Seeing as how iphone 4S's are flying off the shelves, and they can't build them fast enough -- I see the evidence for this staring me RIGHT in the face.
Oh - and how many 3GS's did they sell this year?
iOS is just fine . . .
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Is Apple shooting itself in the foot by not innovating a new iOS redesign?
- Thread starter Calidude
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Seeing as how iphone 4S's are flying off the shelves, and they can't build them fast enough -- I see the evidence for this staring me RIGHT in the face.
Oh - and how many 3GS's did they sell this year?
iOS is just fine . . .
Apple has found something good and is sticking with it. I would rather that than have what's going on a Facebook. They can't seem to decide what the heck they want the interface to look like.
Don't even get me started on websites which change their UI every week, YouTube has been doing it a lot recently, and Twitter, and of course Facebook is a common offender.
Nobody wants what Facebook is doing, but iOS still needs at least one redesign that works and to stick to it. Even the most hardcore Apple fan will freak out if iOS 10 looks too much like iOS 1.
I think sometimes we forget who the real customer is, its not the enthusiast. Apple's target audience is much broader.
Earlier this year Apple showed off a video entitled "iPad - Year One" and I think it did a great job demonstrating iOS's purpose of simplicity.
For me this video felt true because I do have young nephews (ages 3-7) as well as a cousin with down syndrome (age 12), and as soon as they got a hold of my iPad it was like introducing a fish to water. They connected with the device instantly (the same could not be said with my HP Touchpad).
Us enthusiast may not understand why Apple is iterating at a slower pace in comparison to Google and Android, but we need to understand that Apple is designing something that can translate with a variety of its customers and is not just iterating to be one step ahead of a competitor.
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This simplicity they've achieved can be done in a way that can appease people with Downs and people with high intelligence and you know it. Just because Apple showed an emotionally manipulative ad like that doesn't mean they can't do things like add a filesystem, improve task switching, unify contact messaging, etc.
I sure there will be a few crazed people who would welcome an iOS 10 that looks just like every iOS we've had thus far.
I'm not sure I buy the sales as the irrefutable evidence that iOS doesn't need updates/refreshes/new features.
Sales are a good example of that they have a winning formula, but to stay on top they've got to keep innovating, keeping their products fresh, rolling out new features, without alienating their current customer base.
Pre-June 2007, Nokia had little reason to believe that they needed anything radically changed in their lineup of N-Devices. Since then they have switched to a completely different OS line twice (one to rival Android and then WP7).
Sales are a good example of that they have a winning formula, but to stay on top they've got to keep innovating, keeping their products fresh, rolling out new features, without alienating their current customer base.
Pre-June 2007, Nokia had little reason to believe that they needed anything radically changed in their lineup of N-Devices. Since then they have switched to a completely different OS line twice (one to rival Android and then WP7).
Sales counts are not a good argument. If we go by numbers alone, then we'd have to say that Android must have the superior user experience... and dumb phones perhaps even more so.
Sales don't mean something is perfect as-is. I remember when VW's were selling like hotcakes in the late 60s. That didn't stop a single VW owner from wishing that their car had a radically different heating or cooling system
At what point in time was it "just fine"? Now? A year ago? When it was first introduced? Will it still be "just fine" fifteen years from now?
I am the first to argue that Apple has tread carefully, but there's always room for improvement.
In some ways iOS has gotten stuck in its own paradigm. For instance, overloading the single Home button with multiple functions (that changed from year to year) was not a great and intuitive design. Android is moving on to all soft buttons on a slightly longer screen, so that it was easy to add a constant multitasking button.
Apples OS updates are generally evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
The same will be true with iOS, a total ground up rebuild of the ui is highly unlikely. Don`t forget, this is the OS that pretty much anyone from a toddler to a pensioner can pick up and use with no prompting or tuition.
As an ex android user I really don`t miss all the customization at all, how often do the majority of non techie users actually bother with all the tweaking and modding that android is capable of?
I`d be willing to bet pretty few.
