iPhone X operation becomes more complicated: Apple is helpless but determined

The arrival of iPhone X means that Apple has finally realized the full-screen design; the arrival of the full-screen design means the disappearance of the Home button; once the Home button disappears, there is no doubt that the way we operate the iPhone will change a lot.

Now that the Home button is gone, how should we operate the phone? Apple certainly couldn't have thought of this, so it introduced more gesture operations.

Taking advantage of the increased display area brought by the full-screen design, Apple added a touch bar at the bottom of the screen that looks like a Home button but doesn't look like a Home button. Just press your finger on the touch bar and swipe in different ways, and you can return to the home screen, open the multitasking background, and perform a series of operations.

Apple claims that the newly added gesture operation is extremely fast and intuitive, but it is undeniable that the learning difficulty of iPhone X is indeed increasing. Not long ago, an investigator took an iPhone X to New York to find volunteers and asked them to operate the phone without knowing anything about the new phone.

As a result, apart from setting up Face ID and exiting the app, almost no one can find operations such as calling up the multitasking background and pulling down the control center by self-study.

Of course, this survey is unfair because the volunteers didn't see the video guide that Apple provided when launching the new machine, and they didn't have the manual at hand. However, no matter what, the new operation is much more difficult to master than when the Home button was still there.

Many people criticize Apple because the operation of the iPhone is no longer so simple and easy to understand, "even kids can learn it."

Is "absolute ease of use" a principle that Apple must abide by? At least since the introduction of features such as 3D Touch, Apple has gradually relaxed these restrictions. Today's Apple seems to be more inclined to explore new ways rather than maintain the original concepts.

Doesn't Apple have a better solution? Actually, it does have a better solution, but the time is not yet ripe. That is Siri, which it has been vigorously developing - voice control and artificial intelligence.

In Apple's vision, language is the most natural way for people to communicate with each other, and artificial intelligence can do all kinds of things before users ask for them. Unfortunately, this future is still far from reality, so Apple can only continue to explore.

Perhaps Apple is somewhat helpless. After all, the current trend of technological development requires you to slowly give up those simple and easy-to-use things in the past in exchange for more functions.

Nowadays, almost everyone is a heavy user of smartphones and they have the patience to learn.

Another important point is that iPhone X buyers are generally people who tend to choose Apple, and they are mentally prepared for the upcoming hands-on process.

It’s hard to say how many people will be “scared away” by the increase in the learning curve, but at least there isn’t much dissatisfaction right now. The high profit margin of iPhone X is enough to ensure that Apple can deliver an ideal financial report.