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devinus | 7 years ago

I recently switched to iOS from Android after years on Android. I'm coming from being a daily macOS user for almost a decade. I would argue that iOS should no longer be considered the more "user friendly" of the two. That might have been the case years ago, but iOS seems to expect prior experience with what I can only guess are iOS paradigms specifically.

Almost every important action I need to take in an iOS app is hidden behind a gesture. In Android apps, gestures are value adds. They make on-screen actions or actions accessable through contextual menus quicker to accomplish for the experienced user. In iOS they're essential to accomplish some tasks.

discuss

tylerjwilk00|7 years ago

I agree. Android seems to have more consistent UX for apps regardless of developer. Back button is such a key input that I always feel trapped in iOS, where as on Android everything feels intuitive and multitasking is a breeze.

myspy|7 years ago

Swiping on the screen from left to right is the iOS back button.

codemac|7 years ago

The new Android gesture navigation is their first huge step towards ruining Android's UX.

CarVac|7 years ago

It's great for power users. I personally really love it.

But there goes the discoverability. The three nav buttons were simple and effective.

sutterbomb|7 years ago

Can you give some specific examples? I’m so thoroughly baked into iOS that I don’t notice these potential issues.

lozenge|7 years ago

Opening the app switcher is essentially a gesture. As is opening quick settings. Opening notifications makes a little more sense as notifications appear at the top of the screen. Rearranging the home screen is also a gesture.

asaph|7 years ago

1. Copying/pasting text on iOS is far from obvious.

2. Quitting apps completely (not having them run in a background thread)

dkonofalski|7 years ago

Examples, please? I disagree that anything essential is hidden behind gestures.

Illniyar|7 years ago

I think the height of this is the iPhone's home button (which is gone in iPhone X, but regardless).

It has 6 functions, on a single button, based on how light or quickly you press it - single click, long press, double click, single tap (lighter then a click), double tap, triple click (if enabled)