Horses for courses, if you want simplicity and a reliable, trustworthy (mostly) app store then go with iOS, you wanna tweak, get Android or Windows Phone, you a masochist? get Blackberry (jk)
The same will be true with iOS, a total ground up rebuild of the ui is highly unlikely. Don`t forget, this is the OS that pretty much anyone from a toddler to a pensioner can pick up and use with no prompting or tuition.
As an ex android user I really don`t miss all the customization at all, how often do the majority of non techie users actually bother with all the tweaking and modding that android is capable of?
I`d be willing to bet pretty few.
Horses for courses, if you want simplicity and a reliable, trustworthy (mostly) app store then go with iOS, you wanna tweak, get Android or Windows Phone, you a masochist? get Blackberry (jk
)I wanna vote 'no', but 'yes' is the growing answer every major iOS update. I still think they got the sleekness down to a science now, and add great features (that perhaps they should have had on day 1, but nevertheless) and the experience is going from good to great. It's personal preference I suppose. A brand new iOS user unaware of the experience that we have had for years might not find it to be lacking.
Please tell me you have a Nexus device. Any other Android handset have bullet wounds all over their feet...
No, there are bigger issues with iOS than giving it a jazzy new look.
(iCloud is not the pancea to the disaster that is getting stuff on and off the OS that was hoped).
Phazer
(iCloud is not the pancea to the disaster that is getting stuff on and off the OS that was hoped).
Phazer
I agree that all of these things need to happen. And given that these are all tweeks (and not a redesign) I voted 'no' on your poll.
1. people have been buying 3.5" iPhones for 5 years now... I don't think people are going to suddenly stop purchasing them because there is no 4" screen option.
2. What are you referring to here? Everyone takes this "liquid metal" to a new extreme. It's used to make the freaking paperclip you use to eject the sim tray for goodness sakes. And the iPhone 4 and 4S are definitely in the upper tier of ANY phone as far as materials go.
3. Apple will not introduce a file system in iOS, they have already said they don't want one, don't think it's intuitive, and don't think customers want one. Think of the way things like iPhoto work.... you don't have a file system and directory where you have to manage your photos... "it just works" for better or worse.
I didn't call it intuitive. Notice I said older relatives and by that I meant 60-70 years olds which have rarely used a computer. Most people I know found the iPhone very easy to use. Anyway at least it is more intuitive then an Android POS.
iOS has always been boring. It's about the apps. If you're just turning the phone on and you don't know why and hoping it will entertain you ... I guess iOS is not for you. I'm sure there is some jailbreak mod where if you turn on your phone and stare at it doing nothing for 30 seconds some guy will come on the screen and start singing and dancing for you or something so you won't be bored. Dunno what to tell you.
I wasn't saying you did call it intuative, I was just pointing out how folks believe iOS is so easy to figure out that you don't need a book, yet we have examples of how you have to explain how it works to people. Shoot I have had to explain to my dad how to do things in iOS and he got me into computers (when I was little). So it isn't fool proof.
To be honest, I am not sure how (outwardly) using iOS is any easier than using Android. If you came from a dumb phone, both are pretty complicated...
Um, they aren't tweaks. They're major changes to the OS.
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There will be a point in time where iOS and Android will have the same number of apps. Then, there will be a point in time where Windows Phone equals their numbers for a 3 horse race. Mind you, before these points in time, there will be an earlier point in time when both Android and Windows Phone will have enough apps to satisfy almost every user, without having to reach iOS's number of apps.
What will Apple do when that their app ecosystem is virtually indiscernible from the other two competitors?
My impression was that there already were enough apps in the Adroid store the satsify almost every user? Anyways, all I meant was the core purpose of iOS is launching apps.
Actually, yes. What iOS 5 did to iPad's Safari was an insult to good usability. I wish they'd revert it. At least the iPhone's Safari hasn't been ruined yet.
iOS isn't perfect. Those items you list are obvious and awesome candidates for improvement. But you aren't really backing up your hypothesis. None of those fixes would be a big re-design or innovation on the current iOS. They'd be small fixes that most users wouldn't even notice. The bored crowd (aka morons - my phone is a tool; I want my OS to work well, not thrill me; that's what apps are for) would still be bored.