The iOS 10 Review: Refining the iOS Experience Both Over & Under the Hood
by Brandon Chester on September 13, 2016 12:00 PM ESTFinal Words
iOS 10 marks a major anniversary for iOS. Originally launched as iPhone OS way back in 2007, iOS has come a long way from its original iteration. iPhone OS 2 brought the App Store, while iOS 4 brought the iOS name. iOS 5 brought Notification Center and many new APIs, and iOS 6 brought Apple Maps. With iOS 7 a brand new design was created, which has been iterated on since then in iOS 8 and iOS 9.
Now after nearly ten years we have iOS 10. iOS 10 is a very big release, and there's far more to it than what I've been able to cover in this review. Many parts of the OS have received subtle tweaks to their appearance, while some apps like Maps, Music, and News have received complete redesigns. It's impossible to cover all of the changes Apple has made, and users will end up discovering them for themselves over time after they update their phones.
iOS 10 comes with a new design of its own. It's definitely an evolution of the design put in place with iOS 7, but the level of refinement is far greater than in iOS 8 or iOS 9. iOS 7 took Apple's new design principles as far as they could go, and the interface ended up being a bit too abstract to be intuitive. Since that time Apple has taken a step back by making parts of the UI that can be interacted with more pronounced, and in iOS 10 they've stripped out many of the UI's hard edges and replaced them with rounded corners and cards that contain the contents of views. It definitely takes inspiration from the evolution of other operating systems like Android, but the end result still feels distinctly Apple and fits in great with the design of iOS.
iOS 10 brings some great new features. Again, I haven't nearly been able to cover them all, with the most notable omission being the changes made to the Photos app. Thankfully, I actually covered all the new features previously in my preview of macOS Sierra, and all the features there have made their way to Photos on iOS. Messages is definitely the other tentpole feature of iOS 10. Apple has taken a great deal of inspiration from other messaging apps to add functionality to iMessage. Most of it is just visual, with new message effects and Digital Touch being brought over from the Apple Watch. The inclusion of iMessage apps will allow for functional improvements as well, with messages that hook into iOS applications to allow the sharing of content. What developers do with iMessage apps remains to be seen, but the fact that Messages is the most used application on iOS makes me confident that the adoption will be quite strong.
As a developer, the most exciting thing that iOS 10 has brought is Swift Playgrounds for the iPad. When I first heard about the app I assumed it would only be useful as a tool for teaching basic programming concepts. That assumption was completely wrong, and I underestimated the app in two big ways. Apple's included books already go beyond what I expected to be taught in the learn to program guides, and the ability to create books for other users to download means that online programming courses and tutorials can use Swift Playgrounds to teach any concept they want in a fun and interactive manner.
The other way I underestimated Playgrounds was assuming that it wouldn't be useful to existing iOS developers. I didn't think that Apple would make UIKit available in the app for developers to use, but I was wrong. Swift Playgrounds on the iPad is actually a great tool for prototyping and testing ideas when you're away from your development machine, and the availability of UIKit means that you can use the same APIs that you use for designing real applications. I don't have any doubts that Playgrounds is the first step on the road to XCode for the iPad, and I don't think it'll take long for that to become a reality.
iOS 10 is a fitting tenth anniversary release for iOS. It brings enough refinements to the UI that you could call it a redesign in its own right, includes big changes to core parts of the experience like Messages, Photos, and Siri, and it has laid the foundation for a future where you can develop for iOS using iOS devices. On top of all that, it brings stability and smoothness to a level that I haven't seen on iOS since long ago with iOS 6 on the iPhone 5. Users of older and newer iOS devices alike will enjoy iOS 10, and with some great new APIs for developers to use in their apps the experience for users is only going to get better as time goes on.
