and other third party services. I'm not bound at all to Apple just because I have and use their products. I refuse to be.

Incidentally, one of the main reasons I switched back to iOS seems to be a reason you're leaving. The inconsistency of icons in Android drives me crazy. Apple at least forces vendors to stick to a particular framework when it comes to icons.

And oh yeah - widgets. I was doing that whole interactive widget thing with iOS 6 and a jailbreak. It's still disappointing that Apple isn't allowing much of this.

 

[Andeddu]

I love default iOS. There isn’t really anything I would change.

 

[schnitzel-pretzel]

Wait, what do you mean "why can't I interact with widgets"... Wasn't that a part of iOS 17? Interactive widgets?


Anyways, yes part of iOS is a lack of customizability. It's gotten better since the days of the early iPhones, however, it is still lacking IMO, especially on "Pro" devices, where for example, you have to shoot ProRes Log if you want to remove the sharpening that's FORCED into standard videos, and you have to shoot ProRAW if you want to remove the sharpening that's FORCED into standard mode photos. In that sense, I agree that the hardware is fantastic but the software is painfully limiting.

Another example is the action button. Why it is limited to a long press is beyond me. It's a whole button on the phone dedicated to one function when it easily could have been multiple -- why can't we short press, long press, double press, triple press, etc? I could have the short press mute my phone, long press turn sound on, double press run a shortcut I use a lot, and triple press bring up a shortcuts list. It's kinda crazy that you are limited to one function.

I am fairly certain they'll expand on this in iOS 18 and give it multiple functions, but it's kind of silly that it doesn't already work that way.

Honestly, the Pro phones kind of seem like beta testing grounds for certain features. the 48MP sensor came to the iPhone 14 Pro first, but was arguably plagued by overzealous processing that made the main camera too sharp on the Pro, which they've now fixed and the 48MP sensor is in both the base and Pro phones now. Dynamic Island also came to 14 Pro first, but didn't really have all that much functionality, and now that it is going to be in more phones, it might start to have more functions. The action button is rumored to come to iPhone 16 base models next year, and I suspect that Apple will be using usage data for 15 Pro models to determine how many functions to give it.

People might be defensive about it on this forum but the general sentiment of excellent hardware that is kneecapped by overly restrictive software is something I agree with.

Honestly, most if it would be solved if Apple simply allowed free provisioning for unpaid developer accounts with a lot more flexibility (right now it's 3 devices and the cert lasts like 2 weeks). If I bought MY PHONE, I should be able to install an app I WROTE on MY PHONE, and the certificate should last a whole year, and there shouldn't be a limit to how many devices that I can install it on as long as they're signed into MY iCloud account.

This would solve 99% of my complaints about Apple devices. I could write my own damn camera app. I'm not going to pay $100/yr for the privilege of writing an app for my own phone.

 

[eyoungren]

I love default iOS. There isn’t really anything I would change.

Possibly one of the reasons change with iOS is so slow - no desire for change.

Way back with the original iPhone you weren't even allowed to change wallpaper. You needed a jailbreak for that. Just how much do you love iOS? Enough to go back to that? Or is it the current version of iOS with all the growth and changes that have been made that you actually love?

 

[eyoungren]

Another example is the action button. Why it is limited to a long press is beyond me. It's a whole button on the phone dedicated to one function when it easily could have been multiple -- why can't we short press, long press, double press, triple press, etc? I could have the short press mute my phone, long press turn sound on, double press run a shortcut I use a lot, and triple press bring up a shortcuts list. It's kinda crazy that you are limited to one function.

I am fairly certain they'll expand on this in iOS 18 and give it multiple functions, but it's kind of silly that it doesn't already work that way.

Sounds like Activator.

 

[Andeddu]

Possibly one of the reasons change with iOS is so slow - no desire for change.

Way back with the original iPhone you weren't even allowed to change wallpaper. You needed a jailbreak for that. Just how much do you love iOS? Enough to go back to that? Or is it the current version of iOS with all the growth and changes that have been made that you actually love?

I’ve personally been happy & content with iOS since iOS 9. I don’t really customise things though, that’s just the way I am. If I used an Android phone I probably wouldn’t mess around with much customisation. All the little updates such as Lock Screen customisation on iOS 16 were nince bonuses to me but I had no desire for it before it happened.

 

[dmr727]

Yeah, this thing is not my computer. My iDevices are like little appliances - the lack of customization doesn't bother me too much. Just need it to work. That said I don't fault someone for wanting more ability to customize.

 

[h.gilbert]

I think there are lot of people like you and me who prefer Mac to Windows but Android to iOS for the reasons you listed. I'd get an iPhone in a heartbeat if they were to allow side loading as easy as it is in Android and Mac

 

[RudolphRedNose]

It’s the gestures I can’t get used to. I really like my iPad 9th Gen, but why do I need to reach all the way to the top left corner to go back on some menus! On Android it would be a simple swipe from the left or right.

