Older/earlier iOS was more simple, intuitive, and usable from my point of view (mid 30s tech oriented male). Now even i find myself getting lost in the endless settings menus and too many different home screen / option screen / extra screens. I don't even use MacOS Launchpad. Just give me a desktop, window manager, and simple notifications.
I dread the day my older mom updates her iOS and calls me for help.
Here is a practical example: When I simply want to switch wifi networks at home or work or the coffee shop, or I want to disconnect my car from bluetooth and go with just my AirPods (for a private call with the kids in the car), it takes more than 3-4 clicks to do the "right thing" from that slide down menu.
The UI reaction feels more delayed now. If i'm in the middle of a call and want to go private, or some how got connected to the slow network, and i want to switch to the other one.
I feel like I used to be able to do it with 2 or 3 simple clicks. Now i cant remember if i need to click once, or click and hold, and by then the animation changed and now I tapped again and its doing something i did not expect.
For me personally, I used to be a wiz at navigating this phone on older OS versions - and now i feel like a klutz and it doesn't do the thing I expected anymore.
Not to nitpick, but just because it's the example you gave: Wi-Fi settings in the control center are the same as they have been for years (or easier, as I don't remember the dropdown menu in the earliest versions).
The UX paradigm of a tap for the primary function and a press for alternate functions (for Wi-Fi: On/off, or to select networks) is the same across much of iOS, including Safari and 3rd party apps.
Admittedly it's not the best for discoverability, and the elimination of Haptic Touch has made it slightly more awkward to trigger, but it's not a totally new behavior to learn.
Are you on a significantly older device that might be having some performance issues? Supposedly the new glass UI is heavier and could be slowing down the device enough to cause issues.
Don’t you just need to put the AirPods in your ears for them to connect to the phone (and for the phone to switch from the car automatically?) Unless you’re always wearing them while driving..
It’s still 3 clicks for both operations (slide from corner, 1. Tap the wireless cluster where there’s a group of four small icons, 2. Tap either WiFi or Bluetooth where there’s a list with up/down arrows. 3. Select from that list)
On OSX there is a bug where if you have automatic ear detection on, even with latest AirPods, it will connect back properly but the OS will not switch the output to it, but it will think it did. You will have to turn off bluetooth and turn it back on again, even disconnecting from airpod and reconnecting doesn't fix it.
I mean, Apple software quality has gotten so abyssmal, I haven't updated TailScale to latest version because when it updates, briefly a notification appears telling me to go into settings to approve something but even when I click that notification, it doesn't take me there. And I know the location it is talking about, when I go there, there are no pending requests.
It is all so tiresome. Except for battery life, it is literally a terrible platform now. And just several years ago, it was light-years ahead.
the fact that it allows more screen space for content is appreciated, but the way it was forced on everyone pisses me off.
You can change it in settings -> Apps -> Safari, under the "Tabs" section - "Bottom" is like what it used to be. I immediately switched to that after the update to 26, but once I realized you could swipe up from the address bar to get to the tab view, I switched back so I could get more content space.
I don't like that it's two taps to get to the share button now though.
What really has been added in terms of endless menus? Control Center was like 2013, Widgets were like 2014. Today, 90% of things are still controlled via the settings app, except for a few app-specific settings that are controlled via the specific app. The latest iOS has some rougher edges, but I can't see how it's confusing.