Stop Innovation and Fix Whats Already Out.

[ECUpirate44]

Hear me out.

iOS is great, but it feels unfinished. I wish Apple would just fix what they've already put out there before introducing new things.

Siri- For me, it hasn't worked as advertised from the start. It only understand's me sometimes and when it does, it takes forever to load. I also don't understand why it needs an internet connection for everything. It's not necessary for dictating a message, asking the time, setting reminders, ect.

iCloud- Sometimes files sync, other times they don't. It's really inconstant. I haven't had any problems with photosteam though.

Passbook- There has to be a better way to use this. Right now, I have to dig through each app to find the option to add the pass. I don't know what the fix is, but there has to be a better way.

Customization- I know I know the typical answer for this on this forum is "get an Android," but is it really too much to ask for simple settings toggles in notification center? Why can't I hid newsstand, ect, ect.

Maps- Enough said right? I thought it would be a lot better and I couldn't have been more wrong. The absence of public transportation POI's is puzzling. I guess flyover is cool, but I prefer street view (which I know is not coming back). It will get better over time, but for now like Siri, it is an unfinished product.

I'm sure there's more and I'm probably forgetting some. I think Apple is trying to run before they can walk with iOS. I wish they just stepped back and said woah, lets fix what doesn't work before we release anything new.

Additions:

Mail Attachments- Good thought MastahRiz. For something so simple, it's ridiculous how many steps it takes to add an attachment in an email.

Exchange events- This has become so troublesome that IT professionals are advising not updating to iOS 6. Would it be that difficult for Apple to release 6.0.1 a few days after the debut of iOS 6 to fix it?

Notification center- just realized I can't attach a picture to a tweet from notification center.

 

[kappaknight]

For simplicity sake, let's just say Siri's brain is in the cloud and that's why you need an internet connection for it to work or to do anything.

For everything else you're whining about... c'mon, they were JUST released. Give it a lil time before you start bitching about stuff that just came out. Are you new to software and smartphones?

 

[StumpyBloke]

For everything else you're whining about... c'mon, they were JUST released. Give it a lil time before you start bitching about stuff that just came out. Are you new to software and smartphones?

Not everything was just released! Siri? Cloud?

Christ on a bike, someone dares to say something negative about Apple and they are accused of whining and bitching, when in fact they have raised very valid and constructive points!

 

[NedBookPro]

Hear me out.

iOS is great, but it feels unfinished. I wish Apple would just fix what they've already put out there before introducing new things.

Siri- For me, it hasn't worked as advertised from the start. It only understand's me sometimes and when it does, it takes forever to load. I also don't understand why it needs an internet connection for everything. It's not necessary for dictating a message, asking the time, setting reminders, ect.

iCloud- Sometimes files sync, other times they don't. It's really inconstant. I haven't had any problems with photosteam though.

Passbook- There has to be a better way to use this. Right now, I have to dig through each app to find the option to add the pass. I don't know what the fix is, but there has to be a better way.

Customization- I know I know the typical answer for this on this forum is "get an Android," but is it really too much to ask for simple settings toggles in notification center? Why can't I hid newsstand, ect, ect.

Maps- Enough said right? I thought it would be a lot better and I couldn't have been more wrong. The absence of public transportation POI's is puzzling. I guess flyover is cool, but I prefer street view (which I know is not coming back). It will get better over time, but for now like Siri, it is an unfinished product.

I'm sure there's more and I'm probably forgetting some. I think Apple is trying to run before they can walk with iOS. I wish they just stepped back and said woah, lets fix what doesn't work before we release anything new.

I think you have some valid points here.

I'm hoping that any update to iOS6 (that I'm hoping daily for) addresses some buggy issues.

I've sent feedback a few times on the apple site on those issues. One can only hope.

.

 

[NoelF]

To be fair, I agree with you on a few points. They could really use some refinement/additions on some of these things, including Maps, Passbook, and the Notification Bar. I don't think they have to 'stop innovation', but they should really spend some more time improving what they already have. And while I acknowledge that they do make improvements, it could be more.

