Does "pull down to search" bother you?

[Gutwrench]

I think it bothers me more that I can't single click the home button to bring it up.

Within reason, I tend to like features that reduces my having to use the home button.

 

[BvizioN]

Within reason, I tend to like features that reduces my having to use the home button.

Absolutely agree.

 

[Gogurt48]

Within reason, I tend to like features that reduces my having to use the home button.

I agree with you. The home button on my old iPhone 4 started to fail a few months ago. It would sometimes take five or six clicks before it would register. I upgraded to an iPhone 5, and now I try to use the home button sparingly.

 

[mama-exo]

It's strange. You have to reach over the apps and then the results are over your apps. Like why obscure those?

I mean I don't get what they were thinking with that.

 

[VSMacOne]

It's strange. You have to reach over the apps and then the results are over your apps. Like why obscure those?

I mean I don't get what they were thinking with that.

What do you mean reach over your apps? You can pull down from anywhere on the screen to toggle spotlight. And I don't care about obscuring the apps on my home screen because if I'm using spotlight I'm obviously looking for an app that's not on my home screen.

 

[Geckotek]

I've never triggered it by accident. And I could care less if they completely got rid of it. The 5 years that's I've had an iPhone I've never used it.

Probably one of those features you don't miss until you've tried it. Sometimes I have so many apps loaded that it's simpler to search for it.

 

[ajvizzgamer101]

One thing I can't stand is the new pull down to search function, that replaced the old swipe all the way to the left function to search.

While conceptually it is great, I find that it generates too many false positives when swiping normally through my homescreens.

IMO, they need to make the trigger threshold higher (pull down a longer distance) before the search function is activated.

What do you think?

I never had an instances in which I pulled it down by accident.

 

[mama-exo]

What do you mean reach over your apps? You can pull down from anywhere on the screen to toggle spotlight. And I don't care about obscuring the apps on my home screen because if I'm using spotlight I'm obviously looking for an app that's not on my home screen.

I don't mind it, I think it's more cool and compact. But it's just unnerving that the search results are overlying the apps.

I'll probably get used to it.

 

[Gogurt48]

I don't mind it, I think it's more cool and compact. But it's just unnerving that the search results are overlying the apps.

I'll probably get used to it.

I don't know what you mean when you say the search results overly the apps. Are you talking about the translucent background of the search results that lets the apps show slightly as colored smears?

 

[mama-exo]

I don't know what you mean when you say the search results overly the apps. Are you talking about the translucent background of the search results that lets the apps show slightly as colored smears?

Well yeah.

You used to be able to searching the left, apps on the right. Search on the left, apps on the right.

Now the search bar overlays on top of the apps. Just like that.

So what actually happened is that we lose functionality. Because we could go back to choose from apps and then go right back to the search.

 

[Gogurt48]

Well yeah.

You used to be able to searching the left, apps on the right. Search on the left, apps on the right.

Now the search bar overlays on top of the apps. Just like that.

So what actually happened is that we lose functionality. Because we could go back to choose from apps and then go right back to the search.

Actually, we can still do that. In fact, we've gained functionality. Before, we had to swipe all the way to the left to invoke spotlight. If we then wanted to go back to the apps, we had to start on page one.

Now, we can invoke spotlight by swiping down from any page. If, after we've typed a few letters of our search, we decide we need to use an app, we can just hit "cancel" and we'll be right back on whatever page of apps we were on before. If we swipe down and invoke spotlight again, we can resume our search right where we left off. All the letters we typed before will still be there. Pretty cool.

The only thing I don't like about the new way is that there's no way to know how to invoke if you don't already know. Of course, I already know, so . . .

The new way is so convenient, I find that I'm using it a lot more than I used to.

 

[Sith Vol]

I prefer the new method. However I'm really hoping they add web search/Wikipedia search back on spotlight. That's one of my favorite iPhone features. Even though it's such a small feature.

 

[mama-exo]

Actually, we can still do that. In fact, we've gained functionality. Before, we had to swipe all the way to the left to invoke spotlight. If we then wanted to go back to the apps, we had to start on page one.

Now, we can invoke spotlight by swiping down from any page. If, after we've typed a few letters of our search, we decide we need to use an app, we can just hit "cancel" and we'll be right back on whatever page of apps we were on before. If we swipe down and invoke spotlight again, we can resume our search right where we left off. All the letters we typed before will still be there. Pretty cool.

The only thing I don't like about the new way is that there's no way to know how to invoke if you don't already know. Of course, I already know, so . . .

The new way is so convenient, I find that I'm using it a lot more than I used to.

Well, you wanna get technical. I think we still lost functionality because you used to be able to see them both at the same time.

You go on to say "all the way to the left" as if that takes any kind of effort but then you go on the explain how many steps it takes to do it the new way. You literally can just hold your hand there and switch back and forth effortlessly.

In iOS 7 you actually have to wait for the keyboard to pop up.

I think iOS 6 is faster than iOS 7 in general. All the new features added bogs it down.

 

[Stupotpot]

I prefer the new method. However I'm really hoping they add web search/Wikipedia search back on spotlight. That's one of my favorite iPhone features. Even though it's such a small feature.

