Does anyone else think that iOS 8 is a letdown?

[braddick]

OP Treetop version:

"Allow me to theme my iPhone and roll it back to iOS5 and the conference would have been a success."

 

[batting1000]

Just to be clear, Tim cook wasn't knocking Android for it's features, but rather the fact that devices aren't running the latest software.

 

[jrswizzle]

So for me at least, an "average" user who does actually have technological know-how, this update has so far been useless.

I don't use the Health app as I don't have a load of compatible 3rd party devices, nor do I like the "Predictive text".
I don't see the difference with photos, apart from editing them, nor will I use Family Sharing and likely not iCloud Drive, as emailing files across has always sufficed for me so far.

So because you still like doing things a certain way (even with an objectively better way available), that means the whole update is useless?

Have you ever used Shazam? Have you ever wondered what song was playing?

Easier with iOS 8.

Did you read about spotlight? Search anything from the home screen and it brings up apps to download (without opening the app store), internet search, local storage search, can bring up movie times etc....I'll be using Spotlight a TON.

The continuity features look legit also - if you have a Mac and/or iPad, how are those not useful features?

I thought iOS 8 blew iOS 7 out of the water personally. Really excited to see some games and apps take FULL advantage of the power of the A7 (and beyond). Nothing has come close yet.

 

[MH01]

Apple designs their feature for hundreds of millions of users. Not just for you.

The OP asked for personal opinions. He was not representing millions of users

You do not need to apologize for Apple. Or claim there is a greater good behind their announcement that us simple mortals just do not understand!

Hate to tell you, but its all about "us"

 

[chumps52]

I've had to shuffle some text around here



What you don't seem to understand is why Apple is focusing so much on the developer part of iOS. It is because it is arguable the most important part. I'm sure you agree it is unreasonable for Apple to provide everyone with every feature they could possibly want. Instead, they've opened up their product for third parties to do that instead.

iOS devices these days are pretty much first and foremost devices for running apps. And to allow those third parties to make the best and most useful apps, a lot of work is necessary to make the APIs and services that enable those apps. If Apple did not do this, or spent more time making user-facing features, the apps part would suffer and since that is the driving factor for people to buy them, that'd actually make for a worse product.

Look at how far apps have come since the App Store originally opened; since then Apple has added literally thousands of APIs to do all sorts of things and it has made their platform as a whole better.




Another thing you're doing here is taking features added for users and then dismissing them because they don't do much for your specific situation. Yet I'll tell you a buttload of people are very happy with them and they aren't small features in any way, shape or form.

Apple designs their feature for hundreds of millions of users. Not just for you.



Because that menu is no longer just the multi-tasking menu, it's also the place to go to quickly reach a contact.

1) Agreed, but as I keep repeating, generally when they release new, major iOS versions they focus on end-user features, not mostly on developers. That's where I am "disappointed". I was expecting more new features to be added for the general users themselves.
2) Fair enough, I admit I made that seem selfish/self-centered. I just mean that the Health feature, for example, which is being marketed as one of the main new additions, will likely only be used by a small minority of users. This is because the likelihood is that it will require lots of different, expensive, third party accessories to be fully functional, which many people may not want.
3) I just thought it was a weird idea to place it in the multitasking area out of all places. Maybe they could have made their own "widget" for the notification center?

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OP Treetop version:

"Allow me to theme my iPhone and roll it back to iOS5 and the conference would have been a success."

No, that is not what I am saying.
The rollback idea was just that - an idea. For people with older generation phones who are now stuck on the latest, and slowest, firmware.

The theming was, again, just an idea, and I accept that Apple will probably never allow it, hence why I agreed with the other user on being able to, for example, change the colour of certain message threads.

 

[Anti-Lucifer]

It seems like those who were let down or are disappointed are generally those who had some sort of unrealistic expectations to behind with.

right.....and those who aren't disappointed are the generally those who have NO expectations whatsoever or have been living under iOS rock for a while now.

The biggest standout in the presentations were the complete ecosystem compatibility. This gives many reasons to own a mac and iOS device rather than having a PC/iOS combination.