One more point I would add is to encourage magazine developers to make better use of Newsstand, particularly for the iPhone. If they insist on making it a mandatory app, they have got to get more magazines/newspapers on board and make them good.

I, however, don't agree that Siri has to be local. I've also had no problems with iCloud so far.

 

[urkel]

For everything else you're whining about... c'mon, they were JUST released. Give it a lil time before you start bitching about stuff that just came out. Are you new to software and smartphones?

If that is the excuse you are going with then isnt this a sign that Apples era of secrecy should end?

You are essentially saying Apple is no longer capable of producing a product out the gate without months of public testing and user feedback, and the best strategy is to emulate Google and MS with calling everything Beta and giving the public a chance to beat it up BEFORE going on stage with an official announcement of how their innovative (and incomplete) new technology is the best in its class.

Personally, I don't make excuses for ANY product I buy because I'm a consumer and my job is to use the product, not find ways to defend it.

 

[kappaknight]

Not everything was just released! Siri? Cloud?

Christ on a bike, someone dares to say something negative about Apple and they are accused of whining and bitching, when in fact they have raised very valid and constructive points!

It's not his whining about Apple that bugs me. It's the unreasonable assumption that they have to stop innovation to be able to fix stuff that makes the entire argument invalid. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

 

[KeepCalmPeople]

It's not his whining about Apple that bugs me. It's the unreasonable assumption that they have to stop innovation to be able to fix stuff that makes the entire argument invalid. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

Statement A: Apple needs to do something
Statement B: In order to do Statement A, Apple must do C

You agree with statement A, but not statement B, therefore both statement A and statement B are invalid?
That doesn't make sense.

While we can debate the specifics of what is 'half-baked' or incompletely implemented in iOS 6, I think most of us can agree that for every new feature that Apple introduces, there is an existing feature that direly needs tweaking and yet is not.

My pet peeve: contact groups. Why can I still not create a group in iOS, or send a group e-mail? Pathetic really...

 

[ECUpirate44]

Maybe innovation shouldn't stop, but the focus needs to shift to improving what's out now that doesn't work/ rarely works before introducing anything else.

 

[cyks]

They're a big enough company and have enough money to do both.

I just wish they would fully test everything before release.... being their guinea pig for features they promised were complete gets tiring.

 

[Mliii]

Maybe innovation shouldn't stop, but the focus needs to shift to improving what's out now that doesn't work/ rarely works before introducing anything else.

I think this is a better way to express it.
It's not at all that innovation should come to a halt, but building out basic functions and ensuring that they actually work in the real world should be a top priority as well.
And Apple DOES have the resources to do both.

 

[bowlen]

I am happy everything so far. I understand Maps is a working progress but I am yet to find anything that really makes me dislike it.

I am happy with it!

 

[jaysen]

On top of the OP list, add the fix for exchange events

 

[DoctorCrap]

I hate Passbook because I am in a condition where nothing from Passbook Integration is a bit useful.

 

[CTHarrryH]

I love it - there are plenty of threads that say IOS 6 had no innovation and nothing changes and other threads that say there is too much innovation and not enough fixing.

You can internally test and test and even beta user but nothing is like millions of real users in the real world to show bugs and situations that no one previously thought of and thus tested.

 

[r0k]

I love it - there are plenty of threads that say IOS 6 had no innovation and nothing changes and other threads that say there is too much innovation and not enough fixing.

You can internally test and test and even beta user but nothing is like millions of real users in the real world to show bugs and situations that no one previously thought of and thus tested.

This is it exactly. With all this secrecy, Apple can't hand iPhone 7's to Apple store employees to go out and test it or we'd be reading "phone left in a bar" stories every week.