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yhselp - Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - link
Most definitely; I agree, but I was not talking about notifications, I was talking about notification banners. Banners are a type of notification that pops up at the top of the screen when you're using the device, as opposed to when it's in your pocket. Like when you receive a message while browsing in Safari, for example. Those used to be slick, took little space, and were very easy to respond to or dismiss without opening Messages. Now they're large bubbles, it takes more swiping to interact with them, and when engaged open in full-screen on the 4-inch devices. Since I frequently send quick replies while doing other stuff, life is definitely harder for me now. How about you? Do you find banners better or worse in iOS 10 on your 5s and why?Donkey2008 - Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - link
The notifications are definitely bigger but not a showstopper IMO.lilmoe - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
Glad things worked out just like you wanted, or at least close.You mention that the battery life is holding up. Would you say it's the same as before? Little less or little more?
My friends are asking me constantly whether they should update. I told them to hold out for a bit, and I'm glad I did after the bricking thing (which should be fixed now).
yhselp - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
Hey. The battery life has kept holding up on the 5s. By this point, I highly suspect it's not going to be something to worry about. I'm pretty sure I'm imagining it, but I have a feeling I've been getting just a bit more battery life, or perhaps slower drain under some circumstances, which, in turn, might be offset by others; besides, you never know how the OS is reporting battery charge. Short and to the point: I would say it's the same as before. My SO hasn't had any trouble with the 6s either.I just can't get over the fact that these cards or bubbles, as the reviewer calls them, have been used throughout the whole OS. They work great for widgets, and similarly so in Notification Center, however, I can't overstate how much worse banners can be on any device. I think it's worth warning your friends about this. If they're used to sending quick replies by engaging banners, they might end up very irritated by iOS 10. The way it used to work is you got a banner at the top of the screen with the contents of a message you've just received while doing something else like browsing the web; if you wanted to send out a quick reply without exiting Safari and opening the Messages app, all you had to do is pull down the banner - it would extend just a little bit to reveal a text box, the keyboard would appear - type a reply and hit send upon which the whole thing would immediately disappear, leaving you to do whatever it is that you were doing. There's no need to explain why this used to be an extremely efficient way of sending out replies. The way things work now is the following: firstly, the banner is unnecessarily bigger and it's actually hard to understand where you need to pull; secondly, pulling itself takes more effort, almost as if Apple are trying to prevent accidental pulls by making it so you have to pull down farther; thridly, upon pulling down the banner you're sent into a full-screen view; finally, and most disappointingly, when you hit send the whole thing does not disappear, it just stays there, and you have to dismiss it manually. So, essentially, there're no quick replies on iOS 10. It's virtually the same to just tap on the banner, go Messages, reply, and then go back to Safari or whatever you were using. It's absolutely baffling why this was overlooked, or even worse - why Apple decided to do away with it. It's definitely a pain for me, I hope Apple come to their senses and reintroduce this properly.
"Cards" are not so great for displaying missed calls/messages on the lock screen. I've failed to return a call from the lock screen more than once now, and have instead swiped left to widgets. On a 4-inch iPhone, cards take up took much space on the lock screen when displaying missed calls/messages, as well as when they appear as banners at the top of the screen.
Hope I've been helpful.
lilmoe - Thursday, September 15, 2016 - link
-- "I think it's worth warning your friends about this [banners]"It probably is, and I'll be sure to point it out. As long as performance is improved and battery life isn't compromised, I'm sure it's better to update, for the security enhancements at least.
-- "Hope I've been helpful."
You sure are :) Thanks for the detailed reply. I appreciate actual user feedback much more than redundant "all hail" PR.
Teknobug - Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - link
Apple: With iOS 10 we're bricking your old iPhone and we have the iPhone 7 available for upgrade.Donkey2008 - Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - link
Google: Want the newest Android version for your phone? Buy a new Android phone. Although your carrier *might* release the update in a year or two.The difference; Your Apple conspiracy is just a joke whereas the Google conspiracy is real.
fanofanand - Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - link
Nice job again Donkey! I hope Apple pays you by the word!yhselp - Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - link
Yeah, except it's usually vendors, like Samsung, that decide against releasing new versions of Android for their older devices, and not Google.Teknobug - Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - link
Samsung update the 2 year old S5, HTC and LG updates some older phones too. At least most Androids don't cost $800-1000 when you need to get a new one.