That is the strength of apple: the ecosystem. Otherwise, most new iOS features are just "late to the game" features android devices have had for years. I don't know about you but I'd much rather they focused on introducing truly innovative features rather than catch up features.

This presentation was purely for developers but gives you insight to how predictable the next iPhone/ipad will be. What I can't believe is how much iOS is inspired into OS X; and the fact "look at how cool the translucent menu bar is" crap was just reiterated over and over. Mavericks is so good now, I have zero interest in installing the next OS considering I left iOS already.

 

[CyBeRino]

1) Agreed, but as I keep repeating, generally when they release new, major iOS versions they focus on end-user features, not mostly on developers. That's where I am "disappointed". I was expecting more new features to be added for the general users themselves.

Well, as I said it's basically one or the other. You can add background stuff or foreground stuff. Trying to add a lot of both will lead to a crappier product. And as I've explained, adding more background stuff is better for the platform which is, in the end, better for the user.

2) Fair enough, I admit I made that seem selfish/self-centered. I just mean that the Health feature, for example, which is being marketed as one of the main new additions, will likely only be used by a small minority of users. This is because the likelihood is that it will require lots of different, expensive, third party accessories to be fully functional, which many people may not want.

I'm in the same boat; I'm not very likely to use it myself. I don't take meds and I can't remember the last time I've seen a doctor who wasn't a dentist. But at the same time I recognise there are millions of people who do, for which such an app is wonderfully useful.

3) I just thought it was a weird idea to place it in the multitasking area out of all places. Maybe they could have made their own "widget" for the notification center?

Well it was elegantly put just above: the multitasking screen is really a list of recently used apps. It's not that unreasonable to add a list of recently or frequently (I forget how it decides who goes on there) "used" contacts there, too.

 

[C DM]

right.....and those who aren't disappointed are the generally those who have NO expectations whatsoever or have been living under iOS rock for a while now.

The biggest standout in the presentations were the complete ecosystem compatibility. This gives many reasons to own a mac and iOS device rather than having a PC/iOS combination.

That is the strength of apple: the ecosystem. Otherwise, most new iOS features are just "late to the game" features android devices have had for years. I don't know about you but I'd much rather they focused on introducing truly innovative features rather than catch up features.

This presentation was purely for developers but gives you insight to how predictable the next iPhone/ipad will be. What I can't believe is how much iOS is inspired into OS X; and the fact "look at how cool the translucent menu bar is" crap was just reiterated over and over. Mavericks is so good now, I have zero interest in installing the next OS considering I left iOS already.

Those who aren't disappointed actually had a good idea of what could be coming. They don't care about who copied who or any childish stuff like that. They knew what missing and what they wanted and a lot of that came through. They weren't expecting miracles unlike some.

 

[HenryDJP]

Well, seeing as they've copied jailbreak tweaks with some things, they could've gone all out and added theming (maybe limited to Apple-designed themes), bootlogo changes, pattern passcodes etc.

Some phones also have "power options" for the camera, such as shutter speed, iso options etc.

Another nice thing to have is they could have started signing older versions of iOS again. I know people who are using iOS 7 on an iPhone 4 and are stuck with incredibly slow loading times. Imagine if they let people like them go back down to iOS 6/5?

I would've been disappointed if they did any of that. None of that would help my productivity and frankly those are pretty lackluster features.

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right.....and those who aren't disappointed are the generally those who have NO expectations whatsoever or have been living under iOS rock for a while now.

Absolutely incorrect! Did it occur to you that the people who were not disappointed probably got their requests fulfilled yesterday? I mean, there were a lot of things I was hoping Apple would do for the Mac OS and they addressed nearly everything and I am not disappointed. Does that make me deserve your insult of living under an iOS rock?

 

[Italianblend]

I have no issue with it....i instantly know that blue is iMessage and green is SMS and it just becomes natural knowing what is what.

I understand that. But at the same time, what could the possible objection to such a feature be? You are altering the color of your text bubbles. It can't possibly be because it would tax the processor or anything like that. I've also heard the argument that apple doesn't want to give us control of colors because they want everything to look nice, and eliminate "ugly" screenshots of their products. I understand that. All I'm asking for is text bubble themes and/or colors. It's something they could control by only offering a few colors against the white background, or by implementing their own themes that they come up with. I would even consider paying a couple of bucks for a theme.