Historically, Apple has had a good balance between advance testing and secrecy. With iOS6, we see the first evidence of not enough advance testing. But it's not exactly like they were trying to do something trivial. They are attempting to compete with google maps which is a mature, stable, reliable product. Perhaps one thing Apple could do in the future is provide beta versions of iOS to free (non paid) developer accounts. This would allow for wider beta testing without handing out new equipment to Apple store sales floor employees. That would take them from hundreds of internal testers to exposure to tens of thousands of amateur developers so it lowers the probability of releasing another half-baked app like maps. Statue of Liberty lying down in the water? I think somebody would have spotted that one for them. You can't easily check how the Statue of Liberty looks in flyover view from a parking lot in Cupertino.

 

[WordMasterRice]

On top of the OP list, add the fix for exchange events

This along with iPhone 5 push support. My shiny new iPhone 5 is all but worthless as a business device right now. I don't get email and even if I manually kill the mail app and get an invitation I can't do anything with it because then it breaks the invitation for everything.

This would have been a fail if it was apparent on release day, but the fact that we are 3 weeks in and this isn't fixed means I'll get getting something else for the rest of my employees.

 

[cyks]

Historically, Apple has had a good balance between advance testing and secrecy. With iOS6, we see the first evidence of not enough advance testing. But it's not exactly like they were trying to do something trivial. They are attempting to compete with google maps which is a mature, stable, reliable product.

If the maps were the only big change with problems or obvious missing features that may be true, but it wasn't.

Everything from the UI changes, Passbook, the new App Store, Maps, and even the Do Not Disturb feature each have glaring omissions.

...not to mention the numerous bugs being reported, many effecting everyone.

 

[Kukulcan]

I hate Passbook because I am in a condition where nothing from Passbook Integration is a bit useful.

Wow, yeah I will start a petition to remove all features that are not useful for me. Everybody should do. That's how an iOS is streamlined and nobody can complain.

 

[Macist]

I still can't stand the mishmash of Android and I'm glad iOS more or less works like it always have with most new features added discreetly.

But there are some thing that need too many clicks to plough through - like toggling WIFI/Airplane, etc. on iOS 4 I jailbroke to get these but didn't bother with iOS 5. Still want to see easy toggles as part of the OS. Just have an add 'em to notification centre. What harm could there be in that?

 

[MastahRiz]

Maybe innovation shouldn't stop, but the focus needs to shift to improving what's out now that doesn't work/ rarely works before introducing anything else.

This is very true and it bothers me when they become complacent. There are certain things that they will never change simply because they're not important to them, even though they're extremely important to us. One huge example of this is not being able to attach files directly from the mail app. This is just plain ridiculous at this point, and I think a lot of us thought we would see this change eventually, but it's clear now that Apple just doesn't have the intention to do that because it's not their way. That is the biggest thing that turns me off to them, although I still strongly believe a jb iPhone is the best smartphone available today.

I agree with the fact that Apple spends more time or energy on innovation than it should. Innovation is great, new features are great, but now their innovation has sort of branched off to becoming less and less incrementally beneficial. First there was iOS, and each new version brought huge changes. Now they are running out of their ability to present a kind of change at each new press release or conference or whatever and that's what bothers them more than anything. They absolutely have to be able to present something that is "revolutionary," (by their definition at least) every time, and that's what is ruining the things I actually like about them. If they could just once say, hey, no major update, but we fixed all the little annoyances, that would speak much louder to what I want to hear than them saying Hey look, we spent the last 6 months creating a new maps, which wasn't broken in the first place. And now we're going to focus on a creating a Sori, it's Siri's little brother who works better than Siri, but it's only available on the newest iPhone, and it's revolutionary.

Just stop, seriously. Make a good product, not just something to brag about.

If it wasn't for the jb, I wouldn't be an iPhone owner.

And PS I am not bashing Apple so please no comments about how I don't belong on this forum. I've used plenty of Apple products in my time to have criticism rights.

 

[Kukulcan]

This is very true and it bothers me when they become complacent. There are certain things that they will never change simply because they're not important to them, even though they're extremely important to us.

Who is us? The customers or the MacRumors forum?

