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Is anyone loving App Library?

fatTribble

fatTribble

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Sep 21, 2018
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Ohio
It’s been a couple of releases since we got App Library. Now that the newness has worn off I’m curious what you think?

App Library was a big feature when released and I really wanted to love it.
I have always put a lot of effort into organizing my screens so the App Library never caught on with me.

In my experience it surfaced my most used apps that just happened to be on my first page of home screens.
So it didn’t make sense to scroll over to App Library just to see Messages and Phone.

How do all of you feel about it and use it?

My two cents for an option: I’d like an app to be either on a Home Screen or on App Library. So what I would see in App Library are only the apps from pages I’ve hidden.
 
I rarely use it. I generally do what I've always done: use the search feature to launch an app. I find that search often knows correctly what app I'm about to look for, even if I haven't started typing the text to search. Having the ability to link different home screen layouts to different focus modes also helps. I DO like that the presence of the App Library enables us to trim down our home screens (that is, without it as a complete catalog of our apps, then apps would continue to have to all be on home screens).

One weird bug that continues to send me to the App Library: searching for Notes. I don't use the Notes app often, I don't have it on my home screen for quick access. But on the rare occasion I want to launch it, the standard search does not surface the Notes app if I search on "notes". I can go to the App Library and use the search there, though. Weird.
 
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NoBoMac said:
Gotta ask the obvious: Show App in Search enabled for Notes? Maybe a toggle of the switch will clear things up.
Click to expand...

And I've gotta answer the less obvious: the what now? I didn't realize that was a setting. I have just located it, and it was set to off, and I've turned it on, and there we go! Thanks, NoBo, you've just smoothed over an annoying little quirk for me!
 
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I wish I could turn it off. IMO it’s useless as I already sort my apps into folders on my second page and use spotlight to launch almost everything from page 1. Scrolling over to app library is extra work for me. Not to mention I like to sort my folders in a very precise way with an order that my muscle memory works with. I can open most apps on my phone without thinking about where they are just from muscle memory.
 
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I think the only time I use it is on the rare occasion I want to check if there are any apps that are hidden that I might've forgot the name of. It's either home screen or spotlight 99% of the time.
 
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I've come to like it. Like the OP, I used to put a lot of effort into organizing my screens, even going to far as to organize via the Apple Configurator app on my computer. But it got to be too much. With widgets, I think I had 5 or 6 screens, plus lots of folders. Organized yes, but lost in a sea of icons.

So I removed everything with the intent of starting over, but only got as far as:
  • The first page just has the Settings app (so you can see a clean, unobstructed view of the wallpaper)
  • 1 full screen of my most used apps;
  • 1 screen which is 1/3 apps and 2/3rds large widget. (Reminders, calendars, emails, etc.)
The rest are in the App Library, which (it turns out) I rarely use *and* rarely see. They're there if I need them (and I sometimes do) but they're out of sight 95% of the time, which is really nice.
 
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I…tolerate it.

So much so that I only have one main screen of most used apps, and everything else in the App Library screen.

I just got used to it’s unchangeable and therefore obnoxious layout and organization.
 
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I like it. I only have my start screen for my most used apps and rely on spotlight search and App Library for everything else. Don't miss having all those other screens at all.
 
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antiprotest said:
Yes I love it. Right away I deleted all my home screens so I only have the one left. I put my most used apps on that home screen and swipe to app library when I need the others. Two pages take care of everything. Then again, I don't have hundreds of apps like some people.
Click to expand...
This. App Library has been a well-loved feature for me (a one-page home screen minimalist) since its introduction.
 
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I like it overall, even though I find it a bit of a contradiction. It seems designed for people who normally can’t be bothered to organise their apps, but these are also the people likely to have page after page of apps, which makes it a hassle to access (because you need to keep swiping to the end of your homescreen).

On my iPhone, I have just one homescreen consisting of 1 stack of medium widgets and 2 rows of siri app suggestions. This lets me access App Library simply by swiping to the right. Sometimes, apps to seem to have an annoying habit of changing folders arbitrarily, but it’s pretty handy to let me quickly locate and launch apps.

On my ipad, it’s a pretty useful feature to have because it means that I can access any app I want from the dock, which makes it easier to multitask with.
 
Love it! I am a huge minimalist and like to keep my home screen nice and tidy... so I just have my most frequently used apps and 2 widgets on the main home screen and then its just the app library after that... I just have any other apps in there and swipe over to get them if needed.
 
antiprotest said:
Yes I love it. Right away I deleted all my home screens so I only have the one left. I put my most used apps on that home screen and swipe to app library when I need the others. Two pages take care of everything. Then again, I don't have hundreds of apps like some people.
Click to expand...

I love it as well. Simple, effective and works.

Yes I agree there are some 'mis-categorization' but I think a LOT of iPhone users completely forget/forgotten about Universal Search, aka Spotlight:

In App Library: use the search at the top in search bar. Type or use voice dictation to call up the app you want. either is fast, typing faster, since as you type iOS will filter for each letter combination entered to get the app you want. Once launched the next time it'll be shown.

App Library doesn't really function much differently than having a plethora of screens to scroll through - to me that's madness. Again incorrect categorization happens (maybe 2/3 folders) yet its the app you're looking for, not the folder. Maybe it's easier those of us that have used iOS before we could make folders?
 
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It has its uses but I wish I can customize it to the way I want, and not have Apple arbitrarily choose the categories for the apps. I’ve just put all the apps I like on the Home Screen.
 
I didn't like the App Library at first but after going all-in using it with one home page and everything else in the App Library, I like it now. I used to have 3 pages of my apps that I kept organized. Now I just maintain my one home page with the apps I use the most and leave everything else in the App Library.

For me, it does a fairly good job of showing the apps that I use the most in the foreground and everything else I use spotlight search to open apps.
 
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