 

[HenryDJP]

I was just wondering whether anyone else shared my views that the features added for the everyday consumer fell below expectations?

To me they focused way too much on developers....

LOL...they focused way too much on DEVELOPERS at a DEVELOPER'S conference. Now that's a new one.

The developers are the ones that bring the great software many of use and need today sir. My opinion but there was more focus on feature set and towards the end is when they intro'd SWIFT for the developers so I completely disagree on your analysis.

 

[iamMacPerson]

No, I don't think iOS 8 is a let down. It was exactly what I expected it to be: a mainly under the hood upgrade. You can't make a whole new iOS like iOS 7 every year. Saying iOS 8 was a let down basically says iOS 2-6 were all let downs. I think Apple spoiled us last year with a new iOS and now people are having to get back to the fact that Apple mainly released incremental updates for iOS every year, mainly bringing on some new and/or improved features.

While they didn't focus a lot on the consumer end, I do think the Devs deserved some attention. Think about it; without the Devs, the iPhone would not be as popular as it is.

 

[Armen]

I was just wondering whether anyone else shared my views that the features added for the everyday consumer fell below expectations?

To me they focused way too much on developers, and hardly added anything for the average user.
In my opinion it was all just focusing on adding small, little tweaks that should have been a part of iOS for a long time.



For example, the quick reply in messages should have really been added with the addition of the notification centre, and the same with widgets.
I also agree with MKBHD and his tweet: "It's almost poetic how Tim jabs Android for being "behind" then gushes over adopting its features minutes later. #WWDC2014"

Then there's the voice messages with iMessage; all that has done is made creating and sending a voice memo a little easier.
The whole "upgrade" to messages as a whole has just been taken from WhatsApp anyway, as the founder says "very flattering to see Apple "borrow" numerous WhatsApp features into iMessage in iOS 8 #innovation".



I'll be interested to see others' views on this

What some people like yourself and others fail to see is that the development changes are huge. Apple for the first time has opened up their app sandboxes allowing developers to talk to other apps.

This means companies like Google can add a "share" option to Safari that says "Share on Google+" or Adobe could add a share option in the photos app to "Open in Photoshop".

This is a really big deal with huge potential.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Anyone that thinks iOS 8 is a letdown is clueless. They don't realize what all of these huge additions mean to the developers that can now provide the end-user with a much better product. They mean huge things for the consumer. Not understanding that only shows ignorance. Step away for a couple months and wait for iOS 8 to be released and you'll see what iOS 8 really offers.

 

[ajiuo]

Not at all. With ios8 and osx.x this has been one of the most impressive WWDC events ever for me....

I love hand off, I love enhanced notifications as opposed to quick reply, all of the cross platform message and calling features..

There are only a few reasons left to jailbreak for me.
1) more icons per page.. Hopefully the iphone 6 fixes this.
2) more toggles.. I wonder if a notification center widget can fix this.
3) emulators to play classic nintendo... I'm hoping they are close to going the Sega rout.
4) the music app still kind of sucks.
5) visual voicemail needs a serious overhaul.

I think after a few rounds of extension api's jail breaking will become a lot less relevant

 

[NT1440]

1) Agreed, but as I keep repeating, generally when they release new, major iOS versions they focus on end-user features, not mostly on developers. That's where I am "disappointed". I was expecting more new features to be added for the general users themselves.

If we are going to speak "generally" then you know that every time there is a beta release at WWDC, they focus heavily on the developers (that is what the week long conference is for). Then, during the ACTUAL RELEASE of the system (usually around september) they tout even more user centered features.

 

[solarguy17]

No, that is not what I am saying.
The rollback idea was just that - an idea. For people with older generation phones who are now stuck on the latest, and slowest, firmware.

The problem with going back to an older OS is you are missing major security updates. Even 7.1.1 was a fix for a major security hole. Going back to 7.1.0 would open up that hole again.
Yes, older devices don't run as quickly but you are on a safer system. It's one of the reason Apple can say 99% of all Malware is on Andriod.