1. iOS 6 is not out very long, I am sure they don't have their whole team innovating now, but most fixing bugs - which takes time if you don't want to introduce more errors than you fix

2. Apple needs to analyse which problems are important to a huge number of people and which problems are problems at all for a huge majority.

 

[kappaknight]

Statement A: Apple needs to do something
Statement B: In order to do Statement A, Apple must do C

You agree with statement A, but not statement B, therefore both statement A and statement B are invalid?
That doesn't make sense.

It doesn't make sense because you did it wrong. It should be more like:

A: Apple should fix broken apps.
B. Apple should innovate.
C: In order for A, Apple must stop B.

I agree with A and B, but C is invalid because A and B are not mutually exclusive.

 

[ixodes]

1) It's not at all that innovation should come to a halt, but building out basic functions and ensuring that they actually work in the real world should be a top priority as well.

2) And Apple DOES have the resources to do both.

1) I agree, in recent years Apple has failed to test & debug, as they used to do so well.

2) Again I agree. Apple has such extremely large cash reserves there's simply no sound reason not to return to building the kind of quality into a product, software or hardware, like they used to do, year after year.

Once upon a time, when one bought a new Apple computer (as just one example) the out of the box experience was exemplary.

That's where the slogan "It Just Works" came from. I know this because I've bought at least One New Apple Computer Every Year Since 1991, without fail. Each & every PowerBook, Quadra, or any other new model I chose, came looking like new, and functioning like it as well.

Worse case scenario, if it did have bugs, they were not as major as some are today. Nor did we have to wait very long before Apple fixed these issues.

Contrast that to the present time where "It Just Works" has declined to the point, that it's nearly a myth.

Now working at break neck pace, shoving out product after product, having whipped the crowd into a buying frenzy, Apple is drunk on profits. Eyeing Walmart, Apples got mass market mania on the brain. They want more money, more money, more money.

I'm one to eagerly embrace change, as long as it brings a benefit. But from my vantage point, the benefits of the latest products, are arriving at a snails pace. And even at that, some are still not properly sorted out.

Apple is capable of much better. No one can convince me otherwise. They just need to make it a priority & apply themselves.

We are paying the price they are asking, now it's time for Apple to give us what we've paid for.

 

[Sedrick]

Hear me out.

iOS is great, but it feels unfinished. I wish Apple would just fix what they've already put out there before introducing new things.

Siri- For me, it hasn't worked as advertised from the start. It only understand's me sometimes and when it does, it takes forever to load. I also don't understand why it needs an internet connection for everything. It's not necessary for dictating a message, asking the time, setting reminders, ect.

iCloud- Sometimes files sync, other times they don't. It's really inconstant. I haven't had any problems with photosteam though.

Passbook- There has to be a better way to use this. Right now, I have to dig through each app to find the option to add the pass. I don't know what the fix is, but there has to be a better way.

Customization- I know I know the typical answer for this on this forum is "get an Android," but is it really too much to ask for simple settings toggles in notification center? Why can't I hid newsstand, ect, ect.

Maps- Enough said right? I thought it would be a lot better and I couldn't have been more wrong. The absence of public transportation POI's is puzzling. I guess flyover is cool, but I prefer street view (which I know is not coming back). It will get better over time, but for now like Siri, it is an unfinished product.

I'm sure there's more and I'm probably forgetting some. I think Apple is trying to run before they can walk with iOS. I wish they just stepped back and said woah, lets fix what doesn't work before we release anything new.

Additions:

Mail Attachments- Good thought MastahRiz. For something so simple, it's ridiculous how many steps it takes to add an attachment in an email.

Exchange events- This has become so troublesome that IT professionals are advising not updating to iOS 6. Would it be that difficult for Apple to release 6.0.1 a few days after the debut of iOS 6 to fix it?

Notification center- just realized I can't attach a picture to a tweet from notification center.

It's not like Apple had a whole year and a dedicated team to get iOS 6 ironed out.