You come back and spend a few minutes getting dressed, or putting clothes away. Your iPhone is three feet away, but it sits there silent, not making so much as a chirp to let you know that you missed a call. You might stroll out to the kitchen to make dinner, or whatever... The hours go by, and you never knew that your friend called to see if you wanted to meet up for happy hour.
The sheer stupidity of this design was inexcusable in version 1 of the iPhone, but here we are 20 years later and it still hasn't been fixed. But what did Apple do instead? Add repeating notifications (albeit limited to 10) for TEXT MESSAGES. WTF?
Dear Apple: When something major happens in my family, my parents aren't going to TEXT me. If someone called me, I want to know about it.
 |
Do we have to spell this out? A phone should offer the option to periodically notify you with an audible and palpable alert that you've missed a call.
Baffling:
Pathetic, and still not fixed in iOS 16.
If something major happens in your family, and you don't answer, they won't text you after?
ReplyDeleteNo, because they've left me a voicemail; in 2012, it's expected that you're going to get it.
DeleteActually, in 2012, it's expected that your going to get a text message.
Delete"it's expected that your going to get a text message."
DeleteApparently not, because Apple DID add repeating notifications for text messages.
Regardless, this isn't about text messages; it's about phone calls. If someone calls you, it stands to reason that it's more urgent than a text message. That's why it's asinine to omit this basic function.
Finally: you + are = YOU'RE.
School 'em Oscar!
Deleteor call you back?
ReplyDeleteWhy should they have to? They left a voicemail! Are you supposed to badger people over and over with phone calls in 2012?
DeleteYou're taking a shower and your home phone rings; you don't hear it. When you get out, how do you know your phone has rung? CHECK YOUR PHONE!
ReplyDeleteImagine the other scenario, which is MUCH more likely: your iPhone rings in the middle of the night. You don't answer it in time, or, groggily, see that it's a wrong number and ignore it. Then it spends half the night "reminding" you that you got a call.
This is a solution in search of a problem. If you're so concerned about who called, CHECK YOUR PHONE more often. (If it's truly an emergency and someone's missed you, I bet they'll call back.)
You seem to have missed the idea that this should be an OPTION. Don't like it? Don't use it.
Delete"You're taking a shower and your home phone rings; you don't hear it. When you get out, how do you know your phone has rung?"
Your answering machine beeps periodically, as I mentioned in the post. A common-sense feature that has existed for decades.
Your second scenario isn't valid either. First of all, if you're worried about being disturbed at night, why is your ringer on? Second, you've either answered (albeit "groggily") thus canceling any notifications, or you could simply hit "Ignore" to cancel the notifications. And you may have missed the news, but Apple has added a "do not disturb" feature in iOS 6, which obviously would also cancel the notifications. So you're the one working hard to find fault with something that, again, is an option and could easily be implemented in a non-intrusive way. From your comment, I guess you're currently being kept awake by the TEXT notifications that Apple did add, right?
I spelled out exactly what the problem is and what the solution is, a solution that was commonplace over a decade ago. It's also a problem that is routinely addressed in other devices, so your attempt to pretend that it doesn't exist fails. What's mysterious here is why you'd complain about having THE OPTION.
The suggestion that you compulsively pull your phone out or run into the other room to look at it periodically is infantile, made simply to be contrary. Have more self respect than to accept such a defective design and such ridiculous and retrograde workarounds. You might as well suggest that the ring function be removed from phones, because you can simply stare at it to see when someone calls.
Apple doesn't do feature creep.
DeleteBasic phone functionality ≠ "feature creep"
DeleteAnd that friends, is the whole point. Apple wants you to check your phone so you become attached to it. feel like you can't do without it. makes you interract with the phone constantly so you feel naked without it. brilliant marketing. just brilliant!
DeleteI have been using iPhones for several years now. I agree with you. Such a simple little thing that almost every phone I've ever had (since the 90s
ReplyDelete) does.
You shouldn't need to, but try jailbreaking. There are several apps and tweeks to provide this. As long as I can jailbreak, Android is second class. With out the jailbreak though...
Unfortunately, jailbreaking just isn't a viable workaround. For one thing, I'm a developer, so the phone has to be in proper order. For another, no one should have to hack his phone to get basic and essential functionality.
DeleteThis is the kind of crap that we all expected developers to be able to address once the SDK was released. But, in usual Apple fashion, the SDK is so crippled that we can't do anything about glaring shortcomings in the phone. Hell, we can't even sync data between an app we write for the phone and one we write for the computer. Palm OS developers could do this routinely in the '90s!
Wait wait wait. I know this is from 4 years ago, but your a developer? Shouldn't this just scream "DEVELOP IT"? If you are the kind of person who can make this a thing, why are you putting all your time into complaining about it? Just make the damn app and if it's as big of a deal as you are saying it is then you will make it big.
