Questions tagged [ios]
use this tag only for iOS related questions
751
questions
125
votes
19
answers
12k
views
How could one prevent drunk users from using a mobile application?
Consider a mobile application which for some reason needs to prevent drunk users from using it (e.g. to avoid dreaded "drunk dials" or "drunk texts"). How could "sober authentication" be executed from ...
user1081596
44
votes
6
answers
8k
views
How to design friction in an iOS app to prevent accidental action?
I am designing an app for iOS where I need to prevent the user from unintentionally trigger an alarm (the action of calling for emergency should be easily accessible, but at the same time it should ...
- 541
42
votes
4
answers
150k
views
Is there a design pattern for dropdown lists in iOS?
I've searched quite a bit for this but surprisingly could not find any comprehensive answer. XCode doesn't provide any simple way to add dropdown lists to iOS interfaces. Stackoverflow just showed ...
- 603
38
votes
13
answers
6k
views
Down arrow and up arrow status
I have to make an iOS app, where there are categories and I have to show the decrease and increase in status of particular category.
For decrease I used a red down arrow. For increase I used a green ...
- 1,428
38
votes
4
answers
25k
views
Is Apple's or Google's meaning of the three-horizontal-bar icon more popular?
Apple and Google are going head-to-head to define meaning of the three-horizontal-bars icon:
In iOS this icon means "drag me to rearrange items in a list" while Google Chrome's version means "click ...
- 1,823
35
votes
6
answers
11k
views
Is it acceptable to use Google Material Design in web applications?
We are considering using Material Design components in our website, but since this is an "Android design", wouldn't it turn away iOS users?
What is the best practice? Is it wide-spread to use these ...
- 453
32
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Should Android and iPhone UI be different?
I'm not completely new to developing apps, but I'm at a point where I'm trying to develop something and deploy it on several mobile platforms. To only concentrate on two major ones, suppose I'm ...
- 421
30
votes
6
answers
98k
views
What is the iOS alternative to a radio button?
There is a radio button in android and WEB but what is the best alternative in iOS? And please don't say segmented control becuase it's not working in my case.
The case is a list of items 3-6 which ...
- 411
26
votes
4
answers
10k
views
When and why should we choose rounded corners over smooth corners?
Smooth corners are gaining more and more attention recently in UI design.
As a designer of iOS mobile apps, I recently tend to design only with smooth corners as it just makes the look and experience ...
- 363
25
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Should I follow the Android guideline or keep my app's own style when porting it from iOS?
My new project is to port an iOS app to Android platform. Before get started, I'm quite confused on whether I should follow google's guideline since some big titles on Android platform still keep the ...
- 351
24
votes
7
answers
4k
views
Does rating on both extremes indicate UX issue? [closed]
Our App has Ratings in both extremes equally, does this mean our app has a UX issue? Some users are die hard fans of our app and others are haters, based on the reviews. We are confused on how to fix ...
- 420
23
votes
3
answers
18k
views
Do spinner-based date pickers on iOS & Android detract from the user's experience?
Generally speaking, the rule of thumb on mobile devices is to follow the platform conventions, and that native controls are almost always better than custom UIs. However, I'm at a loss as to whether ...
- 5,918
23
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Asking feedback/rating for a mobile app?
Fig.1: A typical prompt, asking user for feedback/rating in iOS
Background
Any serious smartphone users must have seen a message similar to Fig.1 above at least once. Variations of such prompt include:...
- 375
22
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Why do some mobile apps have mute buttons when the device has physical mute & volume switches?
Is there a recommended UX reason for including a Mute button in a mobile app for in-app sounds? It seems redundant since the mobile device itself (e.g. iPhone, iPad, Android phone/tablet) has a ...
- 331
20
votes
8
answers
1k
views
What is it about our mental models that app-centric seems more intuitive than content-centric?
I always thought that content-centric was the easiest for people to deal with, i.e. "I want to change this document", and not "Let's run this app so I can then change that document".
It seems that ...
- 303
19
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Custom rating slider
I have made a custom interface object to handle user rating in a take-away app I am currently building.
But I am not sure if it's intuitive enough in its form.
Q : Would you understand an object ...
- 471
17
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Should the label for a switch component be tappable on iOS?
