Tuesday, August 6, 2019

No Thanks vs. Later

Tim Hardwick:

Apple Card got its first group of public test users today. A limited number of customers who signed up on Apple’s website to be notified about the release of Apple Card are now able to apply for the card in their Wallet app as well as order a physical Apple Card (via TechCrunch).

Nilay Patel:

Hey how badly does Apple want to be your default card in Wallet? It doesn’t say “no thanks,” at this prompt, it says “Set as default later”

And “Set as Default Later in Wallet” doesn’t even look like a button.

Marco Arment:

Apple, you’re above tricks like this.

Sure, it’s a small thing. But small things add up. We all love Apple because of a large collection of GOOD small things over time.

Don’t let customer-hostile tricks in today’s services strategy cheapen the brand you’ve built over decades.

Kyle Howells:

They use this ‘now or later’, with no ‘no’ option, all over the place in iOS now. I can’t stand it. It feels less and less like my device and more like Apple allowing me to use theirs.

Mark Villacampa:

Counterpoint: this wording let’s people know they can set it as default later, hence reducing the anxiety of tapping “No thanks” and not being able to change it later, so fewer people will tap “Set as default”

Previously:

Update (2020-06-03): See also: Jeff Johnson and macOS 10.15.5.

Update (2023-01-05): Peter Hosey:

Having to install QuickTime 4.1.2 in SheepShaver in order to install AppleWorks 6 has made me angry about the whole QuickTime Pro thing all over again.

[…]

That might’ve been when Apple first embraced interrupting shit I want to do with shit Apple wants me to do, with the only options being “now” and “later”, with no “fuck off”.

3 Comments RSS · Twitter · Mastodon

Apple is literally like any other big tech company now. Why are they doing this?

Martin Wierschin

I don’t feel as upset by this as everyone else seems to be. Apple’s wording does feel annoying, but in these situations there’s no functional difference between the actions “No” and “Maybe Later”; neither commit the user to anything.

Assuming there’s no notification spamming later on, then the only thing to complain about here is the admittedly weird wording. “Set as Default Later in Wallet” is contorted and seems like it’s trying to brainwash the user. I don’t love it, but it doesn’t actually behave any differently than “No”, so I’ll save my outrage for more important things.

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