Why is the iOS UI difficult to maneuver?

Question

I recently purchased an old iPhone 11 Pro Max to try out, after being an Android user the last 12yrs, last phone being the Oneplus 7. I knew there would be big differences and I tried to be as accepting as possible along the way.It's been a few weeks now and I would really like to hear from current or former iPhone users on their thoughts about iOS's maneuverability.My thoughts: The iOS UI thrives on having the user perform tedious steps to perform very simple actions [1], is difficult to use in one hand (I understand there are smaller models but I wanted a bigger battery, this should not excuse the lack of maneuverability), and THERE IS NO UNIVERSAL BACK BUTTON! When you need to go back, you have to figure out how the current app wants you to go backwards. Swipe from the left edge? anywhere on screen? or exit using the button at the top of the screen? It's a guessing game every time.I really want to like this phone, the hardware is incredible and the software support for years is terrific. Could long time users please chime in on how they got used to it?[1] Reaching to the top right corner to drag down the Control Panel. Having to press the 'Select' button in Photos instead of long pressing a photo. Having to tap a toggle icon exactly for it to change status.

yen223 · Accepted Answer

"after being an Android user the last 12yrs"This is probably the reason why. It's just a matter of familiarity.

gjsman-1000 · Answer

I&rsquo;ve always wondered why Android is so hard to navigate. On the Samsung phones, there&rsquo;s two app stores, two photos apps, two video apps, two security apps, two calculators, two email apps, and they all have different UI styles, how confusing.

samcat116 · Answer

90% of apps using UINavigationController or the SwiftUI equivalent will have the back button be a label with a left facing arrow in the top left. A swipe from the left will also trigger this action. Its never tripped me up.

RichEO · Answer

> THERE IS NO UNIVERSAL BACK BUTTONYour desktop computer doesn&rsquo;t have a universal back button either, despite having 100+ buttons. It&rsquo;s not a mandatory UI element.With that said, swiping from the left hand side of the screen will generally perform an analogous function in most well made iOS apps, and swiping up from the bottom of the screen will take the user to the Home Screen

robswc · Answer

>THERE IS NO UNIVERSAL BACK BUTTON! When you need to go back, you have to figure out how the current app wants you to go backwards
I'm not mobile UI/UX guy but it seems like this is just bad app design, no?
I have a android tablet and I'm trying to think if I've ever actually used the back button. In theory, its a great thing to have since it's "universal" but don't most modern apps have better ways to get around?
I'm no apple fan, I've just had iPhone since launch and I never do more than text/email.

dietsche · Answer

I made the switch a few months ago and feel your pain. For me editing is the most different. Realizing that I could press and hold the space bar was life changing. It works &ldquo;almost&rdquo; like android does&hellip; except you can also move the cursor up and down

cuteboy19 · Answer

Conversely gesture support on Android is forever broken. You should expect side edge swipes to work as the back button. But most apps have panels displayed using the same gesture.

perryizgr8 · Answer

Yeah iOS seems to be extremely poorly thought out. It's just that people are used to it so they can function with it. So many times the back text on the top left is un touchable too, and I give up after a few tries.In general, the hardware is impressive, but software is quite mediocre on Apple products. I find myself wanting to run windows on my MacBook very frequently.

lawgimenez · Answer

I switched from Android to iPhone around 5 years ago and the universal back button is the one thing I missed a lot but eventually found out that this wasn't a good design decision.

mayoff · Answer

iOS has a feature called Reachability which can help you reach the top half of the screen. Perform a small swipe down on the bottom edge of the screen to move the entire screen content down about 50%.https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/reachability-iph145eb...

Why is the iOS UI difficult to maneuver?

"after being an Android user the last 12yrs"
This is probably the reason why. It's just a matter of familiarity.

I’ve always wondered why Android is so hard to navigate. On the Samsung phones, there’s two app stores, two photos apps, two video apps, two security apps, two calculators, two email apps, and they all have different UI styles, how confusing.

90% of apps using UINavigationController or the SwiftUI equivalent will have the back button be a label with a left facing arrow in the top left. A swipe from the left will also trigger this action. Its never tripped me up.

I made the switch a few months ago and feel your pain. For me editing is the most different. Realizing that I could press and hold the space bar was life changing. It works “almost” like android does… except you can also move the cursor up and down

Conversely gesture support on Android is forever broken. You should expect side edge swipes to work as the back button. But most apps have panels displayed using the same gesture.

I switched from Android to iPhone around 5 years ago and the universal back button is the one thing I missed a lot but eventually found out that this wasn't a good design decision.

iOS has a feature called Reachability which can help you reach the top half of the screen. Perform a small swipe down on the bottom edge of the screen to move the entire screen content down about 50%.
https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/reachability-iph145eb...