Another one, why do I need to come out of the Mail App, and go to Settings, just to add a new email account. Just add the button to the Mail App like in Android.

I‘ve never figured out how to turn on suggestive text. And why no dedicated numbers row at the top of the keyboard.

I purchased something recently, and the iPad forced me to add my cards to Apple Pay. Not sure if I was just rushing and missing the option to just add my card details without Apple Pay. Either way, they should offer the option, or make it obvious how to bypass Apple Pay.

It’s just little things like this which means I’ll never buy an iPhone. The iPad 9th Gen is a beautiful device, and I’m glad I bought it. But I couldn’t have this experience as my every day phone.

 

[AlastorKatriona]

Am I alone in wishing Apple would allow a little basic customisation?

You are definitely not alone in thinking you know better than Apple, but you are definitely wrong. Good day.

 

[AlastorKatriona]

Yeah, this thing is not my computer. My iDevices are like little appliances - the lack of customization doesn't bother me too much. Just need it to work. That said I don't fault someone for wanting more ability to customize.

I on the other hand, do fault people for wanting to overcomplicate appliance technology, which results in confusing 9 users for every 1 that appreciates the customization. There are so many, many things that are better to just NOT have, at all.

 

[TechnoMonk]

I love the simplicity of the iOS. If customization and tinkering was important, I would be using an Android phone.

 

[eicca]

Apple is no longer "it just works." They've become "we've decided how it works and who cares if it's good or not."

 

[nathasnajperowa]

I’m on the opposite border, instead of using Mac and android I use iPhone and windows.
Choosing windows in not operating system but gaming. I’m really into my Alienware 3080 ti graphics card and willing to have it have no choice.
For the phone my main reason is Apple Watch, for me the best and irreplaceable, there’s no smart watch being even close to this device.
Android watches sucks, there are slow, overheating or lack of functionality.
iPhone also has the best smoothness, haptics and reliability.
As also Samsung note/ultra user I miss some customization- mainly free icon grid like even one more in vertical and horizontal and not adjusting them from upper left but let it free as android phones do.
For the UIX my main objections are not logical settings, notifications groups are inconsistent, why control center is so hard to trigger (upper right only). Why can’t I remove my all notifications and all recent apps in close all one button? On  WATCH the other hand you can clear all notifications in one button click- clear all.
Why my recent call history is so poor compared to Samsung one?
iPhone is exceptional in both good and bad way

 

[Analog Kid]

It's not just on MacOS, and iOS-- I tend to stick with mostly default settings on just about everything I use. That way I'm not completely tripped up when I pick up another device or get forced to reset or whatever. One of the things I like about the Apple products is that the defaults work pretty darned well so there's not much I would change. Am at a point where my products aren't toys anymore, they're tools and I don't want to spend time researching and configuring stuff-- I'm happy for Apple to make those decisions for me.

My biggest complaint with the iOS UX is lack of discoverability. There has been a bunch of functionality that has been added over the years that I just don't use because, after the keynote, I just forget that it's there. It used to be a core precept of the Apple OSes that if something could be interacted with it would advertise that interaction in some subtle way-- things would jiggle, sliders would slightly reveal themselves, etc. At some point Apple got on this simplification kick where all that got stripped out. That's fine, I guess, I don't apparently need all those gestures and hidden features, but it kind of makes the development work a bit pointless if people don't discover the features.

People used to criticize all that as "eye candy", but it served a purpose.

 

[eyoungren]

If customization and tinkering was important, I would be using an Android phone.

And yet jailbreaking for the iPhone still exists, is popular and still very much alive in 2023. I'm guessing others don't believe the same way you do.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Apple is no longer "it just works." They've become "we've decided how it works and who cares if it's good or not."

This is literally nothing new to Apple.
Apple has always had a tight control over all of its operating systems, this is absolutely nothing new and goes all the way back to the early days of Apple.
It was the fundamental difference between Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, and the main reason that windows was built in the first place, to provide a more open, widespread and obtainable computer operating system compared to apples more locked down “we’ll decide what you want” approach.
In fact, I’d argue at the moment Apple’s operating systems are more open than they’ve ever been, at least during this century.
Especially their mobile operating systems, I think people forget how truly locked down they used to be.

 

[TechnoMonk]

And yet jailbreaking for the iPhone still exists, is popular and still very much alive in 2023. I'm guessing others don't believe the same way you do.

I don’t find it worth to jailbreak. Don’t see the slightest need. Personally not worth the risk. If others need and want to, more power to them.

 

[eyoungren]

I don’t find it worth to jailbreak. Don’t see the slightest need. Personally not worth the risk. If others need and want to, more power to them.

