General Consumer Reactions to iOS 7

[Rogifan]

Did you even read the original post? He let 71 real people who were all non-developers use iOS 7 on his phone for 30-45 mins each and then had them fill out a written survey. As far as I'm concerned that data is more reliable than the sum total of the opinions posted on this forum. I also think this doesn't bode well for the general release of iOS 7 this fall. Everyone who is saying people will growth like iOS 7 are assuming the average consumer is going to stick around long enough for that to happen. My own reaction to iOS 7 was so negative at first that I thought about dumping my iPhone for a HTC One, and I have owned pretty much nothing but Apple products since before the PowerPC days. Even now, close to a month of use later, I still absolutely detest some aspects of the system (the icons, the overuse of white and text-based navigation), though many components have grown on me. If this is where an Apple fanboy is after a month with iOS 7, I don't think the software is going to be particularly well-received by the average consumer. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm not holding my breath.

How is using something for 30 minutes on someone else's device really reliable? Seems to me it's reliable to you because it conforms to your opinions of iOS 7. Give it to someone on their own device for a week or two and then retake the survey and see what results you get.

 

[jonnyb098]

I don't understand, because the iPad has the same UI structure and functionality as it did in iOS 6 but now in iOS 7 it's just themed differently.

I think it's because iOS 7 on the ipad is just filled with literally a lot of white space. Not to mention certain apps like calendar and notes are just blown up iphone versions whereas iOS 6 had more tablet ready native apps(even if they had leather stitching). Functionally the iOS 6 calendar is waaaay ahead of iOS 7. Same goes for the music app.

Ironic since Apple publicly made fun of blown up tablet apps. And that's exactly what iOS 7 is on the iPad. I really hope that changes but I losing hope now that we are just 4-6 weeks away from the final product.

 

[MacDevil7334]

How is using something for 30 minutes on someone else's device really reliable? Seems to me it's reliable to you because it conforms to your opinions of iOS 7. Give it to someone on their own device for a week or two and then retake the survey and see what results you get.

Do you get to use a phone for a week before you buy it? Most people play with the phones in the store for probably 30-60 mins before buying. If they don't like it by then, they're probably getting something else.

 

[Nanasaki]

Do you get to use a phone for a week before you buy it? Most people play with the phones in the store for probably 30-60 mins before buying. If they don't like it by then, they're probably getting something else.

Well, there is 14 days return period for you.

Trust me, most people buying phone base on what other people say. I have seen countless examples of buying iPhone or whatever phone because it is popular. So if lots of people ends up with iOS 7 devices, people will go for it.

 

[Rogifan]

Do you get to use a phone for a week before you buy it? Most people play with the phones in the store for probably 30-60 mins before buying. If they don't like it by then, they're probably getting something else.

True. I still don't think one persons anecdotal study is that meaningful. I'd be curious to know how the survey was conducted and what questions were asked. Questions can be asked to solicit a certain response. I'm not implying that was the case here; I don't know. But I've seen posts where someone says they showed it off and people hated it, and then someone else who says the exact opposite. I guess John Gruber was right when he said it would be polarizing. It might be a bit like windows 8 where you either like it or you don't. Time will tell.

 

[FreeState]

True. I still don't think one persons anecdotal study is that meaningful. I'd be curious to know how the survey was conducted and what questions were asked. Questions can be asked to solicit a certain response. I'm not implying that was the case here; I don't know. But I've seen posts where someone says they showed it off and people hated it, and then someone else who says the exact opposite. I guess John Gruber was right when he said it would be polarizing. It might be a bit like windows 8 where you either like it or you don't. Time will tell.

There is also the issue of sampling here. The OPs random 70 people are hardly random - they all know him, are from one area, most likely are also from the same socio economic and racial backgrounds. It's hardly scientific.

 

[nutmac]

When I first showed my wife iOS 7 beta 1, she felt the same about it too. She retorted, "Don't install it on my iPhone [4S]."

But you know what? Whenever she has to use my iPhone 5 with iOS 7 beta (which happens a lot since she frequently misplaces her phone), she hasn't run into a single usability problem (other than occasional beta-related bugs like crashing).

 

[Nanasaki]

There is also the issue of sampling here. The OPs random 70 people are hardly random - they all know him, are from one area, most likely are also from the same socio economic and racial backgrounds. It's hardly scientific.

