I think they could have left the inline, horizontal interface until they could find something more fluid and intuitive.
Thanks for the instructions. But that was a poor implementation by Apple.
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iOS 17: All the little things
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Thanks for the instructions. But that was a poor implementation by Apple.
It’s possible they retuned the equalizer or something else for the sound output by using an algorithm to retune.
Maybe the richer audio for Music is to make up for a bevy of new notification tones that you can’t hear, even if the phone is turned all the way up.
Speaking of sound. Did you know that custom alert tones are gone. Doesn’t matter if you made them or bought them. They are all pushed into the ringtone option and gone for the alerts/notifications.
I use to know from across the room if I had a text from my mom or my husband. Now there aren’t enough unique tones to go around.
…or…they changed it because it is better UX.
Most people prefer the visual connection versus just a name. The 1/3 of the contact card you mention has the image, name and the top 5 communication options you may have with that person…and you can still see their one or two phone numbers on that same page.
I think most people would agree that the additional info you are NOT seeing when opening the card (email, address, notes, etc) is secondary for a reason.
Email opens in email…addresses in Maps…etc.
You don’t have to like it, but I would guess you are in an extremely small minority.
I never made the case that I represented any portion of the install base. Just like I don’t know how you are aware of how the vast majority like it. I work at an IT service desk, people like webmail when it’s objectively far worse than an email client.
People like PWAs instead of native applications and people love all kinds of garbage Electron/React types of software that look pretty and waste space. People as a block aren’t a good judge of good UX or good UI.
Let’s not forget Apple made that App Drawer in iMessage too. That took a functional, inline interface, and truncated it behind a large, clumsy, and slow menu. They took group tabs in Safari and placed them as inline, visible indicators at the bottom of Safari when you hit the group tab button. The UI should never indicate the user has a private tab open. That should stay truncated. It should have privacy lock, it should be opaque as to its in-use state, for privacy and security reasons
Where truncated menus should have stayed, Apple blew them out. Where inline menus were visible and one-touch, Apple hid and truncated. So let’s not pretend Apple is a master of UI and more than I’m a gauge for whether the majority like or dislike something.
My point is that the interface of less waste was already mostly there. They could have added a layer where the user can choose.
And it’s not a better UX to allow photos to wash out or fade behind UI controls in a manner that make them more difficult to see or interfere with their practical use. Again they already had the interface in existence. It could have been an additional level of customization.
I understand what people like more. But there are a group of professional users and people who want to prioritize functionality over form.
Let us not kid ourselves that these new contact features lean heavily into the swelling narcissism of the largely American iOS install base. Of course they are going to prefer something where they can send a large, loud representation of their face to their contact. And they’ll spend countless hours customizing it I’m sure. It’s a new pretty, shiny to play with.
Apple has the UI assets in place to allow for most of the previous UI elements to have been kept in place with a facelift. It could have been marketed as even more granular customization and they could have chased the narcissistic Tick Tock users.
I’m glad you agree Apple was right to change it and other features because more people like them…thanks!
Let’s just be clear…you literally said people are not a good judge of good UX or UI…you as an IT professional are a better judge.
Genuine criticism is fine, and it’s easy to see what is genuine criticism and what is manufactured outrage, thus my comment.
Your essay response screams of the latter, especially since @MozMan68 pointed out that you’ve deflated your own ‘points’.
Have a lovely day. 👋🏻
Good points from both sides IMO. I’ve seen exactly what @dburkhanaev is referencing with the contact card and agree that how it looked before was more understated and professional. I normally don’t agree with the “give us a toggle!” crowd but in this case I think it’s needed.
There is…incoming calls can either show as a banner or full screen. Simply select banner and you will not see the large images.
You, the owner of the phone, also always have the option to see the contact info the way YOU want to see it. Know one forces you to use the sender’s images.
As I stated above, if they are in your contacts, simply set their contact to be name or monogram as a default…no images at all.
Do people really think someone could call them with their contact image set as some d**k pic and force them to receive a call that way? What am I missing here??
also, that says a lot about their choice in friends if they think that’s going to happen.
Thus, as that’s mostly an unlikely situation, it’s why it seems like manufactured outrage to me.
Well that’s good to hear. I haven’t dug too much into it and have yet to see anyone update their card so this is good news.
We didn’t agree that Apple made a change for the better. I was clear that Apple made it worse and it wasn’t necessary. They already had clean visual elements in place. It could have been an additional option.I’m glad you agree Apple was right to change it and other features because more people like them…thanks!
Let’s just be clear…you literally said people are not a good judge of good UX or UI…you as an IT professional are a better judge.
Photo contact poster
Minimal contact poster
That would be two options for Phone app and two for Contacts app. One more choice, an additional level of customization and more choice for the end user.
As it sits now there is still one option with just a couple of extra customization sets that don’t address the clear UI issues caused where photo elements blur control interfaces.
What is it with you folks that can’t read? Can’t comprehend? Or will defend to the death, all choices made by Apple?
I’ve been an Apple user and customer than many young folks who are bopping around hoovering up their stuff.
If you like it, fine. But this is a forum. I’m discussing issues that I’ve seen as an end user where there are objectively poor choices made in my opinion. If you have a counter opinion then back it up instead of twisting what I said into something I didn’t. And being an essentially useless non-contributor. Why needlessly and vacuously take up space?