We are developing an app for both Android and iOS and try to use similar patterns between the two platforms. For Android we have decided that tapping the label that belongs to a Switch component ...
- 2,685
15
votes
7
answers
2k
views
Designing for the iPad
I'd like to make my site accessible to people that have the iPad or other iOS devices.
What considerations do I need to take into account when designing a user interface that is compatible with the ...
- 253
15
votes
4
answers
5k
views
How to hint that there's more beyond what you see in a scroll view?
I'm developing an (iOS) app that mainly consists of a UIScrollView. The view is paged and the scroll bar turned off, so currently there is nothing to indicate to the user that they can scroll down and ...
- 787
14
votes
13
answers
7k
views
Custom UI vs Default UI [closed]
This question is mainly for iOS/Android developers, but anybody can answer.
Do you prefer using the default UI provided by the OS or do you prefer using custom UI. I've heard many developers argue ...
14
votes
3
answers
26k
views
Is it a strong anti-pattern to use a Floating Action Button in an iOS app?
Floating Action Buttons - invented by the Google Material Design Team - are rather popular on Android. Apple's closest equivalent are perhaps an action icon at top-right or the bottom Tool Bar pattern ...
13
votes
6
answers
3k
views
Is it appropriate to use Metro style design for a cross-platform mobile app
I'm finding it really difficult to design UI's for android and ios after falling in love with the windows metro design.
I wondered if providing a metro style app across all platforms would be such a ...
- 233
13
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Background music in app
I have an iOS game, a fundamentally simple game similar to hangman (except with sheep and a Roman theme). I definitely want to add sound, effects for when a user clicks on a letter or completes a ...
- 604
13
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Why do the iPhone and iPad keyboards use different shades of gray for the keys and background?
I noticed when working with iPhone and iPad keyboards that they are quite a significantly different colour:
Is there any particular reason for this?
- 6,174
13
votes
2
answers
272
views
What are the functional advantages of disabling user access to the filesystem on the iPad?
It is not possible for users to access the filesystem on the iPad since this access is not permitted on devices running iOS.
How is the function of the iPad improved by preventing users from ...
- 514
12
votes
7
answers
38k
views
What control should I use to indicate multi-select lists on iOS?
Scenario
The user can choose multiple items from a list, which will be carried forward to the next action.
Problem
In iOS, there are no checkboxes available to make it clear to the user that this ...
- 6,806
12
votes
3
answers
11k
views
Is it acceptable/good UX to use ios Segmented Control as a radio control?
I'm an ios developer by profession and was told of by a UX Architect for suggesting the use of the ios Segmented Control as a group of radio buttons.
We have to present a mutually exclusive choice ...
- 121
12
votes
2
answers
4k
views
How to indicate that a list view can be swiped to reveal controls?
I would like some advice on any approach which is conventionally used for indicating that swiping sideways will reveal buttons.
I need to answer this design issue both for iOS and Android although ...
- 317
11
votes
2
answers
13k
views
Spinner is to Android, as "____" is to iOS?
In Android, to make a selection from a list of predefined options, we'd use the Spinner element seen below. What is the best approach to replicating this on iOS?
The iOS SDK offers pickers, segmented ...
- 213
11
votes
6
answers
9k
views
best image to indicate swipe left right
What is the most appropriate image to indicate to users to swipe left or right?
i am using http://cubiq.org/swipeview but i feel like it needs a swipe indicator in the background somewhere.
Edit: for ...
- 327
11
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Should I display timezone if the user is not in the same location as the event?
In a number of the apps I design, the relative time from now is the preferred time reference. E.g. 'last updated 10 mins ago'.
When it comes to events or broadcast from a location this becomes less ...
- 769
11
votes
4
answers
8k
views
How to show the mandatory fields on an iOS device?
I have to show more than 11 fields within the screen. 4 fields are mandatory. How should I indicate the mandatory fields? Is there any standard or any ideas?
- 1,307
10
votes
7
answers
1k
views
How should I indicate an added row of buttons above the iPad's keyboard is scrollable?
In my iOS app, I have an extra toolbar that appears above the keyboard, using the same style of buttons as the keyboard. This toolbar is horizontally scrollable.
Currently, in all devices and ...
- 6,174
10
votes
4
answers
401
views
Can iOS apps be a bit more "adventurous"?
Seriously, designing app mockups for iOS is scary as hell.
