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What in the Hey Was Apple Thinking With the 1-Pixel Hit Area in the Appstore?

S

SomeDudeAsking

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 23, 2010
1,250
2
When there are updates for apps you have in the Appstore, you can click on the "Updates" tab to see all of them. Underneath each one is a little inverted triangle that if you touch properly, it will show you the update notes the developer gave for the update. The problem is, Apple made the hit area for the inverted triangle only 1-pixel!!! And this is suppose to be touch friendly??? If you click anywhere but exactly that 1-pixel in the centre of the inverted triangle, you don't get the update notes but are instead taken to the regular screenshots page for the app. Most of the time if I try to touch the inverted triangle, it will take me to the wrong screen.

If Steve were still alive, he would never have allowed this glaring mistake. For a touch screen device, a 1-pixel hit area is totally unacceptable.
 
With the exceptions of not needing my password to update and not getting kicked out of the App Store for any purchase/ update, pretty much everything else is crap, overly buggy, or worse.
 
While I'm sure you're exaggerating, I understand where you're coming from. I think it's some function of the way of the way touch events are handled in iOS.

Normal buttons and certain touch events tend to have a boundary that you can tap near and it'll still register the touch. You'll probably even know that there's a slight vertical offset to touches (try tapping buttons with the screen upside down to you, your touches don't work) because of the way our coordination works: the touch point is actually always slightly below where what we're aiming for.

Now, I think the more detail area isn't a normal button, so it doesn't get afforded the same 'lazy' hitbox real buttons get, so unless you're exactly inside the 'span' that is the text, you will always get the outside box which takes you to the app detail page.

PS: I love how I can always hit a small link I want in a sea of links on the iPhone.

PPS: I'm not an app developer. I've made some HTML5 apps with touch and coding manual touch buttons means you have to hit the custom button in it's boundary.
 
Last edited:
sammich said:
While I'm sure you're exaggerating, I understand where you're coming from. I think it's some function of the way of the way touch events are handled in iOS.

Normal buttons and certain touch events tend to have a boundary that you can tap near and it'll still register the touch. You'll probably even know that there's a slight vertical offset to touches (try tapping buttons with the screen upside down to you, your touches don't work) because of the way our coordination works.

Now, I think the more detail area isn't a normal button, so it doesn't get afforded the same 'lazy' hitbox real buttons get, so unless you're exactly inside the 'span' that is the text, you will always get the outside box which takes you to the app detail page.

PS: I love how I can always hit a small link I want in a sea of links on the iPhone.

PPS: I'm not a developer.
Click to expand...

I am not exaggerating. The hit area really is 1 pixel dead centre of the inverted triangle. The more detail text doesn't even given you the update notes but instead takes you to the main screenshots page of the app. You HAVE to hit the 1 pixel in the dead centre of the inverted triangle to get it to show you the notes.
 
You need to hit slightly above the words, or at least higher than you normally would. "Update log" or whatever it says (I don't have anything right now that needs an update). It is a bit more difficult than normal to hit, but with that technique, I would guesstimate I have an 80 to 90% success rate.
 
SomeDudeAsking said:
I am not exaggerating. The hit area really is 1 pixel dead centre of the inverted triangle. The more detail text doesn't even given you the update notes but instead takes you to the main screenshots page of the app. You HAVE to hit the 1 pixel in the dead centre of the inverted triangle to get it to show you the notes.
Click to expand...

I don't have any updates on my phone at the moment, so I can't test your 1-pixel theory. But what I can say is that I tap on the words next to the arrow, not the arrow itself, whenever I want to read the extra detail.

My theory has been partly corroborated by the poster above saying that you need to tap higher than usual. Since normal button hit boxes have a lazy hit box (so you can tap, as normal, below the actual button image. Of course, you don't aim for below the button, you aim for the button and actually end up tapping below the button). But this isn't a normal button, it doesn't have this behaviour. Which is why the above poster says that if you aim above the arrow+text you actually tap exactly over the area needed to activate the detail.

Who knows, you could be right about the arrow, though from memory I have about a 50-75% hit rate with the text. As a guess, the arrow itself is just a character like the text next to it, so it would have the same hit box as the text.
 
Totally agree. It's absolutely infuriating.

Also the 'more reviews' button at the bottom of the reviews page is not big enough. I keep accidentally pressing the genius button.
 