It’s like an airhead sitting in a room consuming oxygen and wasting space. Be thoughtful and make a contribution or just pass it up.
Thank you for taking the time to thoughtfully respond to the criticism that I made.
I don’t see the option for banner as opposed to “Contact Poster”. I see the option to change the type of contact poster: photo, monogram, Memoji, and something else that I don’t remember.
So I will definitely go back and scour those options again to see if I can time it back a little. My frustration was that I could either see the users face or just choose a monogram and see a color pallet. That doesn’t seem like a good set of options to me. It’s like one extreme or another.
Also, I wasn’t worried someone would post a “D” pic for their contact card. But some of my contacts are friends, some family, and some professional. There’s bound to be a chick who thinks she’s looking hot in that outfit that shows too much of her boobs, but instead of looking hot, she looks like a whore. Or a dude who thinks a shirtless pool pic is the best face forward, when even I’m not gay enough to want to see shirtless pictures of you when you call my phone.
My phone lives on my desk while I’m at work. And even with a privacy screen protector someone might pass by and see something that’s less than seemly.
And that’s all I’m saying. But some folks here (not necessarily in this post or thread) who get emotional if you make a criticism of something from Apple.
And I don’t do fake outrage. If I’m happy I won’t post. If I’m mid or just indifferent I won’t post. If I don’t like something, like most people, that’s when I complain.
I have made the feedback with Apple. Trust me this isn’t the worst part of iOS 17. Alert notification tones are too quiet and the volume increase won’t make them louder beyond a point. They are refreshed and mostly modernized, but they are dull, in lower register, and have too little tonal differences to make them easy to distinguish when they can’t be well heard in a room with any noise.
Apple removed your custom notification tones if you had some imported into your phone. There’s a number of things where Apple took away, just to default with their own choice in its place. It didn’t add customization or choice and their version wasn’t necessarily better.
I’m okay with disagreement, but like the person who replied to this comment above I’m more amenable to it when it is constructive.
Thank you for that constructive feedback. I’ll look into it. But I wasn’t worried about inappropriate pictures in the x-rated way. Just that some people think something is more appropriate than it is. And that impact is lessened if you are having less screen real estate provided for certain elements.
But you do know if you set to monogram you can’t see the contact photo? I don’t mind a small photo of my contact when they call. I don’t think it needs to consume the screen. It’s too much honestly. I’ll look into the banner option to see if it has an option to show contact pictures similar to previous releases where the contact picture is inline with the overall phone call interface, and not the primary feature.
I just saw that persons responses literally now with this time stamp. And I will look into whether or not banner options for calls are there but it’s not manufactured anything. If I’m not hungry I don’t eat, if I’m not tired I don’t sleep, if I’m not frustrated by stupid, then I won’t bitch about stupid.
It’s really that simple.
And these are genuine criticisms. I have specific examples. I provided reasons for why I was frustrated that were expressed in complete sentences. Please don’t try to gaslight me into thinking I just came on here and screamed at a cloud without giving ample explanation. Because we can both read the “essay” provides a clear and concise outline explaining the critique and why I described it in the first place.
That’s always been set that way. But it doesn’t fix the issue when trying to call someone and their picture takes over the whole Phone app user interface.
I’d like to see my contacts face and be able to see the phone controls clearly and even in my peripheral vision instead of having to actually study the interface.
Choosing at a glance is faster and more convenient for me. My convenience is just my preference. But I appreciate the feedback. I certainly did set for banner for Lock Screen calls.
But it would be nice to see my friends pictures and have a call with them. And it still doesn’t also help with all the wasted space with the contact card. 1/3 of the screen to show me a persons face? Thats not vital information.
But it’s alright. I found the solution. I’ll move back to the last signed version of iOS 17 so I can keep the features I want, not to mention be able to hear notification tones or feel the heartbeat haptics in my hand ever time I get a message. And I’ll monitor online and see if Apple makes iOS 17 better. Eventually iOS 18 will be out and one can hope for better.
I agree with you that I’m probably in the extremely small minority. I’m okay with that. I don’t make posts representing other people because I don’t know what people do or don’t like. I can only speak for me.
My point of view is that a contact app is to provide vital data about a contact. A picture of someone’s face can be a great deal smaller and more data about the contact brought up more to the top. And more useful data can be moved up.
I do like the maps, email, call, etc. quick access feature there. But I’d still rather have more information at a glance, and less scrolling. I want the app to do more of what it’s supposed to do and less time being pretty for someone’s vanity. And that’s just me.
Usually if I’m actually in someone’s contact card and it’s not for their email or address, it’s usually for something further down. Maybe some of that could come further up since there are buttons for email, maps, etc.
That’s just my thoughts and just my preference. Again I can’t speak for anyone else. I’m just a little burned out on apps tilting more toward uselessly pretty and less toward virally functional.
I’m sure Apple will tweak it between now and iOS 18.
Apparently you can now configure a different search engine for private browsing: https://9to5mac.com/2023/09/23/appl...earch-engine-setting-during-google-testimony/
Hopefully we can get back on on topic of talking about the little things added to iOS 17, that weren’t advertised, after the 8 posts of probably a couple thousand words that were totally off topic…. 🤓