"Settings" is Bloated

[FelixAng]

How often do you get annoyed by having to swipe around Settings just to turn on and choose a Bluetooth device? Or you subscribe to Match and the hassle of turning it on and off in Settings annoys you? And turning on/off to show songs on the device vs. the cloud?

Why can't Settings choices also be inside apps? Would t it be nice to swipe up and hold the Bluetooth icon and have an overlay of options, instead of the five steps or so currently involved just to link?

 

[C DM]

Are those things that typical/most users would have to do often?

 

[dictoresno]

iOS settings are nowhere near as confusing as android settings/menus. afraid i cant agree with you on this one.

 

[Julien]

iOS settings are nowhere near as confusing as android settings/menus. afraid i cant agree with you on this one.

Settings is close to the 'sweet spot'. Any less and people will complain about lack of choice/customization (which some still do), any more and you run the risk of Android type confusion/overwhelming.

 

[newellj]

My biggest beef about settings, which isn't a big one, is that Apple seems to relocate various settings from version to version. It's not a train wreck but it is a speed bump.

 

[Max(IT)]

My biggest beef about settings, which isn't a big one, is that Apple seems to relocate various settings from version to version. It's not a train wreck but it is a speed bump.

Relocate what? It seems quite consolidated to me...

 

[wakinghour]

iOS settings are nowhere near as confusing as android settings/menus. afraid i cant agree with you on this one.

and all android phones have different menus due to the manufacturer. Every android phone I fix is like relearning everything.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

My biggest beef about settings, which isn't a big one, is that Apple seems to relocate various settings from version to version. It's not a train wreck but it is a speed bump.

Agree with this. They'll move things to another submenu and it takes me a bit to find.

 

[adamhenry]

Intuitive in that all settings are in the same place and counter-intuitive in that the settings aren't in their respective app.

 

[C DM]

Intuitive in that all settings are in the same place and counter-intuitive in that the settings aren't in their respective app.

Go to settings and select an app from there and those global/OS settings related to the app are there.

 

[adamhenry]

Go to settings and select an app from there and those global/OS settings related to the app are there.

I.E. Mail settings aren't accessible inside the mail app. You have to leave the mail app, open the settings app, and then find the mail settings.

 

[hunt2013]

My biggest beef about settings, which isn't a big one, is that Apple seems to relocate various settings from version to version. It's not a train wreck but it is a speed bump.

Only thing I know they relocated recently is the diagnostics from about to privacy.

 

[cmoore49]

Do you know that you can pull up a widget from the bottom of the page to turn on and off Bluetooth, adjust brightness, AirPlay etc

 

[Paddle1]

Relocate what? It seems quite consolidated to me...

I don't know about that but I have noticed "Brightness & Wallpaper" get changed to "Wallpapers & Brightness" and then to "Display and Brightness" with wallpapers separate. As well as "Notifications" get changed to "Notification Center" and then back to "Notifications."

I think Settings can be a little confusing if you don't know where something is and it's a bit different from version to version but there's not much they can do.

 

[C DM]

Do you know that you can pull up a widget from the bottom of the page to turn on and off Bluetooth, adjust brightness, AirPlay etc

Seems like this is about settings beyond those.

 

[steve62388]

Yep. And things like Location Services, Managing iCloud storage and iTunes Match (to name a few) appearing under multiple menus just goes to show Apple doesn't know where to put them either.

 

[Nermal]

I agree with the OP; it could do with some sort of cleanup. My top-level Settings menu has 57 categories. Many of those are for apps and take you to a second menu with nothing more than a toggle for "Use Mobile Data". The same toggles exist in the "Mobile" submenu itself, so those menu items are replicating functionality for no real benefit.

I even have one menu option that opens a submenu with nothing in it!

 

[tryphone]

I wouldn't mind if there was a quicker way to access setting. Like a shortcut in control center

 

[FelixAng]

Do you know that you can pull up a widget from the bottom of the page to turn on and off Bluetooth, adjust brightness, AirPlay etc

Yeah, but let's say you have 2+ Bluetooth devices to choose from. Wouldn't it be nice to swipe up and instead of tapping the Bluetooth icon hold it down and get the list of paired devices?
The way things are now I have to 1) Leave whatever I'm doing; 2) Go to Settings/Bluetooth; 3) Pair the saved device; 4) Click the home button and return to whatever I was doing.

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iOS settings are nowhere near as confusing as android settings/menus. afraid i cant agree with you on this one.

I agree that the omniscient design is valuable, and I'm not arguing for its demise. If just like to know why is it necessary to leave an app/open Settings almost every time you want to adjust something. Plenty of apps offer Settings options in the app. my example to access Bluetooth paired devices by swiping up and holding down the Bluetooth button until paired-devices appears subtracts many steps from 1) Leaving your app; 2) Going to Settings/Bluetooth; 3) Then choosing the paired device; 4; Clicking the home button; 5) Returning to the app...
That's s lot of junk to go through.

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Are those things that typical/most users would have to do often?

If you have more than 1 paired Bluetooth device, Yes. If you have a limited data plan and in Match have to switch from "Show all music" to "Show music on this phone", Yes.

And Apple gets so excited by its iCloud services. The storage is crap. Hidden under many layers of Settings, you can finally find the "Back-up now" icon. You cannot access any single list of files you've uploaded.

 

[newellj]

Yep. And things like Location Services, Managing iCloud storage and iTunes Match (to name a few) appearing under multiple menus just goes to show Apple doesn't know where to put them either.

Yup. Location services and privacy settings have moved around in the last few versions, IIRC. Privacy-related settings generally appear in too many places. Let me be clear about this - in my post above I said this was just a speed bump, not a train wreck. If I wanted a train wreck, I'd go back to Android.

 

[Max(IT)]

Sometimes I'm amused to see how people basically complain about everything on this forum

 

[C DM]

Sometimes I'm amused to see how people basically complain about everything on this forum

Sometimes the "complaints" (and there's a range as to the level of complaints they are) can in fact have some validity to them.

 

[I7guy]

Sometimes the "complaints" (and there's a range as to the level of complaints they are) can in fact have some validity to them.

Everything said here has validity. The smallest inconsequential issue can gather loud voices; ie weather app, while bigger issues are meh.

 

[newellj]

There's complaint, and there's discussion, and then there's complaining about discussion...

 

[dk001]

iOS settings are nowhere near as confusing as android settings/menus. afraid i cant agree with you on this one.

I think this depends on the OEM. So far stock Android and LG have worked well for me. Not perfect but you know where to find things. Usually.

As for iOS ...... It is a train wreck. Too many layers broken into disconnected paths. It is common to find a setting that appears to be the overall control only to find you have one or more tucked inside of app layers in settings or in a place you would never consider. The BT mentioned is a great example. Locations under Privacy AND the app? Sometimes one setting over-rides the other, sometimes you need both, sometimes you ... Then you are in your email and want to set an auto-message (reply) you have to go to settings? Why not from your email?

Here's a question: Why is D&U under Privacy?

Settings could use some serious work. Especially app settings; make them accessible from the app. Consolidate the settings under a descriptive header.