Unless you are going to do a large scale sampling (from different geographic areas, different age group, different genders, etc) , you are not gonna get good result.

But none the less, this survey tells you some insight about how people fell towards iOS 7.

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When I first showed my wife iOS 7 beta 1, she felt the same about it too. She retorted, "Don't install it on my iPhone [4S]."

But you know what? Whenever she has to use my iPhone 5 with iOS 7 beta (which happens a lot since she frequently misplaces her phone), she hasn't run into a single usability problem (other than occasional beta-related bugs like crashing).

But you failed to tell if she really likes it or not. All you said is she uses your iPhone a lot because she misplaces her phone frequently. And there is no usability problem. Put all these information together, you still don't tell us her impression about iOS 7.

 

[C DM]

How is using something for 30 minutes on someone else's device really reliable? Seems to me it's reliable to you because it conforms to your opinions of iOS 7. Give it to someone on their own device for a week or two and then retake the survey and see what results you get.

But it might be a better gauge than a lot of posts in many threads here that say "my mom and my brother looked at my phone and liked it a lot" or something simplistic along those lines that is often used to demonstrate that the "mainstream" will actually like iOS 7. I'm not necessarily saying it's the best thing out there, or that it's even necessarily a good "study", but it's certainly no worse, and likely at least somewhat better than tons of those anecdotal posts that many others have made.

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There is also the issue of sampling here. The OPs random 70 people are hardly random - they all know him, are from one area, most likely are also from the same socio economic and racial backgrounds. It's hardly scientific.

Probably, but certainly no worse, and probably at least somewhat better than the "My cousin saw my phone for a minute and said iOS 7 is awesome!" anecdotal posts in many threads used to justify this or that.

 

[HarryAinslie]

Everyone is moaning about it simply because it's taking them out of their comfort zone IMO

It's kinda like this scenario:

Fold your arms, comfortable? now fold them the other way. Uncomfortable? I thought so

Comfort zone, use something over a period and it will become your comfort zone. iOS 7 was like this for me!

 

[vikingjunior]

I love the ones who defend the Fisher Price UI with" people will get used to it" LOL! How Apple thought this UI was more important then screen size is beyond me. Good luck Apple.

 

[AngerDanger]

Everyone is moaning about it simply because it's taking them out of their comfort zone IMO

It's kinda like this scenario:

Fold your arms, comfortable? now fold them the other way. Uncomfortable? I thought so

Comfort zone, use something over a period and it will become your comfort zone. iOS 7 was like this for me!

Your opinion contradicts fact; I'm comfortable with iOS 7 but agree with 3/5ths of the complaints listed. Besides, how would a redesign take people out of their comfort zones? Everything is still in the same place but looks different.

If I painted the walls in my room a disgusting brown color, everything would be in the same place, and I would still—literally—be in my comfort zone. I'd still hate it for looking bad.

 

[ios7fan]

music app is the real concern atleast for now..be it functionality or appearance(too much of white with those red texts)...barring that ios7 is way superior than ios6

 

[FreeState]

Unless you are going to do a large scale sampling (from different geographic areas, different age group, different genders, etc) , you are not gonna get good result.

But none the less, this survey tells you some insight about how people fell towards iOS 7.

Actually I don't think it gives you any insight into how people feel towards iOS7 - it gives you insight into how the OP sees the anecdotal data he collected from 70 people. That insight can not be used for opinion on how people feel in the general population or even apple customers. It would be like asking 70 people that walked into a 7-11 if they liked oranges and then taking that information and trying to use it for a general feeling on oranges, it's anecdotal and provides no real usable data points or generalized population data. That does not mean its not interesting, it is however not scientific or useful in determining opinion or trends.

 

[Rogifan]

But it might be a better gauge than a lot of posts in many threads here that say "my mom and my brother looked at my phone and liked it a lot" or something simplistic along those lines that is often used to demonstrate that the "mainstream" will actually like iOS 7. I'm not necessarily saying it's the best thing out there, or that it's even necessarily a good "study", but it's certainly no worse, and likely at least somewhat better than tons of those anecdotal posts that many others have made.

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Probably, but certainly no worse, and probably at least somewhat better than the "My cousin saw my phone for a minute and said iOS 7 is awesome!" anecdotal posts in many threads used to justify this or that.

I'm not suggesting its worse. But I don't know if its better either. I think it's like all other anecdotal evidence, just that, anecdotal. We'll know soon enough when the new phones are released whether this could be a disaster for Apple or not.

