Apple, What Have You Done?

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Storage bloat & “System Data” problems

  • Many report extreme “System Data” growth on iOS and macOS (tens to hundreds of GB), filling devices and blocking OS updates.
  • Suspected culprits include iCloud / CloudKit caches (e.g., Safari), Xcode and developer tool caches, Rosetta AOT cache, Docker/VM images, Gradle/Maven/.dot-folder caches, and huge Messages/iMessage attachments.
  • Some see similar unchecked growth on recent macOS versions, with “system” usage increasing several GB per day.
  • Users are frustrated that the OS neither surfaces what this data is nor cleans it up automatically.

Workarounds & third‑party tools

  • Folk remedies: changing system time far into the future, backing up and restoring, or routinely rm‑ing specific CloudKit cache dirs; these sometimes dramatically shrink “System Data.”
  • Tools like DaisyDisk, OmniDiskSweeper, CleanMyMac, Disk Inventory X, GrandPerspective, Mole, and CLI du are widely recommended to find and remove large caches.
  • Several argue that needing such tools at all contradicts Apple’s “it just works” positioning and that unbounded caches should be treated as a bug.

UI/UX regressions: Liquid Glass, Tahoe, iOS 26, watchOS

  • Strong backlash against the new “Liquid Glass” aesthetic across macOS, iOS, and watchOS: overly rounded corners, busy transparency, and reduced legibility/accessibility.
  • Reports of Safari slowness, tabs turning blank or crashing, lag when closing many tabs, and Safari on iPhone randomly losing all history/tabs.
  • Complaints about basic interactions regressing: extra taps to save screenshots, low‑battery modals blocking input, sluggish App Store focus behavior, laggy watch UI and battery drain.
  • Some are skipping this macOS/iOS cycle entirely or even downgrading for the first time.

Perceived quality decline & calls for a “Snow Leopard” release

  • Many feel software quality has “cratered”: long‑standing bugs, UI churn over stability, and features that feel like dark patterns nudging cloud/storage/upgrade revenue.
  • Repeated calls for a no‑new‑features, bug‑fix‑only cycle akin to Snow Leopard; some doubt Apple will prioritize this despite its resources.

Lock‑in, alternatives & switching

  • Users weigh staying for ecosystem benefits (Continuity, shared clipboard, hardware quality) against frustration with bloat, nagging updates, and opaque behavior.
  • Some have already moved to Linux/BSD + Android/GrapheneOS and report more control but higher maintenance; others argue macOS is still the “least‑worst” desktop.
  • Auto‑updates and end‑of‑support on older devices (breaking TLS for critical sites) reinforce a sense of being trapped in a decaying walled garden.

Leadership, organization & strategy concerns

  • Many blame organizational culture rather than a single designer: weak QA, feature churn, poor cross‑team coordination, and shareholder‑driven priorities.
  • Debates over leadership: contrast between past founder‑driven, product‑obsessed management and current operations/financial focus.
  • Some criticize sprawling, confusing product matrices (MacBook/iPhone variants, Pencil compatibility) as reminiscent of past Microsoft “SKU explosions.”

AI, cloud, and unwanted bundles

  • Resentment toward mandatory on‑device AI/Apple Intelligence or Gemini models consuming significant storage, with limited control over removal.
  • Several view storage pressure and UI nudges as deliberate pushes toward iCloud and subscriptions, further eroding trust.