{ "version": "https:\/\/jsonfeed.org\/version\/1.1", "title": "Ilya Birman’s Blog: posts tagged Apple", "_rss_description": "Ilya Birman’s blog on design, cities, music, and life", "_rss_language": "en", "_itunes_email": "ilyabirman@ilyabirman.net", "_itunes_categories_xml": "<\/itunes:category>\r\n<\/itunes:category>\r\n\r\n", "_itunes_image": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/pictures\/userpic\/userpic-square@2x.jpg?1573933764", "_itunes_explicit": "no", "home_page_url": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/tags\/apple\/", "feed_url": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/tags\/apple\/json\/", "icon": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/pictures\/userpic\/userpic@2x.jpg?1573933764", "authors": [ { "name": "Ilya Birman", "url": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/", "avatar": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/pictures\/userpic\/userpic@2x.jpg?1573933764" } ], "items": [ { "id": "383", "url": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/all\/apple-future-hope\/", "title": "Hoping for a brighter future at Apple", "content_html": "

The internet is celebrating the news that Alan Dye, Apple’s head of design, is leaving.<\/p>\n

Alan has been the face of Apple’s interface decline in recent years. There was a time when the core principles of good interface design were easiest to explain using Apple as the example. Now Apple mostly serves to show how not<\/i> to do it. Dye ended up with enormous power despite minimal competence: he simply doesn’t understand what makes an interface good; he lacks the education and isn’t even aware of it. Looks and surface-level effects completely defeated depth and thoughtfulness, and things still work only thanks to the extraordinary foundation laid long ago. Dye neither understood nor respected that foundation.<\/p>\n

Steve Lemay is taking over. I hadn’t heard the name before, but he has been an interface designer at Apple since 1999, so there’s no doubt he actually understands what the job of an interface designer is. And judging by the reaction, the designers inside Apple can’t believe their luck and seem genuinely hopeful. Maybe he’s someone for whom “design is how it works” isn’t just nice-sounding words. And only a couple of weeks ago there was another rumor that this year Apple will focus on polishing and refinement rather than new features.<\/p>\n

I very much hope Apple is headed for a revival. Maybe window sizes will once again be chosen so that elements actually fit instead of triggering a three-pixel scroll bar. Maybe we’ll get back the wonderful world where elements and their labels aren’t pushed as far apart as possible. Maybe animations will once again work to explain spatial relationships or bringing joy, instead of being accidental artifacts of implementation.<\/p>\n

One more thing I hope for: Apple once led the world in making drag-and-drop a truly comfortable gesture. On Windows, it was basically unusable — if you dragged a file, nothing else worked until you finished. On the Mac, while “holding” a file with the mouse, you could scroll windows with the wheel to drop the file where you needed, and you could even hit space bar to activate an element under the cursor while the mouse button was already pressed. Today these things work only sometimes, in the places where Apple hasn’t yet broken them. Maybe Apple will suddenly remember the implications of Fitts’s law, and we’ll once again be able to drag files to the very edge of the screen to drop them into the Dock, instead of having to aim at the icon.<\/p>\n

When Steve Jobs introduced Quick Look about twenty years ago, he explained that PDF parsing was built deep into the system, so even complex PDFs opened instantly, like ordinary image files. Today on the Mac, not only PDFs — even a regular JPEG takes noticeable time to appear. Just open a folder full of JPEGs and press the down arrow key to move through them. On the old Mac, the JPEGs would flicker past your eyes as they changed. Today, the Mac waits until you release the key, and only then lazily draws the JPEG you stopped on.<\/p>\n

You simply have to not know how good things can be — how good they were<\/i> — to believe that today’s Mac is good. The only reason to tolerate this misery is that everything else is even worse. If only that stopped being the only reason. Please.<\/p>\n", "summary": "The internet is celebrating the news that Alan Dye, Apple’s head of design, is leaving", "date_published": "2025-12-06T11:20:47+03:00", "date_modified": "2025-12-06T11:20:34+03:00", "tags": [ "Apple", "design", "interface", "Mac" ], "_date_published_rfc2822": "Sat, 06 Dec 2025 11:20:47 +0300", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "383", "_rss_enclosures": [], "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": true, "links_required": [], "og_images": [] } }, { "id": "381", "url": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/all\/type-to-search-finder-mixed\/", "title": "When you type to search in Finder, files and folders are mixed together", "content_html": "

In Norton Commander, as well as in Windows Explorer it’s always been the norm that folders go first, then files. On Mac, it used to be different: files and folders were always mixed together based on the selected sort order.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, Apple finally gave in and added a proper sorting option to Finder: folders now appear first, files below.<\/p>\n

