Apple's HIG:
- clearly represent the document the application creates
- use graphics that convey meaning about what your application does
- clearly represent the document the application creates
- use graphics that convey meaning about what your application does
I've developed a few iOS apps, and one of my favorite Apple "guidelines" (which they essentially enforced at the OS level without developer choice) was that, upon launch, your app should show a fake UI while doing startup tasks in the background. The recommendation was part of Apple's admonishment against splash screens. Think about how dumb this is, and how it makes your app look inept. Apparently plenty of developers did, and shunned this dumb idea; because Apple then forced it on developers whenever technically possible.
Upon your app going into the background or being kicked out of memory, Apple will take a screenshot of what your app is showing. When the user returns to your application, Apple will present this old screen shot; but none of the controls on it will work. The user can tap away furiously, but nothing will happen. When the app returns to functionality, the screen will be replaced by the real UI.
The problem here goes beyond ineptitude into a major privacy issue. You can think you "closed" or changed what an application is showing before handing your device to someone, only to find that Apple still shows a screen shot of its old contents in the open-apps stack. This could be a disaster.
> Why are people arguing that icons should be intuitively tell you what the app is about?
I think the answer may be "because Apple's guidelines say so."
But all of Apple's UI missteps probably don't compare with the festering rot of glaring incompetence that has destroyed Windows and Office in this millennium alone.
And I agree with you about Apple's hypocrisy. They often have one set of rules for themselves that is very different than the set of rules they apply to others.
Or trying to make fonts work.
Apps now lack menus and title bars. it's often impossible to tell what app a window belongs to! WTF? Critical functions are now buried under hamburger buttons all over the place.
The File dialog in several apps (notably Office) has been replaced with a bizarre full-page text-based mess, which doesn't show where you are or let you navigate the file system to where you want to be.
Disgraceful.