loudog.uno

Look, I'm deep in the ecosystem. iPad, Mac, iPhone, Watch—the whole nine yards. I've drunk the Kool-Aid. But lately, I feel like Apple's been slowly replacing that Kool-Aid with lukewarm tap water and hoping I won't notice. Spoiler: I noticed.

1. Liquid Glass: The Useability Regression Nobody Asked For

Remember when interfaces were... usable? Liquid glass looks gorgeous in marketing videos, but in practice, it's like trying to read through frosted bathroom glass. Information density took a nosedive. Everything's translucent now, which means everything competes with everything else for visual attention.

The irony? Apple spent decades perfecting contrast ratios and readability, then yeeted it all out the window for ~aesthetics~. My retinas are crying, Tim.

2. RIP Slide-Over: The Persistent Overlay We Deserved

They killed the most useful multitasking feature on iPad. Slide-Over was my knowledge graph overlay, my persistent reference, my second brain sitting politely to the side. Now? Gone. Replaced with nothing.

Stage Manager doesn't count. Stage Manager is what happens when engineers who've never used an iPad design an iPad feature.

3. Writing Tools: So Close, Yet So Far

Apple Intelligence's Writing Tools should be amazing. The capability is there. But the implementation feels like it was designed by someone who's never actually... written anything?

The UI is clunky. It interrupts flow state. And most critically: it doesn't integrate with the system clipboard or other writing tools in any meaningful way. It's a party trick when it should be a power tool.

Hot take: Third-party apps (Grammarly, ProWritingAid, hell even ChatGPT in a side window) are better integrated into my writing workflow than Apple's first-party tool. That shouldn't be possible.

4. Siri: The Elephant in the Room

I don't even know where to start. Actually, that's a lie—I know exactly where to start: Siri still can't reliably add items to my Reminders lists.

Not complicated ML tasks. Not reasoning about context. Just... "Add milk to my grocery list."

This is the company that revolutionized voice assistants in 2011. In 2025, Siri feels like abandonware that occasionally gets a fresh coat of paint.

5. "Can't Add to Lists": The iOS 18 Special

Speaking of lists—iOS 18 broke something fundamental. Random apps just... can't add to lists anymore? The permission system is Byzantine. Half the time I get no prompt. The other half I get a prompt but my selection doesn't stick.

This is basic CRUD operations, Apple. Create, Read, Update, Delete. You've had this figured out since the Newton.

6. "Unlock Your Phone" (Narrator: It Was Already Unlocked)

Face ID is genuinely great technology. But the UX around it has become maddening.

I'm constantly getting "unlock your phone" messages when my phone is... already unlocked. I'm literally looking at the screen! It sees my face! What more does it want from me?!

7. Information Density: A Eulogy

Everything is HUGE now. Buttons are massive. Padding is generous. White space is abundant.

Cool. Great for accessibility. Genuinely—not being sarcastic.

But where's the power user mode? Where's the "I have good eyes and I want to see MORE THINGS" toggle? iOS feels like it's designed exclusively for the baseline case, with zero consideration for people who want information-dense interfaces.

8. The Notification Shade: Still Bad After All These Years

Notifications pile up like I'm running a digital hoarder's paradise. The grouping is inconsistent. Clearing them is a multi-step process for no good reason.

Meanwhile, Android had this figured out in 2016.

9. iCloud: The Cloud That's More Like Fog

iCloud sync is like Schrödinger's Cat—your files both exist and don't exist until you check.

Files uploaded from my Mac might appear on my iPad. Or they might not. The only way to know is to check. And if they're not there? Cool, just... wait? Pray? Restart the device?

10. Complexity Without Power

Here's the meta-problem that ties all of this together: Apple's software is getting MORE complex (Stage Manager, Focus Modes, App Intents) but not more POWERFUL.

I'm learning new systems and paradigms, but I'm not able to DO more than I could in 2019. That's not progress—that's churn.

The Bottom Line

Look, I'm not leaving the ecosystem. Where would I even go? But Apple—if you're listening—these aren't nitpicks. These are death-by-a-thousand-papercuts quality-of-life issues that make your products frustrating to use despite their incredible hardware.

You built a reputation on sweating the details. On giving a shit about the small stuff. On polish and refinement.

It's time to get back to that.