In Norton Commander, as well as in Windows Explorer, and even in Finder, you’ve always been able to select a file in a list just by typing its name. I’m always surprised when people scroll through giant file lists looking with their eyes, instead of just typing a couple of letters.<\/p>\n

So imagine you open a folder in Finder, and in it you have:
\nimages\/<\/tt>
\nindex.php<\/tt><\/p>\n

You press the “i” key. Obviously, the highlight should jump to the images\/<\/tt> folder. But in reality, it jumps to index.php<\/tt>. Because even though Finder visually sorts folders to the top, deep down it still believes that index.php<\/tt> comes before images<\/tt>.<\/p>\n

Vibe coding had not been invented then, but the implementation quality of Apple software was already at that same level.<\/p>\n", "summary": "In Norton Commander, as well as in Windows Explorer it’s always been the norm that folders go first, then files", "date_published": "2025-08-06T17:44:33+03:00", "date_modified": "2025-08-06T17:44:24+03:00", "tags": [ "Apple", "bugs", "interface", "Mac" ], "_date_published_rfc2822": "Wed, 06 Aug 2025 17:44:33 +0300", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "381", "_rss_enclosures": [], "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": false, "links_required": [], "og_images": [] } }, { "id": "374", "url": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/all\/apple-watch-swimming-screen\/", "title": "Apple Watch swimming screen", "content_html": "

On the left is how Apple Watch displays a swim workout, on the right is how it could:<\/p>\n

\n\"\"\n<\/div>\n

And below is what you can see in both cases, if your goggles are fogged up (Photoshop simulation).<\/p>\n

Apple’s design is silly: what’s the point of using small type when you can use large type? But it’s especially silly that even if you enable enlarged fonts in the accessibility settings, it doesn’t apply to the workout screens anyway.<\/p>\n", "summary": "On the left is how Apple Watch displays a swim workout, on the right is how it could", "date_published": "2024-11-07T21:27:05+03:00", "date_modified": "2024-11-07T21:26:51+03:00", "tags": [ "accessibility", "Apple", "design" ], "image": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/pictures\/apple-watch-swimming@2x.jpg", "_date_published_rfc2822": "Thu, 07 Nov 2024 21:27:05 +0300", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "374", "_rss_enclosures": [], "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": true, "links_required": [], "og_images": [ "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/pictures\/apple-watch-swimming@2x.jpg" ] } }, { "id": "354", "url": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/all\/vision-screens-extending\/", "title": "Extending screens through Apple Vision Pro", "content_html": "

At the introduction of Vision Pro, Apple showed that you could look at your watch or phone while wearing the headset, and everything would look fine. It was another demonstration that you’re not isolated from the rest of the world, and you can use all the familiar things as usual.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"\n<\/div>\n

As for me, I thought it wasn’t cool enough. The familiar things can take on magical properties when you look through Vision Pro. For example, on iPhone or Apple Watch, things that required scrolling can fit in without scrolling.<\/p>\n", "summary": "At the introduction of Vision Pro, Apple showed that you could look at your watch or phone while wearing the headset, and everything would look fine", "date_published": "2023-06-14T09:07:09+03:00", "date_modified": "2023-06-14T09:06:51+03:00", "tags": [ "Apple", "Apple Vision Pro", "Apple Watch" ], "image": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/pictures\/vision-screens-extending.jpg", "_date_published_rfc2822": "Wed, 14 Jun 2023 09:07:09 +0300", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "354", "_rss_enclosures": [], "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": false, "links_required": [], "og_images": [ "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/pictures\/vision-screens-extending.jpg" ] } }, { "id": "352", "url": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/all\/typing-password-over-button\/", "title": "Typing your password over a button", "content_html": "

Apple came up with this interface behavior that would seem strange before.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"\n<\/div>\n

When biometric authentication is available, the password input field is hidden. But if something goes wrong, you can still enter your password. However, you can start typing the password even before pressing the “Use Password...” button — any input will take the window to the next state.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"\n<\/div>\n

Apparently, the password interface is hidden initially for the sake of beauty, and also not to give people the false impression that the password must<\/i> be entered.<\/p>\n