 

[C DM]

I'm not suggesting its worse. But I don't know if its better either. I think it's like all other anecdotal evidence, just that, anecdotal. We'll know soon enough when the new phones are released whether this could be a disaster for Apple or not.

Yeah, that's more or less it realistically speaking.

 

[Patriot24]

Showed it to my Dad, who is notoriously resistant to change and tends to get very frustrated with new software/technology (he does own an iPhone and iPad, however).

Upon unlocking the device, he had this immediate reaction of delight with the new animation of the icons falling into place. As he flipped through Apple apps, he seemed pretty positive and said "cool", "I like that", etc. He navigated freely and seemed to have no real issues adjusting quickly.

I suspect that he may have a different reaction when it is GM and on his device, but I was encouraged.

My wife looked at it and basically said, "Neat." and "That is much nicer." That was about it, heh.

 

[Dontazemebro]

The GUI is fresh it needed change and not just for the sake of it. I like it and I think the 3D polished gloss had its time but like everything else in life. All good things must come to an end (thankfully sooner rather than later).

I think once iOS 7 becomes mainstream and people get used to it, they'll wonder why Apple didn't refresh iOS a lonnnnnng time ago.

 

[jtfolden]

Sure, it's faster when you want to close apps, but how often do you need to close apps in iOS? Most of the time, all I want to do is to switch apps, and the old way was faster at just switching apps.

Most people switch apps by pressing the home button and choosing the icon. IME, the average customer doesn't even KNOW they can double press to get the recent apps listing.

I don't think the new way is any slower, though. You have a much bigger target to hit.

 

[DaveOP]

People will get used to it. When you explained it at WWDC, many of the design decisions stem from colors and how people react. For instance, anything clickable and actionable is blue. After a while, like the icons, things settle down and make lots of sense. I am getting so tired of people overreacting to it.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Did you even read the original post? He let 71 real people who were all non-developers use iOS 7 on his phone for 30-45 mins each and then had them fill out a written survey. As far as I'm concerned that data is more reliable than the sum total of the opinions posted on this forum. I also think this doesn't bode well for the general release of iOS 7 this fall. Everyone who is saying people will growth like iOS 7 are assuming the average consumer is going to stick around long enough for that to happen. My own reaction to iOS 7 was so negative at first that I thought about dumping my iPhone for a HTC One, and I have owned pretty much nothing but Apple products since before the PowerPC days. Even now, close to a month of use later, I still absolutely detest some aspects of the system (the icons, the overuse of white and text-based navigation), though many components have grown on me. If this is where an Apple fanboy is after a month with iOS 7, I don't think the software is going to be particularly well-received by the average consumer. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm not holding my breath.

Yes, I read his entire post. Generally speaking, if I respond, I've read from start to finish. I should have mentioned it, I suppose. Again, nothing will cause a redesign of iOS 7, not at this point. If it does, then I'll stand corrected.

 

[abshole765]

While I appreciate your data collection, I call bs on that. Its much easier to flick away apps with the thumb than to hold one down to make them wiggle and whack their X.

I prefer the X. At least then it was a simple button and it didn't take 4 tries sliding back & forth between apps to close a single one.

 

[sonicrobby]

- Low Contrast. Many remarked that the lighter grey's, whites, and yellows in System Settings, core app's, etc. negatively impaired usage. Many struggled with managing through System Settings, Notes, Calendar.

- Safari. Only a few people thought the new Safari page layouts were acceptable. Others found it to be a poor attempt for a "3D" design and preferred the previous method, also used in Safari 7 for 10.9 (pinching out on OS X trackpad zooms out in Safari, allowing users to swipe to another page in the same browser window).

- Navigation. Replacing buttons with floating text and symbols was the biggest issue. Not one person preferred blue text and "<" symbols for navigating.

- Too much white. The "Music" app had the lowest rating. Many struggled with red text and icons for active sections and light grey/dimmed text/icons for other sections. The lines separating playlists, tracks, etc and ">" to select were too "light", making it difficult to navigate.

- Multitasking. Sliding between open apps and waiting for the app to center in a "bouncy" animation in order to select it or swipe up to close was "fun" and "cute," but some thought it hindered usability.

I only used iOS for a week, had the same reactions except maybe the multitasking. I love the new multitasking system, but I agree that the animations are unnecessarily child-like.

