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iOS 18 Photos App Redesign: Two Months Later, Users Still Divided

Maybe going against the grain here, but I actually like it.

Now that I have it customised to how I want it, it works fine and I don't miss the previous version of the app at all. I can easily search for things, and I like having a landing space that has more than just the photo grid. Personally, it's faster for me that way, but I can see why others wouldn't like it.
 
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nereus01 said:
What bothers me most is that I have iPhone 12 mini and promised AI based search does not work here. So when searching for a specific photo it's dumb as it always was.
I don't like the change.
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Apple made it clear that the Apple Intelligence features would be supported on the 15 Pro models or later, or Macs with M1 or later.

You can still search for objects and environments though, as all devices have supported since iOS 11 I think.
 
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davidh2k said:
My simple response to that discussion:
View attachment 2454156
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Yeah I'm on older software on all devices too, this article is the first time I'm seeing the new interface actually. Yikes!

Makes me want to resume my search for a better solution on a personal server. Main caveat being that 80-90% of my library is shared with my family so it requires some serious dedication to build similar reliability and ease-of-use.
 
Unggoy Murderer said:
Apple made it clear that the Apple Intelligence features would be supported on the 15 Pro models or later, or Macs with M1 or later.

You can still search for objects and environments though, as all devices have supported since iOS 11 I think.
Click to expand...
Then Apple should make these changes optional for devices (or regions) that can't rely on AI to make this UI work.
 
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At first look, I hated it. But am starting to quite like aspects.

However, I am confused at the differences between my MBP, M4 mini, iPad and iPhone. For example, sometimes I see different (or no) images in Duplicates depending on device.

And cannot see quite how to control uploading. Mostly, I want my phone to upload images immediately whether on wifi or SIM. But sometimes I might want to defer it until the connection is better.
 
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The new photos app has aped navigation metaphors from Material Design on Pixel devices. It’s completely out of sync with the rest of iOS. Apple has started to do the same to the iOS podcasts app where swiping right or left from the screen gives you the going-backward animation, just like Android on the Pixel. This behaviour is only there on Podcasts and Photos.
 
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The only reason you'll be forced to love the iOS 18.x Photos app is when you purchase an iPhone and it is already running iOS 18.x

If you purchased an iPhone 16 series model, you have no choice whatsoever...

Apple should re-sign iOS 17.7 or release iOS 17.7.2 IPSW for those that have iPhone 15 series or older...
 
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chrono1081 said:
I hated it until I customized it, now it's fine. Customizing it is the absolute key here.
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even if I'm inclined to agree with you—particularly on a broader level, that the potential of Apple apps is most-unlocked by user customization—the beauty of Apple apps historically has been that the average user can pick up any given one, no customization needed, and know exactly what to do with it. this redesign feels weirdly antithetical to that principle.

(all that said—I'll have to see what customizing the app does for me. hopefully that can change things; as of rn I'm unfortunately in the camp of "why did this redesign need to happen?")
 
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phenste said:
even if I'm inclined to agree with you—particularly on a broader level, that the potential of Apple apps is most-unlocked by user customization—the beauty of Apple apps historically has been that the average user can pick up any given one, no customization needed, and know exactly what to do with it. this redesign feels weirdly antithetical to that principle.

(all that said—I'll have to see what customizing the app does for me. hopefully that can change things; as of rn I'm unfortunately in the camp of "why did this redesign need to happen?")
Click to expand...

I agree it should be simple for the casual user first. I think if they kept the previous design, but then showed the customization options available in 18 people would have been less upset. Let people add the extra features if they want.
 
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Apple should have predicted that any changes to the Photos app would run great risk given how inherently personal the photos within the app are to users.

My wife and I still comment on how much we hate the existing experience, even though I have customized it down to remove the enhancements.

Just like Apple has needed time to nail down multitasking on the iPad (and haven’t nailed it yet!), there is much work to be done on the Photos app. I hope they course correct in 18.3..
 
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For me the worst part of photos, is that when you move a photo to an album, it stays in the recent view.

photos should truly be able to fully move from one album to another. That way you could have a cleaner ‘recent’ view.

also it would be great if we could create smart albums like on macOS and that smart album would sync between macOS and iOS.
 
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That's why Android is better. They don't force anyone to stick to 1 design... You have some options. I dont get it why Apple does not allow to stay to old design or switch to new if you like it. What's the problem?
 
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It is the ONLY reason I WON’T upgrade. I need a navigation tap that allows me to view all my photo albums I created (HUNDREDS) exactly the way I can scroll through them from left to right (two albums per row, large beautiful square thumbnails) like in IOS 17. When I open my photos app, I want the first thing to see to be all my albums. I really enjoyed scrolling through all of them.

I don’t care about the AI Gimmick, it makes it less personal. You can leave all that in a separate tab for those who use it. I BEG APPLE TO PLEASE make it an option in the settings Menu to view everything in the traditional style. That would be BRILLIANT ❤️
 
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Many people often tell me in comments in response “but you do have a choice! Switch to Android!”. I definitely will, especially after such awful overhaul of one of the key apps that I am using.

Apple has no right to implement such overhauls without at least doing some focus group studies. The interface of photos app is ultra cluttered and impossible to get used to. Grid is too large, no focus points so you gotta search with your eyes what you want, lack of manual organization. I think in the next few years new apps for viewing photos will emerge.

They were saying AI will be optional, but photos app is not optional and AI features cannot be turned off at all
 
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It looks overloaded and complicated. They just need to add new grouping and search tools but don't complicate the layout.
 
Qubelek said:
That's why Android is better. They don't force anyone to stick to 1 design... You have some options. I dont get it why Apple does not allow to stay to old design or switch to new if you like it. What's the problem?
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I hope Samsung won’t decide to copy such awful design into their OneUI 7. Thats without mentioning that Google Photos isn’t perfect either. It is ok but nothing more than that.

On Android one can even choose to never install system updates at all since apps do not depend on system updates, i.e. you can update your browser even on 10 year old Android system, while outdated iOS means outdated Safari and this always means broken websites and poor experience
 
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Qubelek said:
That's why Android is better. They don't force anyone to stick to 1 design... You have some options. I dont get it why Apple does not allow to stay to old design or switch to new if you like it. What's the problem?
Click to expand...

It takes less than 30 seconds to either bring the Photos app back to the original version, or, customize it for what you'd like to see.

Apple offers choices. That's a good thing.
 
I must say, it's not my cup of tea either. I lead the way on software updates in my family, so when my wife eventually upgrades, I can help her deal with the confusion. She hates change for the sake of it, and she puts off updates until she has no choice anymore. Software companies are doing it to themselves now. They want us to update and upgrade, but they end up creating an environment where users don't want to. MS is even worse. Every month I cross my fingers when Patch Tuesday comes calling for my work PC--what's going to be better, what's going to regress (almost always, my docking experience).

Best part of iOS 18, IMO, is the vastly improved experience in Messages for texting Androidians.
 
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