The only annoying thing is that the two states of the window are of different heights, that is, when you start typing the password, the window gets bigger.<\/p>\n", "summary": "Apple came up with this interface behavior that would seem strange before", "date_published": "2023-04-15T13:26:26+03:00", "date_modified": "2023-04-15T13:26:23+03:00", "tags": [ "Apple", "interface", "Mac" ], "image": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/pictures\/ventura-password-1@2x.png", "_date_published_rfc2822": "Sat, 15 Apr 2023 13:26:26 +0300", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "352", "_rss_enclosures": [], "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": true, "links_required": [], "og_images": [ "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/pictures\/ventura-password-1@2x.png", "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/pictures\/ventura-password-2@2x.png" ] } }, { "id": "329", "url": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/all\/temporary-disable-iphone-protection\/", "title": "Feature request: Temporarily disable password and Face ID", "content_html": "

Apple did a great job: they invented Face ID, which reliably protects the phone and still works seamlessly. But the scientists at the Wuhan lab did an even better job: they invented a coronavirus that forced the mankind to wear face masks.<\/p>\n

As a result, shopping for groceries with a list in your phone became a torture. You have to enter the damn password every time.<\/p>\n

I want a feature: disable iPhone protection for fifteen minutes, during which I can take it out of my pocket and unlock with just a Slide to Unlock, as with the original iPhone.<\/p>\n

I guess I can disable all the protection in Settings, but that’s way too much work, and turning the protection back on is even worse; nobody would do it. With my idea you can’t forget anything, the phone returns itself back to protected mode automatically. It could display a red “unprotected” icon in the status bar. Tap on it, and the protected mode returns immediately.<\/p>\n", "summary": "Apple did a great job: they invented Face ID, which reliably protects the phone and still works seamlessly", "date_published": "2021-01-15T19:10:19+03:00", "date_modified": "2021-01-15T19:10:16+03:00", "tags": [ "Apple", "iPhone" ], "_date_published_rfc2822": "Fri, 15 Jan 2021 19:10:19 +0300", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "329", "_rss_enclosures": [], "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": false, "links_required": [], "og_images": [] } }, { "id": "314", "url": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/all\/ben-thompson-on-apple-versus-amazon\/", "title": "Ben Thompson on Apple versus Amazon", "content_html": "

Nice<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

I mean it when I say these companies are the complete opposite: Apple sells products it makes; Amazon sells products made by anyone and everyone. Apple brags about focus; Amazon calls itself “The Everything Store”. Apple is a product company that struggles at services; Amazon is a services company that struggles at product. Apple has the highest margins and profits in the world; Amazon brags that other’s margin is their opportunity, and until recently, barely registered any profits at all. And, underlying all of this, Apple is an extreme example of a functional organization, and Amazon an extreme example of a divisional one.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n", "summary": "Nice", "date_published": "2018-05-16T11:07:53+03:00", "date_modified": "2018-05-16T11:07:48+03:00", "tags": [ "Apple", "quotes" ], "_date_published_rfc2822": "Wed, 16 May 2018 11:07:53 +0300", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "314", "_rss_enclosures": [], "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": false, "links_required": [], "og_images": [] } }, { "id": "297", "url": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/all\/macbook-pro-preserve-face\/", "title": "How Apple can preserve face while recovering from the MacBook Pro mistakes", "content_html": "

In The best laptop ever made<\/a>, Marco Arment outlines just how great the previous-generation MacBook Pros were. He does not say this directly, but obviously alludes to the multiple problems with the current MacBook Pros.<\/p>\n

Really, almost all changes in the new MacBook Pros made them worse: unreliable keyboard, no useful ports, no MagSafe, worse battery life under load. All this with no meaningful improvements to performance. And nobody seems to care about the Touch Bar.<\/p>\n

I don’t know whether Apple internally even think they’ve made a mistake with the 2016 design, but let’s pretend they do. If they just go back to the 2012 design next year, they will thus admit they’ve screwed up with the design. And that’s not what Apple usually does. But the 2012 design with the newer guts is what the market wants — at least until Apple comes up with a design that is actually better, and that takes time.<\/p>\n

So how can they both satisfy the market and preserve face?<\/p>\n

They still sell new 2012-design MacBook Pros. I think they will continue to do so, and will update those machines. Maybe they will rebrand them as “Classic” to contrast with the “Touch Bar” models, at least when they talk about them.<\/p>\n

So, in year 2018 we may see updates to both lines. The Classic MacBook Pros could get faster processors, better displays and a couple of USB-C ports. The Touch Bar MacBook Pros could get a reliable keyboard, and to make them look super-cool, maybe, Face ID, if that’s not too early.<\/p>\n

