The worst Apple designs by Jony Ive, according to the AppleInsider staff

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  • Reply 41 of 90
    stenarstenar Posts: 22member
    I think it was smart to put the charging port on the bottom of the MM2. Otherwise, a lot of morons would plug it in and never unplug it, just using it as a wired mouse forever. It takes hardly any time at all to charge and all you have to do is charge it periodically at night.
    watto_cobra
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  • Reply 42 of 90
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,349member
    pjs_socal said:
    It really blows me away how many people fail to understand the design of The Magic Mouse 2. I hear so many complaints about that fact that the charging port is on the bottom of the device so you can’t use it while it is plugged in. Huge numbers of people believe that this design was some sort of oversight by Apple or some triumph of form over function.  This idea is completely wrong. The placement of the charging port on The Magic Mouse 2 is very intentional. It is designed this way to force users to unplug the device once it is charged. If users are given the option to leave the device constantly plugged in, they will do so. In doing so, they will destroy the battery. It’s that simple.

    Those who try to armchair quarterback Apple’s design decisions are, for the most part, truly clueless.
    Oh, it is pretty obvious the design is deliberate to stop you using it plugged in. Thing is, I want to use it plugged in.
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  • Reply 43 of 90
    cgWerkscgwerks Posts: 2,952member
    stenar said:
    I think it was smart to put the charging port on the bottom of the MM2. Otherwise, a lot of morons would plug it in and never unplug it, just using it as a wired mouse forever. It takes hardly any time at all to charge and all you have to do is charge it periodically at night.
    So, there is some massive issue out there with people not unplugging charging mice that needed solving? He didn't move the Lightning port on iPhones to the back, or my Magic Trackpad to the bottom. Or, he could have just tossed up a dialog box on the screen that said, 'Unplug your mouse you silly person, before you damage the battery!'

    Unless we can find some documentation of this, it seems like a just-so story. And, are there any other examples of a completely inelegant design just to keep the user from doing something slightly non-optimal?

    I think the most obvious explanation is that he didn't want to interrupt the nice curved shape of the surface he'd created with the previous model with removable batteries.
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  • Reply 44 of 90
    mattinozmattinoz Posts: 2,552member
    sflocal said:
    I just crack up and the same tired complaints about the port location on the magic mouse.  Not only does one get days of warnings before the battery goes low, but apparently every complainer never sleeps or takes a break.  Is it too much trouble to plug the mouse to recharge at the end of the day of the first, or second, or n-teenth time and go to sleep, or go home from the office, or heck... plug it in when you go on a coffee break?

    No.  It's zero effort.  I plug mine in when I leave the office.  Next morning it's good for another month or two.  

    Your complaint is null and void. 
    By what magic are you getting days of notice between Mouse battery Low warning at 2% and it disconnecting?
    20mins max in this office.
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  • Reply 45 of 90
    cgWerkscgwerks Posts: 2,952member
    entropys said:
    Oh, it is pretty obvious the design is deliberate to stop you using it plugged in. Thing is, I want to use it plugged in.
    That's actually a good point. Aside from charging, some wireless devices communicate over USB when plugged in vs BT (not sure about the MM2), which gives that option if something is interfering with signals, or can bypass pairing issues when booting, etc. (Again, not sure if the MM2 can do that, but some BT devices do.)
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  • Reply 46 of 90
    mattinozmattinoz Posts: 2,552member
    cgWerks said:
    entropys said:
    Oh, it is pretty obvious the design is deliberate to stop you using it plugged in. Thing is, I want to use it plugged in.
    That's actually a good point. Aside from charging, some wireless devices communicate over USB when plugged in vs BT (not sure about the MM2), which gives that option if something is interfering with signals, or can bypass pairing issues when booting, etc. (Again, not sure if the MM2 can do that, but some BT devices do.)
    Keyboard will, mouse won't.
    cgWerks
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  • Reply 47 of 90
    DuhSesameduhsesame Posts: 1,278member
    Like I thought, most don’t know the right way to hold the Magic Mouse.




    From the experiment and observation to several users, we actually found the reason why people are complaining about Magic mouse. Magic mouse is design with multi-touch input surface from the front until somewhere around the apple logo. Therefore if we hold Magic mouse like the way we hold our classic mouse it might cause some wrong input.

    If we hold Magic mouse like how we hold our classic mouse, our palm will exactly place at top of the multi-touch surface, so when we move the Magic mouse around some wrong input might be inserted.

