One thing that really annoys me is how keyboard hostile the apps, including Apple’s apps on macOS, have become. The apps developed lazily with Catalyst are probably the worst, but I’m guessing it’s a general issue with the newer SDKs like SwiftUI.

An example: in the Reminders app on macOS, using the Tab key to navigate from one input to another (like date, time, location, etc.) is so broken in the tab order that it begs the question if Apple has:

1. a development team that knows macOS and cares about productivity

2. a QA team

3. a QA team that understands keyboard usage, tab order and other navigation elements

I recall seeing similar brain damaged (yeah, I’m really annoyed that I’m using such terms in frustration) tab order implementations in Finder and elsewhere.

Some companies decline gradually before they look like a creature with an entirely different DNA, and that’s been happening with Apple ever since the convergence between iOS and macOS started. Doesn’t matter what the top execs like Craig Federighi say about the Mac being important. The user experience and user friendliness cultivated over decades has been eroding over time, and that’s sad to see because the competition doesn’t seem to be doing better either, though on other fronts.

Things weren’t completely perfect in Apple’s Mac operating systems in the past either. But it was close to getting to that, and I will remember it as “the golden age”. The M1 chips are phenomenal, but crippled by this cavalier attitude to software.