[ninkendo]

You never, ever need to interrupt the user or stop them from what they’re doing in order to show them some new feature.

Here’s what you do:

- Make a “what’s new” section in settings.

- Put a link in there that takes me to a webpage where I can see what’s new.

- That’s it.

Instead what always seems to happen is that I’m in the middle of trying to do something with the software and in order to do that I must close whatever popup you’re shoving in my face to tell me about the new feature. I don’t have time to read it now because I opened the software with an intention to finish a task and I don’t have time to read it now. And then later when I finally do have the time to look at your new feature? Nobody bothers actually putting that information anywhere persistent, so I guess I’m out of luck even if I care about the feature.

Updating to a new iOS version is a perfect example of this. Say there are a dozen apps that have a new feature popup on first launch when you update iOS. Imagine a typical day waking up and trying to use my phone. I have to drive somewhere so I try to put an address into Maps and have to immediately fend off the “what’s new in maps” dialog so I can type the address I need to go to. Then I want to put on the song my kid is yelling at me to play and have to fend off the “what’s new in Music” popup. Later I’m trying to respond to an important text and have to fend off “What’s new in messages”, etc etc etc.

That first day using iOS is an absolute nightmare because of this.

Now imagine the alternative: a simple badge icon in the settings app, and I tap it and see a link to “what’s new in iOS”, and guess what, it can be a fucking webpage! I can bookmark it! I can add it to my reading list and see it later! Hell, I can even share it with my friends!

But no, instead apps insist on trying to increase “engagement” with their new feature, because some PM’s promo packet wants to include “this many users used my new feature” and the only way they can think to do this is to (1) stop the user from accomplishing their task until they tap the cutesy “Got It!” button, and (2) don’t bother with persisting it anywhere, because the idea that the user doesn’t have time to check out the feature now is so foreign to these sociopaths it never even crossed their mind.