All my iPhones, except my 11 Pro Max have been jailbroken. I'm not jailbreaking now primarily because the JB community has yet to release a fully-untethered jailbreak since late 2015. But my 6s Plus was jailbroken on iOS 9.0.1 for five years. It's a hassle now, because rebooting your phone means having to use the JB app to rejailbreak. I don't care for that. So my 11 PM has yet to be jailbroken.

Most of what Apple offers now is bearable so the conflict for me has been weighing the hassle of jailbreaking against what is currently available to me. So far, the hassle of jailbreaking is what's stopping me.

As to the risk you cite, I will just say this. It is really only relevant if you're a person in the habit of bad security or exposing your phone. Visiting sketchy websites, handing your phone to unknown people, installing sketchy repos, etc. You have to actively seek it out. It's not like jailbreaking makes your device wide open to the public. You're still secure.

But Apple doesn't like people jailbreaking (even though it is legal) so they make a lot of noise about it. Or they used to anyway. The fact that you can take a jailbroken device into any Apple store and receive service is an indicator of how much this has changed. And yes, the policy on that changed several years ago. As long as your JB is not causing the problem, Apple will repair/replace. I've done it.

 

[TechnoMonk]

All my iPhones, except my 11 Pro Max have been jailbroken. I'm not jailbreaking now primarily because the JB community has yet to release a fully-untethered jailbreak since late 2015. But my 6s Plus was jailbroken on iOS 9.0.1 for five years. It's a hassle now, because rebooting your phone means having to use the JB app to rejailbreak. I don't care for that. So my 11 PM has yet to be jailbroken.

Most of what Apple offers now is bearable so the conflict for me has been weighing the hassle of jailbreaking against what is currently available to me. So far, the hassle of jailbreaking is what's stopping me.

As to the risk you cite, I will just say this. It is really only relevant if you're a person in the habit of bad security or exposing your phone. Visiting sketchy websites, handing your phone to unknown people, installing sketchy repos, etc. You have to actively seek it out. It's not like jailbreaking makes your device wide open to the public. You're still secure.

But Apple doesn't like people jailbreaking (even though it is legal) so they make a lot of noise about it. Or they used to anyway. The fact that you can take a jailbroken device into any Apple store and receive service is an indicator of how much this has changed. And yes, the policy on that changed several years ago. As long as your JB is not causing the problem, Apple will repair/replace. I've done it.

I have a robust opsec rules I follow on all my devices. Jail break is a no no for me. If I needed those features, if it was worth for me. I would just use a hardened android device. You do you.

 

[eyoungren]

I have a robust opsec rules I follow on all my devices. Jail break is a no no for me. If I needed those features, if it was worth for me. I would just use a hardened android device. You do you.

Yeah, I'm not trying to convince you or anyone else. Just commenting on risk.

 

[eicca]

This is literally nothing new to Apple.
Apple has always had a tight control over all of its operating systems, this is absolutely nothing new and goes all the way back to the early days of Apple.
It was the fundamental difference between Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, and the main reason that windows was built in the first place, to provide a more open, widespread and obtainable computer operating system compared to apples more locked down “we’ll decide what you want” approach.
In fact, I’d argue at the moment Apple’s operating systems are more open than they’ve ever been, at least during this century.
Especially their mobile operating systems, I think people forget how truly locked down they used to be.

I’m not talking about locked down.

I’m talking about changing things that used to be simple and effective for things that are far worse just so they could have something to change. Instead of actually innovating.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

I’m talking about changing things that used to be simple and effective for things that are far worse just so they could have something to change. Instead of actually innovating.

you’re going to need to be more specific, as far as I can tell, they continue to do both, and always have.
For every huge change Apple makes that people end up calling “innovative” there’s a ridiculous amount of changes they make that end up being pointless or making something temporarily harder to use or weren’t the best ideas.
The hockey puck mouse, the buttonless iPod shuffle, Mobile Me, the G4 Cube, the 2013 MacPro, the entire butterfly keyboard/Touch Bar saga…

 

[laserfan]

....For the phone my main reason is Apple Watch, for me the best and irreplaceable, there’s no smart watch being even close to this device...
...On  WATCH the other hand you can clear all notifications in one button click- clear all.

My Wife has had both Series 2 and a cellular Series 4 Watch and recently I got her a Series 8. I'd never worn one but when my old-fashioned Bulova's battery died I took her S4 and linked it to my iPhone.

The Apple Watch has been a revelation to me. My phone & phone number is the one where everything in our life happens, whether calls from providers or texts or emails about orders and shipments and ad nauseum, and to now have all that appearing on my wrist and easily ack-able is nothing short of wonderful. I spend WAY LESS time pulling/looking/putting-away my phone and generally fiddling with it.

I think I'm hooked.

Oh, I meant to mention the Health features too. I like tracking e.g. my heart rate when I exercise.