    Tips: If you are using a Magic mouse, you can try to imagine, you are like holding a movable touch pad. A touch pad that is in well design to fit your hand for you to point and click through it.

    No reviews I know did it right, nor they did any research.

    No product is perfect, but I doubt most people want to be a judge rather than an user, that what s/he wants to say is more important than using it.

    edited July 2019
    watto_cobra
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  • Reply 48 of 90
    pjs_socal said:
    It really blows me away how many people fail to understand the design of The Magic Mouse 2. I hear so many complaints about that fact that the charging port is on the bottom of the device so you can’t use it while it is plugged in. Huge numbers of people believe that this design was some sort of oversight by Apple or some triumph of form over function.  This idea is completely wrong. The placement of the charging port on The Magic Mouse 2 is very intentional. It is designed this way to force users to unplug the device once it is charged. If users are given the option to leave the device constantly plugged in, they will do so. In doing so, they will destroy the battery. It’s that simple.

    Those who try to armchair quarterback Apple’s design decisions are, for the most part, truly clueless.
    The Magic Mouse 2 is a tool. The tool should adjust to user behavior, not the other way around.

    Of course design is always great, but if it gets in the way of its intended function then it has failed in connecting with users. 

    Apple, though having great designers aren't immune from creating some truly horrible design every now and then. Just take a look at how their humpback iPhone Battery casing looks and tell me in all honesty that is a superb example of great design.
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  • Reply 49 of 90
    emaleemale Posts: 1member
    My "hitlist" (and it seems, apple really can't do with mice):
    • The "puck mouse". Enough said.
    • Magic Mouse 1+2. Yes I'm using the Magic Mouse 1 and it looks very sexy. But it's not that ergonomic like the Mighty Mouse or any othe Apple Mouse were (except the puck mouse of course). The Mighty Mouse 2 and it's charging port is another story...
    • Mighty Mouse. Absolutely comfortable, ergonomic, with the long expected different buttons and a scroll...aeh...ball. At the one hand one of the best mice apple ever did on the other hand the third worse mouse because of this scroll ball that sticks after some months of use and is hard/impossible to clean. If that mouse would have had a touch-scroll feature, I would still use it
    • Apple Pencil in combination with charging it. Remove the hood, don't loose it, plug it to your iPad and put it somewhere noone can touch this fragile combination
    • Smart Battery Case for iPhone. If you don't know it, google for it. Defenetively a design fail! By the way...the LED indicator for that battery is on the inside!
    • iPod Shuffle, 3rd Generation. Operated by three buttons at the earbuds cable. No alternative earbuds and a really high learning curve for getting used to the button combinations. That's okay, but not apple-like.
    • AirPods. In my optinion: This earbuds with cut-off cable really don't look that fantastic!
    • MacBook 12" (2015). Thinner and lighter. But only two USB-C-Ports to rule them all. So the MacBook in your laptop case will be smaller and lighter, but you will need to buy a bigger case for alle the adapters and USB-Hubs
    • Mac Pro (2013). Powerful and "very expandable". But there doesnt's remain very much of it's sexyness when you really use it.This picture says it all ;-) http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zHBevoeLm58/Udm2mcIuV1I/AAAAAAAAAs8/b-rGKJ_ibOo/s640/Mac-Pro+2013+vs+2012.png






    cgWerks
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  • Reply 50 of 90
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,679member
    henrybay said:
    Um.....I think you forgot the Butterfly Keyboard
    One more time ... as near as anyone can figure out, something less than five percent (and possibly much lower) of the butterfly keyboards have repair-worthy, non-user-caused issues. This may well be much higher than other keyboards, and I'm not saying Apple shouldn't take steps to address this, but ... this is very far from Ive's worst design.
    randominternetpersonwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 51 of 90
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,679member
    Re: the original iMac ... I must disagree. Remembering that nearly all computers at the time used far uglier CRTs, the incorporation of said monitor into the computer itself ... reminiscent of the original Macintosh ... was a stroke of genius and an instant objet d'art. Certainly the LCD iMacs improved on the concept considerably, but at the time it was the most gorgeous computer available by a very long way, and I've always liked the original Bondi shade (not so much most of the subsequent colour options).