Agree completley. I now use it as an App launcher - a little like Alfref for the Mac...I do miss my wikipedia search though! I used it multiple times a day....now having to open safari, then open a new tab...annoying!

 

[C DM]

Well, you wanna get technical. I think we still lost functionality because you used to be able to see them both at the same time.

Image

You go on to say "all the way to the left" as if that takes any kind of effort but then you go on the explain how many steps it takes to do it the new way. You literally can just hold your hand there and switch back and forth effortlessly.

In iOS 7 you actually have to wait for the keyboard to pop up.

I think iOS 6 is faster than iOS 7 in general. All the new features added bogs it down.

What does that "half-way" switching between left and right accomplish though?

 

[Gogurt48]

Well, you wanna get technical. I think we still lost functionality because you used to be able to see them both at the same time.

Image

So? You couldn't use them both at the same time. That's not a function, it's just a stylistic animation difference.

You go on to say "all the way to the left" as if that takes any kind of effort but then you go on the explain how many steps it takes to do it the new way. You literally can just hold your hand there and switch back and forth effortlessly.

You can do the same thing the new way, only you swipe down and up instead of left and right. And with the new way, you can do it wherever you are. You don't have to get back to the first home page to do it.

I never said the old way was difficult. It's not. But neither is the new way, and in fact, the new way takes one less step than the old way.

In iOS 7 you actually have to wait for the keyboard to pop up.

Which happens instantly.

I think iOS 6 is faster than iOS 7 in general. All the new features added bogs it down.

Possibly in some respects, but not in this case. Invoking spotlight is always faster in iOS 7 unless you're on the first home page, in which case it takes the same amount of time.

For fun I just put that to the test. I held my wife's iPhone running iOS 6 in one hand, and my iPhone running iOS 7 in the other and invoked spotlight on both at the same time. There was no speed difference, except when my wife's phone wasn't on the first home page. Then iOS 7 was much faster.

 

[mama-exo]

Well the differences are certainly trivial. You've presented some interesting considerations. But to believe that iOS 7 is faster and more fluid than iOS 6? No way.

 

[Armen]

I think it bothers me more that I can't single click the home button to bring it up. I was just getting into the habit of bringing it up that way on iOS 6. If they bring that function back (or at least the option for it) I don't really care which direction you swipe from.

For anyone who's been using iOS for years though, it's not exactly an intuitive change. At first I thought they got rid of spotlight and had to search how to bring it up.

It's not a single click if you're not on the first home screen. That's what I like about this implementation. Swipe down from the middle of the page on any home screen page.

 

[Mortalias]

It's more intuitive in my opinion. Went back to iOS 6 on my dad's new iPad Mini and kept getting frustrated having to swipe all the way to the left.

 

[mama-exo]

It's more intuitive in my opinion. Went back to iOS 6 on my dad's new iPad Mini and kept getting frustrated having to swipe all the way to the left.

I think you're doing it wrong. All the way? You just flick your finger, you barely have to move it.

I just didn't really like the search results laying on top of the apps. It makes me feel like I can't get to them.

 

[C DM]

One thing I can't stand is the new pull down to search function, that replaced the old swipe all the way to the left function to search.

While conceptually it is great, I find that it generates too many false positives when swiping normally through my homescreens.

IMO, they need to make the trigger threshold higher (pull down a longer distance) before the search function is activated.

What do you think?

I think perhaps the underlying issue here (that some might be having) is that it responds to swipes that are not necessarily just straight down (and across majority of the screen), making it somewhat more likely to bring it up (or down essentially).

For example, sometimes my swipes to go to the next home page are not exactly horizontal to the right, and are more diagonal going from left to right with a downward slope. In iOS 7 in a number of cases that actually gets interpreted as more of a downward swipe than a horizontal swipe to the right (even though it can realistically be interpreted more or less either way in a case like that), and instead of going to the next page I get the search bar that comes down.

So perhaps it's not so much as pulling a longer distance (although that might be part of it as well), but maybe more so about it reacting to more direct downward swipes and not so much to anything that's diagonal or something like that.

 

[YeahBuddy]

I think swiping down from any home screen is a much better way of entering spot light. Also the new layout of it is just gorgeous. I find myself actually using it now, where as I never did in prior releases.

 

[mama-exo]

I think swiping down from any home screen is a much better way of entering spot light. Also the new layout of it is just gorgeous. I find myself actually using it now, where as I never did in prior releases.

All of this is making me think that Apple is trying to get rid of the home button. Things that you used to be able to just press the home button to get to are being replaced with swipes.

You used to be able to just press the home button to search. Not anymore.

 

[Rocko1]

Coming out of messages and swiping to the right I get a false positive about 3 times a day. It's always after I was just in either messages or email.

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I think iOS 6 is faster than iOS 7 in general. All the new features added bogs it down.

For sure. 7 feels like a droid.

 

[Gogurt48]

For sure. 7 feels like a droid.

Probably depends on which phone you're running it on. It's smooth as silk on my iPhone 5. I imagine it would be rather "droid-like" on an iPhone 4.