I feel iOS7 is something people will get used to over time. I personally feel like I "could", more because I need to than want to, but regardless, I dont love it as much. I am one who finds beauty in detail. Gloss, embossment, high contrast, these are styles I like. Flat is minimalistic (which is good) but just too plain. I feel like before people would get programs like photoshop to add beauty and flavor to design, but it seems like the flat design can be easily done in MS paint. It kind of just takes away the "professional" aspect for me.

I feel a lot of people like the new UI because it is different. They got tired of looking at iOS6 wanted change, got it, easily accepted it. I am not one to easily accept change for the sake of change. I actually moved to iOS because I thought it more beautiful than that ghastly android os. It was an overall much better experience. Again, while I feel like I will get used to it, it wont be something that I love since they replaced a style I like with one I dont. I do have high hopes for a jailbreak with an iOS6 theme, then I will be a happy camper.

My only concern is that Apple may disregard any kind of general public feedback in favor or against the new OS after the final release, and stick to the "low fragmentation" of iOS story. I kind of feel like that is not a good way to measure since once the OS is upgraded, the user has no choice to downgrade. So if someone is trying out the new OS, but decide they want to go back to an old OS, they are SOL.

Before I get chewed out for something that I said, I do want to state that this is all my opinion, its what I think. Please dont snap back with smartass comments as it will not change the way I feel about it. But if you would like to have an moderately objective conversation about something I said, feel free to quote my as I can be open minded on the topic.

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I prefer the X. At least then it was a simple button and it didn't take 4 tries sliding back & forth between apps to close a single one.

Thats something I didnt think about. I do like the swipe up to close apps, its the one thing I loved about HP's webOS, but you are right; if you have 40 or so apps open, you would have to scroll across 39 of them if you just want to close the last one. I still prefer the new system, but I think its something they can improve on.

Also did apple add any "close all" feature yet?

 

[CausticPuppy]

I realize this may qualify as an NDA breach, but I wanted to compile general consumer reactions to the new iOS 7 GUI. Most of us are tech savvy and place little emphasis on GUI modifications; we adapt quicker, yet it is crucial to report general consumer feedback during testing as this is Apple's biggest market.

I decided on selecting a multi-demographical group of friends, family, colleagues, etc., roughly 71 individuals over a five day period. I allowed each to use my iPhone 5 for a half hour (some 45 min's), and had them fill out a short answer survey.

Noted Remarks:

- Low Contrast. Many remarked that the lighter grey's, whites, and yellows in System Settings, core app's, etc. negatively impaired usage. Many struggled with managing through System Settings, Notes, Calendar.

- Safari. Only a few people thought the new Safari page layouts were acceptable. Others found it to be a poor attempt for a "3D" design and preferred the previous method, also used in Safari 7 for 10.9 (pinching out on OS X trackpad zooms out in Safari, allowing users to swipe to another page in the same browser window).

- Navigation. Replacing buttons with floating text and symbols was the biggest issue. Not one person preferred blue text and "<" symbols for navigating.

- Too much white. The "Music" app had the lowest rating. Many struggled with red text and icons for active sections and light grey/dimmed text/icons for other sections. The lines separating playlists, tracks, etc and ">" to select were too "light", making it difficult to navigate.

- Multitasking. Sliding between open apps and waiting for the app to center in a "bouncy" animation in order to select it or swipe up to close was "fun" and "cute," but some thought it hindered usability.

Roughly 57 individuals did not like the UI at all. Some went as far as to state it will be a deciding factor in future purchasing of iOS based devices, many claiming it will disenfranchise Apple's iOS product line. The new options and features were unanimously approved, however the overall UI was the main deciding factor. People resist change, that's common, however this wasn't simply a matter of needing time to adjust.

I've reported UI bugs, as well as many others. If simple modifications are not addressed, based on general observations, iOS 7 may not be the slam dunk Apple hopes.

Those 57 people must absolutely despise Android.

 

[sonicrobby]

Keep in mind that Windows 8 was the wrong product for the platform. It's a fantastic tablet and phone OS but not so much on the desktop. They weren't just trying a new look and feel, they were attempting to move the desktop platform somewhere it isn't ready to go.

I feel the same way, 100%
I think its great they are re-adding the start button in the 8.1 version, but its something that should never have left. On a desktop computer, people want to use (here's the shocker) the desktop screen! :0