And by the year 2020 or so Apple will hopefully do another redesign, and we’ll see if it’s good enough to finally abandon the Classic line.<\/p>\n", "summary": "In The best laptop ever made, Marco Arment outlines just how great the previous-generation MacBook Pros were", "date_published": "2017-11-25T15:54:06+03:00", "date_modified": "2017-11-25T15:58:30+03:00", "tags": [ "Apple", "Mac" ], "_date_published_rfc2822": "Sat, 25 Nov 2017 15:54:06 +0300", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "297", "_rss_enclosures": [], "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": false, "links_required": [], "og_images": [] } }, { "id": "283", "url": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/all\/apple-wwdc-date\/", "title": "Apple WWDC date", "content_html": "

Apple says:<\/p>\n

\n\"\"\n<\/div>\n

Why do they want me to decrypt the date? It’s OK to shorten the dates this way when writing by hand or when there is no space. But here, the word “June” should be written in full.<\/p>\n", "summary": "Apple says", "date_published": "2017-06-04T11:46:59+03:00", "date_modified": "2017-06-04T11:46:52+03:00", "tags": [ "Apple", "being human" ], "image": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/pictures\/apple-wwdc-date@2x.png", "_date_published_rfc2822": "Sun, 04 Jun 2017 11:46:59 +0300", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "283", "_rss_enclosures": [], "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": false, "links_required": [], "og_images": [ "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/pictures\/apple-wwdc-date@2x.png" ] } }, { "id": "233", "url": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/all\/how-to-not-destroy-apple-cables\/", "title": "How to not destroy Apple cables", "content_html": "

Apple cables suck. If you aren’t particularly careful with them, they get destroyed quickly. But I haven’t destroyed a single one in my life.<\/p>\n

\n\"How\n<\/div>\n

Most people take the power adapter and tightly wrap the cable around it, thus significantly bending it at its weakest point. Instead, let it go freely straight from the brick for an inch, then wrap around. The same goes for lightning and earphones cables.<\/p>\n

Still, Apple cables suck.<\/p>\n", "summary": "Apple cables suck. If you aren’t particularly careful with them, they get destroyed quickly. But I haven’t destroyed a single one in my life", "date_published": "2016-09-28T00:04:36+03:00", "date_modified": "2016-09-28T00:04:31+03:00", "tags": [ "Apple", "lifehack", "photo" ], "image": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/pictures\/apple-cord-IMG_6203.jpg", "_date_published_rfc2822": "Wed, 28 Sep 2016 00:04:36 +0300", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "233", "_rss_enclosures": [], "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": true, "links_required": [], "og_images": [ "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/pictures\/apple-cord-IMG_6203.jpg" ] } }, { "id": "212", "url": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/all\/jony-ive-on-blunt-criticism\/", "title": "Jony Ive on blunt criticism", "content_html": "

I am listening to an audiobook on Steve Jobs<\/a>. A quote about blunt criticism:<\/p>\n

\n

That’s why “That’s shit!” was as common response from Steve as a pointed question or a thoughtful discussion. He wanted smart answers and he didn’t want to waste time on niceties when it was simpler to be clear, no matter how critical his response.<\/p>\n

“The reason you sugarcoat things is that you don’t want anyone to think you are an asshole. So, that’s vanity”, explains Jony Ive […] “As a design chief, I was on a receiving end of Steve’s blunt criticisms as much as anyone”. Whenever he felt abused he would tell himself that someone who sugarcoats his true opinions might not really even be all that concerned about the other person’s feelings, he just doesn’t want to appear to be a jerk. But if he really cared about the work, he would be less vain and would talk directly about the work.<\/p>\n

That’s the way Steve was. That’s why he’d say “That’s shit!”, but then the next day or the next after he also would just as likely come back saying, “Jony, I’ve been thinking a lot about what you’ve showed me, and I think it’s very interesting after all. Let’s talk about it some more”.<\/p>\n

Steve put it this way: “You hire people who are better than you are at certain things and then make sure they know that they need to tell you when you’re wrong”.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n", "summary": "I am listening to an audiobook on Steve Jobs. A quote about blunt criticism", "date_published": "2015-08-19T20:01:44+03:00", "date_modified": "2015-08-19T20:01:16+03:00", "tags": [ "Apple", "books", "quotes" ], "_date_published_rfc2822": "Wed, 19 Aug 2015 20:01:44 +0300", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "212", "_rss_enclosures": [], "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": false, "links_required": [], "og_images": [] } }, { "id": "191", "url": "https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/all\/ui-performance-comparison-tiger-vs-yosemite\/", "title": "UI performance comparison: Tiger vs. Yosemite", "content_html": "

True:<\/p>\n

\n