Everytime I try to do an iOS mockup, I keep thinking of those "rules" in the Apple Human Interface Guidelines that says you can't do this ...
- 319
10
votes
6
answers
6k
views
How to properly indicate that a chat message is sent-received-seen? The WhatsApp way?
We are building a cross platform mobile application and I am kind of responsible for iOS part. I'm the first one to begin to work on the instant messaging feature, so my decisions will affect my ...
- 173
10
votes
2
answers
6k
views
iOS 7 Safari and footer buttons
I'm working on a mobile website and with the release of Safari on iOS 7 I'm having the following issue.
The website sometimes shows save/cancel buttons positioned at the bottom of the visible window. ...
- 203
10
votes
6
answers
2k
views
What are some tools to monitor user interaction in mobile apps? [closed]
What tools and services are available for monitoring user interaction in a running mobile (iOS) app? Is there a way to monitor users taps, time spent in between taps etc?
10
votes
2
answers
1k
views
iOS using tabs in modal view to show camera/multiple photo galleries
In our app there are many pages of forms, and each page can have (or requires) photos attached to them. Photos can come from the camera, photos previously taken, or a view of certain photos from the ...
- 201
9
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Should I lock to portrait my iOS app?
I'm developing a "reading" app for iOS. I'm wondering if it's useful to have the app running both on portrait and landscape mode.
As a reader I usually keep books (or my kindle, or my iPhone browser, ...
- 193
9
votes
6
answers
717
views
Do iOS application icons need to be updated for iOS 7?
as a graphic designer, would an application icon need to be updated to match the simplicity and flat UI of iOS 7? Do you think this would contribute to the UX overall?
- 133
9
votes
3
answers
22k
views
Is it OK to use hamburger menus in iOS?
So, I have about 7 actions users may need in my app, and I have to use text instead of icons because it is a customer requirement.
I can add only 3 actions to my toolbar on iPhone 6. On Android you ...
- 241
9
votes
3
answers
206
views
Can we assume users know the devices they're working on?
I'm developing an iPhone app that uses pretty standard UI, follows Apple's human-interface guidelines, and in some cases imitates behavior as seen in stock iPhone apps. For example, a table view from ...
- 216
9
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Are "submit" buttons important for forms on iPhone and Android apps?
When inputting text on the last text field in a form on an iPhone and Android app, the enter key can be highlighted or (on iOS anyway) renamed "done", so that tapping it will submit the form. ...
- 473
9
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Tabbar inside Modal View - iPhone
Is it ok to have TabBar in Modal view in iOS UI (iPhone)?
I have a "Select Contact" view in my app and I plan to make it as modal view.
But "Select Contact" is a set of views: "Favourites", "Contacts"...
- 191
9
votes
2
answers
314
views
How do people react to voice commands in AI?
I'm looking for documentation on how people react to talking to an artificial intelligence system like, say, Siri (especially now that iOS6 has dictation). How 'comfortable' is it to use voice ...
- 3,069
9
votes
2
answers
6k
views
What is replacement for Android's Floating Button in iOS?
I wanted to build functionality in Android using a floating button, as all the tabs are fixed.
What is the solution for replacing Floating Button in iOS?
- 1,731
9
votes
4
answers
17k
views
Back Button and Menu Button in Top Navigation for iOS
We want to have users navigate our app using a side menu.
Once a user leaves main app pages, the menu button (in top left corner of nav) would change to a back button.
However, the content of our ...
- 91
8
votes
5
answers
6k
views
Why are icons on mobile phone menu screens square or rectangular but not circular?
If you take a look at the app page of any mobile OS, for example iOS, Android, Ubuntu, Win8, BADA, etc., they all have square icons, either with rounded corner or sharp corners (shown in the first ...
- 896
8
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Is spacing between touch targets an unnecessary recommendation by Microsoft?
A recent Microsoft IE10 blogpost gave general guidelines for building touch friendly sites suggesting two rules for touch targets:
Target size
Margin between targets
Apple's iOS guidance only ...
- 6,254
8
votes
2
answers
18k
views
Using Segmented Controls vs Tab bar
I have to document the general possibilities of an iOS app structure for my team, so I'm reading the guidelines to all the navigation and control structures.
But I can't seem to understand when to use ...
- 6,806