SomeDudeAsking said:
When there are updates for apps you have in the Appstore, you can click on the "Updates" tab to see all of them. Underneath each one is a little inverted triangle that if you touch properly, it will show you the update notes the developer gave for the update. The problem is, Apple made the hit area for the inverted triangle only 1-pixel!!! And this is suppose to be touch friendly??? If you click anywhere but exactly that 1-pixel in the centre of the inverted triangle, you don't get the update notes but are instead taken to the regular screenshots page for the app. Most of the time if I try to touch the inverted triangle, it will take me to the wrong screen.

If Steve were still alive, he would never have allowed this glaring mistake. For a touch screen device, a 1-pixel hit area is totally unacceptable.
Click to expand...

I totally concur (except for the "If Steve were still alive" part, which I'm pretty sick of hearing, to be honest).

In addition to the "Genius" section, which I consider very much the opposite of what its name suggests, the absurdly small tap target of the downward facing arrow is really frustrating and, to the degree which it can be, is disturbing. Why make it so small? Since it's for an update to an app I currently have, why have there be any part of the update graphic that, when tapped, takes me to the app's main info page? I don't need to see what the app's about or read reviews because I already have it! The entire graphic, with the exception of the "Update" button, should expand or contract the update info when tapped, in my opinion.
 
Anyone else having the issue where you have to close the app and then click update to see what is actually available to download?

I'll update some apps. The app store runs in the background. A few days later, I'll have a badge on the app store app indicating new updates. I'll open the app, and updates tab at the bottom is already selected from days ago. However, nothing is displayed above...with the badge number still active.

I have to quit the app, re-launch it for it to actually show me the apps to update.

From the beginning of iOS6, the app store has been my biggest disappointment. They need to go back to the drawing board on this one.
 
I can confirm too the user area to touch the "more details" button under a new update description is way too small.

I have hit the actual app itself so many times. It would take such little effort on apples side to fix this.

I think i'm gonna submit a feedback form hopefully some1 reads it....:rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
No issues here love the new layout.
Another garbage post by SomeDudeAsking. Now off to ignore list to add this joker.
 
The only thing the OP is good for is complaining. Might as well start his own websites. "WaaaaahMacRumors.com".
 
The fact is I do somewhat agree with the OP in regards to the small area reguired to access the update notes.

However, this thread lost all credibility when the OP said "Steve wouldn't allow this". As if they have some special insight to the former Apple leaders mind. Sometimes I think people do this now to wind people up - all it makes me think is the person is stupid :rolleyes:
 
CosmoPilot said:
Anyone else having the issue where you have to close the app and then click update to see what is actually available to download?

I'll update some apps. The app store runs in the background. A few days later, I'll have a badge on the app store app indicating new updates. I'll open the app, and updates tab at the bottom is already selected from days ago. However, nothing is displayed above...with the badge number still active.

I have to quit the app, re-launch it for it to actually show me the apps to update.

From the beginning of iOS6, the app store has been my biggest disappointment. They need to go back to the drawing board on this one.
Click to expand...

Yeah...I have that problem on my iPhone 5, but not my 3rd gen iPad. Back during the betas, that was reversed. It was happening on my 3rd gen iPad but not my iPhone 4. I tried restoring but it still happens.
 
Jare said:
The only thing the OP is good for is complaining. Might as well start his own websites. "WaaaaahMacRumors.com".
Click to expand...

I didn't know we are on MacScientology.com where we obey the Leader's every word. My mistake.
 
Appleseeds said:
No issues here love the new layout.
Another garbage post by SomeDudeAsking. Now off to ignore list to add this joker.
Click to expand...

... yet several other posters have agreed.

stuaz said:
The fact is I do somewhat agree with the OP in regards to the small area reguired to access the update notes.

However, this thread lost all credibility when the OP said "Steve wouldn't allow this"
Click to expand...

So which is it? The point is valid or invalid?
 
Hopefully they fix this issue in 6.0.1 or 6.1 -- whatever the next version number will be. I've easily mis-tapped the arrow and gotten directed to the page for the app far more times than I've tapped the arrow just right to be able to see what's new inline.
 
arcite said:
Maybe you guys just have big fingers? I don't think I have ever mis-pressed a button, and on the contrary to many, I find the App store to be more responsive than ever. :confused:

Maybe I'm just weird. :eek:
Click to expand...

Nope i have tiny hands and fingers (size 4 ring).
 
the app store app is so badly designed its almost amateurish. if it were up for reviews it wouldnt get a star.


but at least they moved the "Terms and Conditions" button since the old version which i kept on pressing by mistake when scrolling down and to my frustration taken to safari all the time.
 
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