 

[chumps52]

If we are going to speak "generally" then you know that every time there is a beta release at WWDC, they focus heavily on the developers (that is what the week long conference is for). Then, during the ACTUAL RELEASE of the system (usually around september) they tout even more user centered features.

Yes, but the whole point of that keynote yesterday was to show off all the main features of iOS 8, both for the user and the developer.
My complaint is that it was far too unbalanced, and that there were too many new features for the developers and not enough focus on the users.

I highly doubt they're suddenly going to announce killer features for iOS 8 at the September conferences, after they had supposedly already done so yesterday.


I know that it is likely they will announce a new software feature for the iPhone 6 exclusively in September (Such as Siri with the 4S), but I am not interested in this as it will not affect me and my current iPhone, which is all that I am interested in.

This whole thread was meant to be about how I was disappointed with the lack of new features that were immediately added to my phone/devices, and other people's views, not about how they will likely add more specifically and exclusively for the new devices in September.

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The problem with going back to an older OS is you are missing major security updates. Even 7.1.1 was a fix for a major security hole. Going back to 7.1.0 would open up that hole again.
Yes, older devices don't run as quickly but you are on a safer system. It's one of the reason Apple can say 99% of all Malware is on Andriod.

But what about, say, using an iPhone 4 and going from iOS 7.1.1 back to the latest version of iOS 6 (Which I think is 6.1.3), so you still have it's security updates, just not the lag with iOS 7

 

[briankeith513]

This. Overall, I'm pretty impressed. However, what one needs to keep in mind is that Android and iOS are based on 2 totally different philosophies; Android-freedom, customization, whereas iOS is more concerned with user-experience, simplicity, and fluidity.

If you don't think there was anything big then you must have been watching a different keynote then I was.

There were multiple change made that will affect User experience.



Siri with a word, "hey, Siri"

Quick replies

Favorite Contacts

Wi-Fi Calling

Snapchat like messages

group Message update

iCloud photo library

Photo app updates

Panoramic Camera on iPad

Ect

Not to mention the Extensibility stuff with OSX.



There were tons of changes, some of them were catch up, but who cares, they represent major changes to iOS. Plus this was just a Preview.

Come Aug/Sept when they announce the iPhone 6, new features for all phones and some specific for iPhone 6 will be reveled.



Just be patient, this looks to be a major upgrade unlike iOS 6.

 

[Aluminum213]

Going through the Apple iOS 8 Page:

"Photos.
Every photo you take. Now on all your devices." = Photo Stream?

"Messages.
Actually LOL. OL." = Voice Memos, just integrated, and sending a photo/video, again just integrated.

"Details make the experience. These details make it brilliant." = Ok, some of these are pretty useful. But after spending a considerable about of time slagging off Android, they went and copied some of their stuff? EG Widgets.

"Our smartest keyboard ever." = Copying Android entirely... And in my opinion that stuff about choosing wording in different situations probably won't work, or won't be that useful.

"iCloud Drive.
Any kind of file.
On all your devices." = Useful, but only really a small extension to the current iCloud capabilities

"Health.
An entirely new way to use your health and fitness information." = Some parts useful (EG Emergency Card), but the rest is only any good if you have other, compatible accessories.

"Spotlight.
Brighter than ever." = Useful, but late.

Wow, that actually sums iOS 8 brilliantly, catching up to android with nothing really new and innovated

 

[NT1440]

Yes, but the whole point of that keynote yesterday was to show off all the main features of iOS 8, both for the user and the developer.

I had no idea you were involved in event management for WWDC.

It became VERY clear that apple is doubling down on developers, and this WWDC was clearly meant to focus almost entirely on the new tools that devs have at their disposal.

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Wow, that actually sums iOS 8 brilliantly, catching up to android with nothing really new and innovated

Continuity, Homekit, Healthkit.

No one has anything even remotely close to those.

 

[chumps52]

I had no idea you were involved in event management for WWDC.