    Now the eMac ... :D
    CarnagerandominternetpersoncgWerkswatto_cobra
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  • Reply 52 of 90
    Carnagecarnage Posts: 91member
    chasm said:
    Re: the original iMac ... I must disagree. Remembering that nearly all computers at the time used far uglier CRTs, the incorporation of said monitor into the computer itself ... reminiscent of the original Macintosh ... was a stroke of genius and an instant objet d'art. Certainly the LCD iMacs improved on the concept considerably, but at the time it was the most gorgeous computer available by a very long way, and I've always liked the original Bondi shade (not so much most of the subsequent colour options).

    Now the eMac ... :D

    I second that. It's actually the model that made me a fan!
    watto_cobra
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  • Reply 53 of 90
    irelandireland Posts: 17,801member
    chasm said:
    henrybay said:
    Um.....I think you forgot the Butterfly Keyboard
    One more time ... as near as anyone can figure out, something less than five percent (and possibly much lower) of the butterfly keyboards have repair-worthy, non-user-caused issues. This may well be much higher than other keyboards, and I'm not saying Apple shouldn't take steps to address this, but ... this is very far from Ive's worst design.
    I hate it.
    henrybay
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  • Reply 54 of 90
    Not sure whether they were Jonnny's but the best designs I think were the one button clear plastic mouse, and the iSight firewire cam. They are both beautiful designs. As for Johnny maybe he's made some lemons, but on the whole he's done a great job. Why put the boot in AppleInsider? 
    watto_cobra
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  • Reply 55 of 90
    JohnDeejohndee Posts: 50member

    Malcolm Owen — Mighty Mouse 2

    What is wrong with clicking every now&then on the Bluetooth icon at the top of your screen ?
    Is this too much to ask/suggest ?
    If you then notice that the battery in your mouse is getting low, plug it in before you go home at night.
    In the morning your mouse battery is fully charged again.
    Well Done !!!

    PS.
    Repeat this action with your keyboard.....
    edited July 2019
    watto_cobra
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  • Reply 56 of 90
    Mike Wuerthelemike wuerthele Posts: 6,956administrator
    Not sure whether they were Jonnny's but the best designs I think were the one button clear plastic mouse, and the iSight firewire cam. They are both beautiful designs. As for Johnny maybe he's made some lemons, but on the whole he's done a great job. Why put the boot in AppleInsider? 
    https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/06/29/apples-best-designs-by-jony-ive-according-to-the-appleinsider-staff
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  • Reply 57 of 90
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Mighty != Magic
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  • Reply 58 of 90
    kimberlykimberly Posts: 434member
    DAalseth said:
    I'd say that Apple, and Ive just had a problem with mice. Couldn't design a good one if their life depended on it. Other things, fine, trackpads, fine, keyboards fine. But for some reason mice have just eluded them. From the first one with one button when everyone else had two, and then two with a wheel. Then through the puck mouse, which was an ergonomic disaster, and most disappointing for me, still only had one button. I really thought the two coloured sections on the sides were buttons, until I got one. Then on to the Mighty Mouse which is just mediocre, and as you mentioned a ham sandwich could have told you that putting the plug on the bottom was a bad idea. Not only have I replaced the one that came with my iMac with a wired mouse from MacAlly, I just noticed my wife quietly replaced hers with a Microsoft mouse she got somewhere. Here's to hoping that Apple stops getting arty with their mice and designs one that just does what we need.
    I'm with you on this one and describe my experiences with Apple mice as "spoon in a bowl of soup".  No-one else in the family has an issue with them though :#.  I use an MX Master 25.  Sometimes it is pure function that embodies beauty and not form.

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  • Reply 59 of 90
    GeorgeBMacgeorgebmac Posts: 11,421member
    "

    The original iMac

    It's heresy to say it when the product is often beloved, and when it unquestionably saved Apple. Yet back in 1998 when it was new and on through today when it's an antique, I've really disliked the design. It looks bulbous and ugly to me, and I understand that this is because there's a whacking great CRT monitor in there -- but that doesn't change my mind."

    I could not have said that any better.
    To me then and still now, a computer is a tool, much like a washing machine that has a single purpose:  To do the job it was designed to do.  Adding pretty translucent pastels makes a mockery of its higher purpose.  To me, they looked like kid's toys rather than real machines.

    And, for me, it just cemented my disapointment with Apple computers that started back in the 80's when Apple computers believed that 1+1 equaled 1.999999
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  • Reply 60 of 90
    DuhSesameduhsesame Posts: 1,278member
    Purely computer, the most utilitarian design ever.

    https://www.instructables.com/id/The-Cardboard-Computer/
    edited July 2019
    watto_cobra
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