Beta Testers, are there any updates to Mail or Music?

[anthony131]

It's just incredibly frustrating that Apple continues to ignore their core apps that people use on a regular basis. The Music user experience has been dreadful since the day it was released. Mail is missing a laundry list of features compared to the desktop (and other email providers).

Meanwhile, they continue to push out these gimmicks... like, JFC - a lock screen and wallpapers is the leading headline here?

Beta Testers, are you seeing any updates at all to Mail or Music or any other core applications?

I have to admit though, the most exciting thing about iPad OS 17 is the Health app. Now, do the same with the Fitness App or make a new Fitness+ app.

I wonder, now that Vision Pro is announced, is UX development going to get better or worse? It's felt for years that Apple doesn't have enough staff working on things that matter to every day users. Have they dumped R&D money into the headset and maybe a car? I presume a ton of money was also funneled towards Apple Silicon, too. As these segments mature, is it possible Apple will revisit their user experience and resolve the bugs and feature requests users have been reporting for nearly a decade? Are we waiting until iPadOS 20 to get Smart Folders in Mail and a Music app that's at all usable?

 

[Ludatyk]

Beta Testers, are you seeing any updates at all to Mail or Music or any other core applications?

Umm.. Message app got some updates to it. They made some slight changes to Safari in the URL search field.. but other than that, don’t really see any drastic changes to their core applications.

As these segments mature, is it possible Apple will revisit their user experience and resolve the bugs and feature requests users have been reporting for nearly a decade? Are we waiting until iPadOS 20 to get Smart Folders in Mail and a Music app that's at all usable?

If these bugs and features you claim reported for nearly a decade is requested by enough users… then it would have been handled by now.

And can you explain how Music app is unusable? I use it daily… granted, I don’t mind seeing a redesign. But change for change sake… could result in negative reactions. Look at what happen with Safari in iPadOS 15.

 

[anthony131]

Umm.. Message app got some updates to it. They made some slight changes to Safari in the URL search field.. but other than that, don’t really see any drastic changes to their core applications.


If these bugs and features you claim reported for nearly a decade is requested by enough users… then it would have been handled by now.

And can you explain how Music app is unusable? I use it daily… granted, I don’t mind seeing a redesign. But change for change sake… could result in negative reactions. Look at what happen with Safari in iPadOS 15.

With Messages, I guess that's fair although it's not something I personally care about.

With Music, I get frustrated every time I go to use it. Unlike most other iPad apps, swiping from the left opens the side bar rather than going back. And, if you're okay with swipe from left, the button to go back is a tiny little arrow on the top left. The search function is unintuitive and broken. If you've previously used search, tapping Search from the sidebar doesn't clear the previous search. And it often decides on its own if it wants to search your library or Apple Music. I mean, it's arguably the worst app on iPad (certainly not as bad as System Settings on MacOS). It's a lot of little things we've gotten used to but they add up to a poor user experience and it hasn't changed in years. The whole Music category is five years past due for an update. Music on MacOS is at least usable even though the user experience is lame. Music, I thought, was a big deal to Apple. It should be big and bold, dynamic and engaging. By 2023, the entire Apple platform should be well beyond user interface bugs and frustrations. At least, I would think so given they're one of the largest companies to ever exist in human history.

Actually, speaking of Safari, the last iPadOS update broke tabs so you can't hide them anymore. Has that been fixed?

 

[Ludatyk]

With Music, I get frustrated every time I go to use it. Unlike most other iPad apps, swiping from the left opens the side bar rather than going back. And, if you're okay with swipe from left, the button to go back is a tiny little arrow on the top left.

There’s no swiping left on the iPad within the Music app. There’s the button to go back, but there’s no swiping.

The search function is unintuitive and broken. If you've previously used search, tapping Search from the sidebar doesn't clear the previous search. And it often decides on its own if it wants to search your library or Apple Music.

Well, I’m trying to test search function… but right now, it’s crashing ironically (it’s a beta). Nonetheless, it is fixed. When you initially search for something and then go back into it… the search field is cleared in iPadOS 17. But deciding to search between your library or Apple Music is a simple toggle.

The whole Music category is five years past due for an update. Music on MacOS is at least usable even though the user experience is lame. Music, I thought, was a big deal to Apple. It should be big and bold, dynamic and engaging. By 2023, the entire Apple platform should be well beyond user interface bugs and frustrations. At least, I would think so given they're one of the largest companies to ever exist in human history.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll welcome a Music redesign. But to claim is unusable… that’s where I’m lost at, because I use it daily.

 

[anthony131]

There’s no swiping left on the iPad within the Music app. There’s the button to go back, but there’s no swiping.


Well, I’m trying to test search function… but right now, it’s crashing ironically (it’s a beta). Nonetheless, it is fixed. When you initially search for something and then go back into it… the search field is cleared in iPadOS 17. But deciding to search between your library or Apple Music is a simple toggle.


Don’t get me wrong, I’ll welcome a Music redesign. But to claim is unusable… that’s where I’m lost at, because I use it daily.

Currently, you swipe from the left edge to open the sidebar and you can close it by swiping back. This is gone?

Yeah, that simple toggle can be annoying. I've found that it sometimes switches on its own so when I go to search for something and get no results I have to go back and change it. It's not a big deal on its own but it's one of those things that adds up. Having to tap-tap-tap the tiny back button rather than swipe-swipe-swipe back like browsing in Safari is another thing that adds up.

"Unusable" is an exaggeration. It's unusable without any frustration. And I do mean that sincerely based on my experience. I've more often used my iPhone SE as a dedicated music player. Although, the last update it was eligible for has really slowed it down.

On the bright side, the frustration I've had with the Apple Music apps has driven me to re-curate my personal music library and set up a Plex server. It's just a matter of time now before I cancel my Apple Music subscription.

Thanks for checking!

 

[wolverineguy77]

While I’m not trying to negate your user experience, I have never really found any frustration with the music app.