Bugs Apple loves

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall reaction to the site

  • Many immediately recognize the design and prose as AI‑generated, with some praising the look and others calling it “Claude code house style” and off‑putting.
  • The author confirms it was prompted to “invert Apple’s design style.” Some think it succeeds aesthetically; others say it doesn’t resemble Apple at all.
  • Strong divide on the satire: some find it “petty in a good way” and cathartic; others see “vibe‑based fiction” with fake numbers and are annoyed it’s on HN.

Satire vs. reality of the bugs

  • The footer admits: “The bugs are real. The math is not.” Several commenters argue many of the listed bugs are absolutely real and hit them daily.
  • Others insist some flagship claims (e.g., Mail search “never” works) are exaggerated or simply false because it “works fine” for them, accusing the page of lying.
  • Multiple people stress that “works on my machine” doesn’t invalidate others’ experiences; some provide detailed anecdotes of failing Mail, Spotlight, Safari, AirDrop, and hotspot.

Recurring Apple bugs and UX pain points

  • Search & text: Mail, Finder, Settings, Spotlight, Safari URL/search bar, and emoji search frequently fail or give inconsistent results. iOS text selection and keyboard behavior (cursor placement, selection handles, random capitalization, “.” insertion, mis‑taps) are described as “pure chaos.”
  • Connectivity: AirDrop and Personal Hotspot are widely reported as flaky, often requiring device renames, toggling radios, or reboots. Bluetooth, CarPlay, and captive Wi‑Fi portals are also unreliable.
  • UI regressions: Apple Pay’s card icon now changes address instead of card; Safari/iOS back button and tab history behave unpredictably; macOS window resizing, Stage Manager, and Finder views/sidebar are inconsistent; some long‑standing UI bugs in Music, Podcasts, Photos, Notes, Contacts, and color picker persist for years.
  • Accounts & IDs: Creating Apple IDs (esp. with custom domains), managing multiple IDs, developer accounts, 2FA flows, and parental Screen Time are reported as brittle and sometimes impossible without support.

Why these bugs persist (according to commenters)

  • Common themes: incentives favor new features/“AI” and rewrites over maintenance; bugfixing doesn’t get promotions; large‑team complexity leads to regressions; old bugs get punted to “future release” indefinitely.
  • Some argue more engineers won’t help (Brooks’s Law); others blame Apple’s leadership and culture for not prioritizing polish anymore.

Comparisons and coping

  • Several compare Apple unfavorably to older Apple, to Android/Pixel, Windows, or even GOG/Google in how they handle bugs, fraud, and data.
  • Workarounds include alternative apps (Gmail, Spotify, third‑party mail/search/file managers, keyboard replacements), turning features off (autocorrect, Screen Time), scripts, and accepting that some Apple features “just can’t be trusted.”