Why geeks in cubicles should not decide the fate of functionality

[InReality01]

By the way, let me start out by saying I am an IT professional.

When releases like Lollipop and Windows 8 come out I simply have to shake my head at how some basic functionality that users have become use to are suddenly gone or buried under layers of madness.

I just upgraded to 5.1 from 4.4.4 and a flash is about to be in my future.

My touch screen is now having issues, scrolls slowly or launches things when I'm simply trying to scroll around. No Airplane mode when pressing the power button. I can't simply scroll down and quickly wipe out my notifications any longer. Silent mode is no longer part of volume down and requires more work to get to. I have to scroll up to get to my unlock number pad when I didn't have to do this before. The phone dialer is different in that it has smaller numbers (or appears to) and the green/red buttons to start/end calls are much smaller and harder to use. Several other annoying issues.

Sure, there are some nice upgrades but nothing that I personally would choose over having all these basic functions that I use all the time.

I should no better than to upgrade to anything once I find something I like.

I haven't found anything about Lollipop that was worth the upgrade....... at least not for me, I'm sure many others love some of the features.

I would simply like to be able to quickly get to Airplane mode........ or put my phone on silent........... or not have an extra step to get to the keypad to unlock my device.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Which phone do you have? Many phones have an Airplane Mode toggle in the Quick Settings menu, which is a quick two-finger swipedown away.

The touchscreen issues sounds more like a glitch, rather than an intentional change in Lollipop. Have you already tried wiping the system cache partition? This can be useful after major system updates.

On my Nexus 6P, there's a Dismiss All button at the lower right of the bottom-most notification. Your phone doesn't have that?

I agree with the change in Silent Mode--that's a fairly common complaint. Personally, it doesn't bother me too much to turn it down to Vibrate Only (since my phone doesn't vibrate loudly). But it would be nice to have a true Silent Mode in the native interface.

The requirement to swipe the screen before getting your PIN entry screen is intended to protect against inadvertent phone unlock attempts (i.e., when the phone is in your pocket or purse)--this can lead to the user getting locked out of their phone. I typically use either the fingerprint sensor or Smart Lock, which bypasses that whole issue. Not a direct solution to your issue, but it works well for me.

 

[TJA3500]

Manufacturers are giving people want they asked for, faster phones and better battery life. That's what Material Design does because it's stripped down and simplified. Material Design Lollipop UI doesn't look as nice as Kit Kat, but it uses less resources.
Marshmallow design is simplified more than Lollipop.
I still can't get used to the one dimensional flat look of Material Design. In my opinion, it looks like it was designed by a 10 year old.