It became VERY clear that apple is doubling down on developers, and this WWDC was clearly meant to focus almost entirely on the new tools that devs have at their disposal.

You've really mastered sarcasm, great joke!
As I have said before, every year so far without fail (as far as I know) they have always used WWDC to announce a new version of iOS, and use the keynote to discuss/explain/show off the newest and greatest features of the new operating system.

----------

Continuity, Homekit, Healthkit.

No one has anything even remotely close to those.

Although they are good features, they all require other devices in order to be fully, or even at all, functional.
Continuity: Only works with Mac, running Yosemite.
Homekit: Must have special, iOS optimised homewares
HealthKit: Must have special, iOS optimised health accessories.

 

[sarcosis]

What some people like yourself and others fail to see is that the development changes are huge. Apple for the first time has opened up their app sandboxes allowing developers to talk to other apps.

This means companies like Google can add a "share" option to Safari that says "Share on Google+" or Adobe could add a share option in the photos app to "Open in Photoshop".

This is a really big deal with huge potential.

Agreed on this one with a few exceptions. On the front end and UI end, this is a good amount of catch up to what other platforms are doing, but that's ok. OS's and UI's are so much of a commodity that everyone is borrowing something from someone these days. Here is some potentials thoughts on the front end:

-Widgets: I think the new widgets is in a good location. Probably more useful in the notification center than on the home screen since it becomes accessible in any app. I don't have to go back home to see one piece of info. This would probably make the notification center actually usable for me since i thought it was rubbish before. I don't use them much on Android save for a few information displaying ones like Dashclock and the weather.
-Quick Reply: This one is big improvement. Have a quick conversation while you are in the middle of something is great.
-3rd party keyboards: Big one here. You can finally get the keyboard you want. I prefer Swiftkey to everything else.
-Improved Spotlight: one of my favorite features getting a bump.
Extensible API's: This one is huge. I'll go into a bit more below.

This release is chalk full of back end stuff. It leads to a ton of potential that will need to be realized. I have faith that the 3rd parties will fulfill the potential since it will give them more money. Here are my thoughts:

-Extensible API's: This is one of the big 4 i wanted to touch on. This let's apps share info back and forth. This one is huge if only for the share featrue. One of my biggest gripes with iOS was the lack of this. I love it in Android where I see an item and i want to share it. Previously in iOS, total pain. Now, hit the share button and select the app. Very useful for Pocket and other apps.
-Touch ID Opening up: Hopefully, we can use Touch ID like we wanted to last year. Let's see if we can auto fill passcodes. Or even better, if 1Password or Lastpass can integrate it so it works like it does on OS X or Windows.
-Metal: This one is big for games. Yes it moves to a more proprietary format, but if it delivers, i don't hear anyone but Dev's companing. This happens anyway in Windows where barely anyone uses Open GL, it's mostly Direct X since it works better for Windows that way. Same kind of thing here
-Swift- This will produce better apps since developers can focus on making apps quicker since it's easier to write and you get less errors.

So big thing that I see for iOS 8 is two fold. Catch up with front end UI features and a ton of potential on the back end. While yes, it's Beta 1, you aren't going to see everything yet, I have a feeling we are going to see some really nifty stuff at the end of the year.

 

[hovscorpion12]

Yesterdays conference was the most arrogant display I have ever seen. For one, all the features shown for OSX Yosemite do not qualify for a "next gen update" these features should have been in OSX 10.9.4 Mavericks. As for iOS 8, the WORST software update ever. iOS 8 displayed zero features that also qualify to be a part of a major software update. Like the features of Yosemite, the iOS 8 features should have been announced last year for iOS 7. Apple is slowing becoming the laziest,uninovative fortune 500 company on the planet starting with the iPhone 5S and the embarrassing iPhone 5C. Regardless of a 4.7 and 5.5" screen, after experiencing the WWDC arrogance conference, the iPhone announcement will be exactly the same as the iPhone 5S with no changes except a larger screen size.

 

[matttye]

Do you spend the majority of your time using the OS itself, or the majority of time using apps?

Giving developers more to play with will make apps better.

Can you see how this will benefit the end user?

A lot of developer features IS something to be excited about.