The 5 Most Infuriating Features of iOS 18: A User’s Lament

Let’s be honest, every new iOS update comes with its share of quirks and questionable design choices. iOS 18 is no exception. While it boasts some genuinely useful features (we see you, improved Focus Modes!), it also introduced a handful of changes that have left many users bewildered and frustrated. From baffling UI tweaks to the removal of beloved features, here are the 5 iOS 18 features we hate the most.

1. The Disappearing Control Center: A Hide-and-Seek Champion

Remember the good old days when accessing the Control Center was a simple swipe away? Well, iOS 18 decided to play hide-and-seek with this essential feature. Now, accessing your frequently used controls like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and screen brightness requires a two-step dance: swipe down from the top right corner (where the battery icon is) for connectivity toggles, and swipe down from the top left corner (the time) for everything else.

Why, Apple, why? This split Control Center feels unnecessarily convoluted and adds an extra layer of complexity to a previously simple action. It’s like Apple decided to fix something that wasn’t broken. Personally, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve swiped down from the wrong corner, ending up with the wrong set of controls. It’s a frustrating experience that disrupts the flow and efficiency that iOS was once known for.

2. The Oversized Lock Screen Clock: A Case of “Bigger Isn’t Always Better”

Apple, we appreciate the effort to make the lock screen clock more prominent, but did it have to be THIS big? The new default font size for the lock screen clock in iOS 18 is gargantuan, taking up a significant chunk of screen real estate and pushing notifications further down.

While customization options exist to change the font, many users, including myself, find the default setting aesthetically displeasing and impractical. It feels like a design choice that prioritizes form over function, sacrificing valuable screen space for a clock that screams for attention. A more balanced approach with a less intrusive clock size would have been appreciated.

3. The “Improved” Notification System: A Recipe for Chaos

Notifications in iOS 18 were supposed to be “improved,” but for many users, they’ve become a source of confusion and frustration. The new system attempts to group notifications more intelligently, but it often ends up burying important alerts under a mountain of less relevant ones.

The introduction of “Live Activities,” while promising, has also added to the notification clutter. These persistent, real-time updates for things like sports scores or food delivery orders can quickly dominate the lock screen, making it difficult to find the information you actually need. While the intention behind these changes might have been good, the execution leaves much to be desired. A more streamlined and user-friendly notification system would be a welcome change in future updates.

4. The Elusive “Edit” Button: A Game of Where’s Waldo?

Remember how easy it was to edit text in iOS 17? You’d simply tap and hold to bring up the familiar editing options like cut, copy, and paste. Well, in iOS 18, Apple decided to make things a little more “interesting” by relocating the “Edit” button. Now, when you tap and hold on text, you get a magnifying glass for precise cursor placement, but the “Edit” button is nowhere to be found.

To access it, you need to lift your finger after selecting the text, and then tap again to reveal the elusive button. This seemingly minor change adds an unnecessary step to a basic function, disrupting the intuitive text editing experience that iOS users have grown accustomed to. It’s a classic example of overthinking a simple process, leading to user frustration.

5. The “Enhanced” Siri: Still Not Quite There Yet

Siri, Apple’s voice assistant, has been a perennial source of both amusement and frustration. While iOS 18 promised “enhanced” Siri capabilities, the reality is that Siri still lags behind competitors like Google Assistant in terms of accuracy, responsiveness, and overall intelligence.

Siri still struggles with understanding complex commands, often providing irrelevant or inaccurate responses. Its voice recognition, while improved, is still prone to errors, especially in noisy environments. And let’s not forget the infamous “I don’t understand” response that continues to haunt Siri users. While Apple continues to work on Siri’s capabilities, it’s clear that there’s still a long way to go before it can truly be considered a reliable and indispensable voice assistant.

Beyond the Top 5:

While these five features are arguably the most frustrating aspects of iOS 18, they are by no means the only ones. Other questionable changes include:

• The redesigned volume slider, which now appears as a small overlay on the side of the screen, making it harder to adjust volume quickly and accurately.
• The removal of certain app icons from the home screen by default, forcing users to dig through the App Library to find them.
• The increased reliance on gestures for navigation, which can be confusing and less intuitive for some users.

iOS 18, like any major software update, has its share of hits and misses. While it introduces some genuinely useful features, it also includes a number of changes that have left many users frustrated and yearning for the simplicity of previous iOS versions. Hopefully, Apple will listen to user feedback and address these issues in future updates, restoring the seamless and intuitive experience that iOS was once known for.

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