Apply Bytes: assorted pet peeves, bug complaints, & kudos
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Apply Bytes: assorted pet peeves, bug complaints, & kudos
A random collection of thoughts on current Apple products & services
For decades, Apple Computer was a niche technology company; let’s admit it. Only a select few individuals and companies opted to pay the premium price for an Apple computer. The company’s trajectory changed in 2001 when Apple launched the original iPod, but it was in 2007, with the launch of the iPhone, a device that has arguably become the most preferred smartphone around the world, that the company became the success it is today.
Tech followers over the years likely recall Apple’s ups and downs, along with famous commercials that painted rival Microsoft as “Big Brother”, stiff, and nerdy, while Apple was the cool kid. Ironically, it was the very same Microsoft that, in 1997, stepped in to save Apple from financial collapse.
By the time co-founder Steve Jobs died in 2011, Apple had become decidedly successful, financially and creatively. The company continued to innovate over the years, launching tablets (various iPad devices), a television portal (AppleTV), several watches under the Apple Watch moniker, and an ever-changing assortment of computers. Along with this innovation, Apple products have traditionally been counted on for their reliability and quality. Meanwhile, the company moved heavily into offering services, including mail, cloud storage, music, and streaming.
That’s not to say that Apple’s products and services are perfect — they aren’t. I have my pet peeves, some of which I will share further on in this article. But what bothers me more is the number of bugs that persist in the various operating systems and services, even after several update releases. The decline in reliability over the last few years has been noticeable and disappointing. Bigger problems have garnered media scrutiny, such as the much-maligned butterfly keyboard on MacBooks, iPhone battery problems and recalls, and AirPods Pro with intermittent sound issues.
For your reference, a number of what Apple calls “service programs” are ongoing. You can find a list and details on the Apple Support website here.
I should note that I have explored Apple’s official online community which includes discussions on bugs and problems users have experienced with various Apple products. (If you are curious, you can find me on the platform here.) The ideas that others share can be helpful in fixing some issues, but it is also clear that some problems are caused by persistent (or intermittent) bugs, and there is no resolution available. You may also find it helpful to post questions on the platform.
One minor issue that affected the Mail app in iPadOS seems to have been resolved with the latest OS update. The app allowed for the toolbar icons to be modified, but occasionally would display them with random spacing.
However, a bug in the Files app for iOS and iPadOS remains. This issue has to do with the “Favorites” section, which seems to be displayed only intermittently.
I have attached two screenshots above from iOS. Note, the app should consistently show the following sections: Locations, Favorites, and Tags.
Or how about a bug from the Books app on MacOS? This one is irritating, but again it’s minor. Frequently, there is no way to close individual books that are opened for reading. The icon to close the window is greyed-out. The only workaround is to leave the window open in the background or exit the app (though even this doesn’t always fix the issue).
One more bug I will add is with TouchID on M-series Macs. The latest OS updates failed to fix this issue which seems to be fairly common according to Apple’s own online discussion forums. MacOS 13.3 disabled TouchID for some users, including me. After reading through and trying the numerous “fixes” suggested online, the problem persisted, and it is still not working properly under the latest release, 13.3.1.
The only partial fix that worked for me was to delete all previously saved fingerprints, restart the computer (in my case, as I have an iMac, this also meant having the keyboard plugged into the computer which supposedly does some sort of reset of the TouchID security enclave), and then re-create/re-save the fingerprints. For some reason, though, despite the OS saving the fingerprints successfully, one of the saved prints still will not work to activate TouchID. It is as though the system has decided that one particular finger no longer should have access via TouchID. Argh!
I should probably leave it there for now. So what bugs have you experienced?
Pet Peeves
There are many items I could write about here, but I will pick just a couple of them.
I have two HomePod Minis. While I love the sound quality of the little devices, the OS is unreliable. One never knows if Siri will work or if the HomePod will mysteriously lose connection to the Internet, my Apple ID, and/or devices in the home. Home connectivity should be far more mature at this point.
The Apple TV app has seen a number of minor redesigns over the years, but it still needs significant improvement and should offer far more user customization options. The giant videos that dominate the main page of the app on Mac are ridiculous and annoying. First, they are FAR too big. Second, we should be able to disable motion entirely. When a majority of the app’s available real estate is taken over by a single promo video this is simply bad design.
The Apple TV app isn’t much better on other platforms, including the Apple TV itself.
Hey, Apple, how about consulting users on what we want to see? How about giving us the choice?
Kudos
Speaking of motion, Apple also deserves kudos in this area when it comes to accessibility options.
Within the settings on all of its platforms, Apple offers a variety of accessibility-related tools. For motion, there are options to reduce motion effects in the interface, turn off message effects, dim video content that contains flashes and strobes, and turn off the auto-playing of video previews.
Throughout the accessibility section of system settings, there are other tools dedicated to various aspects of vision, hearing, and motor functions.
What is your favourite Apple tool or feature? What do you think Apple deserves kudos for? What needs improvement?
What would you like to see in the next OS versions likely to be released this fall?
You may also be interested in reading an article that I posted a while back on ideas for minimalist products that Apple should consider.