Everything New With Spotlight Search in iOS 16

[ipedro]

Who is coming up with these awful designs?
I can already easily swipe down on any home screen to get to Spotlight. Why do I need an extra button? Especially one that covers the dots so you can’t see what Home screen you’re on and do that horizontal swipe gesture to quickly navigate between the screens.

Does this idea come from the same team that added swiping on the lock screen for Spotlight, the feature that causes you to accidentally tap on apps and actions? You know, the same issue the original team solved from day one on iPhone OS 1 with swipe to unlock?

Sorry for venting but I was also fighting with the iPhone’s autocorrect on the same sentences over and over while typing this. Apple’s software has gone so downhill since iOS 13…

Apple did not do away with the page dots. The dots are still there as you start swiping if there are more pages.

Apple has been refining the discoverability of features. iOS7 wiped the slate clean to extreme minimalism and they've been building on that foundation, adding features and polish since then.

Not everyone knows about the swipe down to Search. Having the button there is a needed discoverability improvement. I feel like I'm regularly showing it to people for the first time. Those who already know, can turn it off. I prefer swipe down but I kept the Search there because sometimes it's easier to tap one handed.

Apple often gives away upcoming features in the small refinements they make. Apple's reliance on Google is a glaring vulnerability. I suspect they're finally going to fill that hole and they need all users, pros and beginners to start using Search and know where to find it.

 

[ct2k7]

My experience with Spotlight so far in iOS is that it’s sluggish to update the view or return search results.

I will enter a name of an app for example, it takes 3-5 seconds for the app to show in the results list.

 

[ipedro]

And they let you just leave like that? How do they know you actually paid when u just get up and leave?

It's connected to the register. Every table has a status, open when it's free, then active as people order and the running bill starts showing. It clears when it's paid, whether it was at the table with a terminal or the customer did it themselves in the App Clip.

I came across a diner in New York where the App Clip appeared when I scanned a QR code as I waited for my table, it allowed me to look through the menu and order my brunch and as soon as I was given a table, they brought me coffee and a few minutes later, my food started arriving. Super smooth experience. Everything should be an App Clip.

Another cool one: I looked up the Museum of Natural History in Maps and it has a Tickets button. Tap it and it brings up an App Clip that let's you buy tickets, adds them to your Wallet and the app is gone and you've got the tickets on your Watch and phone when you arrive.



The promise of App Clips hasn't been realized because it's intended for in-person experiences and it was announced at WWDC 2020 and released in the Fall when COVID was spiking. I feel like Apple needs to reintroduce the feature now and start getting big players on board to raise public awareness.

 

[diegog]

It would be great if you could search inside indexed iCloud documents through the Files App. Right now you can only search by the name of the document in the Files App.