Delete"why are you putting all your time into complaining about it? Just make the damn app"
DeleteGood question. That's exactly what I intended to do when Apple finally released the real SDK. But... WE CAN'T. Apple blocks developers from accessing the telephony functions of the phone.
It's another example of Apple's flagship product being crippled by its fear.
Agreed,
ReplyDeleteFor you, jailbreaking is unacceptable. I can almost completely understand that. When I test my software, I do not do it on my production device. My phone is to important for that. For me, jailbreaking creates a device that far exceeds the capabilities of any other phone on the market. Past and present.
As I stated, you shouldn't need to, but....
Yep. It's too bad that Apple is so ruled by fear. If record-company executives (some of the dumbest on the planet) can learn that DRM is harmful and get rid of it, Apple should have been able to see how crippling its handheld computers has eliminated a huge number of truly USEFUL applications.
DeleteWe are on the same page. I think it's great that Apple has helped consumer's get rid of DRM from most of the other company's (thinking of iTunes here) products. However, it certainly show's arrogance (and a double standard) not to eliminate their own.
Deletewho doesnt chaeck thier phone after a shower i do it all the time, after a meeting i check my phone, after i wake up i check the phone am usually on my phone live the average phone user so does your point really matter about the call reminder in a emergency whoes gonna leave a voicemail, its not a emergency then becuase if i dont reply i bet the person will call back. your argument irrelivent becuase a lot of phones dont have this feature so u just trollin on apple becuase its apple.
ReplyDeleteSo you run and check your phone after every possible situation that would prevent you from hearing it ring? After a loud part of the movie you're watching? Or after you were driving on a really bumpy, noisy road? Or after a fire truck goes by?
DeleteThink about it: You're WORKING AROUND this defect, and you expect all your friends and family to do the same. Why should you have to continually check your phone, when it could easily tell YOU when you missed a call? Read the post. This has been a common feature on many devices for DECADES.
"your argument irrelivent becuase a lot of phones dont have this feature"
Yep, just like airbags were irrelevant until every car had one. Remote controls were irrelevant until every TV had one.
You're admitting that sometimes you miss calls and you have to constantly check your phone. Why not have the OPTION to avoid that? What's the problem?
i have to say hats off to you sir .. brilliant article and its nice how you are logically responding to the fanboys .. ive tried doing that for ages .. apparently thats 1 of their weaknesses.. lol
DeleteYeah, this is irritating as hell. With the Maps fiasco, there are finally cracks in the endless "elegance" fawning that Apple usually enjoys, regardless of the quality of their designs.
ReplyDeleteMaybe problems like the one you point out will get some attention now that Apple has gotten smacked down with some real-world feedback. In the long run, it will hopefully make their products better. They could be as great as their reputation, and it wouldn't even take that much work. It just requires Apple to admit that they DO operate in the real world, and they need to exercise common sense. Maybe they need some new blood in that organization.
"It just requires Apple to admit that they DO operate in the real world, and they need to exercise common sense."
DeleteCommon sense isn't all that common. And when you've got a locked-down system, a few decide the 'features' the many will enjoy. Those few aren't going to necessarily have the pulse of what the many want. Indeed, looking at Win8, no one is even touching the body - just guessing.
There is a huge disconnect between user and developer when pride, money and arrogance raise their ugly heads. have a look at the new GIMP: it's even invaded FLOSS!
Why would you buy the iPhone if it doesn't have the features you want in a phones? Buy a different phone. I did! (Can't wait to go back to android!!! Superior maps/apps/music/file transferring/cloud syncing/notifications/fully functional Bluetooth/NFC/multitasking/3rd party integration/google app integration/No More ITunes, etc...). Can't wait!!!
ReplyDelete1. There was no truly competing phone at the time.
Delete2. iOS syncs calendar, contact, and bookmark data (mostly) properly with the Mac OS, which also was unique for it at the time. Yes, I'm sure there are third-party workarounds for this on Android at this point, but cobbling them together is not really where I want to spend my time.
3. Who would expect such a stupid defect to go unaddressed for five or more years?
4. With the release of the SDK, people thought that developers could fix design gaffes like this. But Apple's fear has led it to cripple the SDK and render these devices mostly toys.
5. I'm an iOS developer.
The Android advantages you cite are legitimate, except: Android is also largely a fraud. To enable most of what Android proponents tout as superior to iOS, you have to "root" your device. That represents a huge failure of the "open-source" phone OS we were promised. Not to mention that there are dozens of proprietary versions of Android running around, and users have to wait for their carrier to dribble out one update at a time for every different device. And sometimes those updates never arrive.
I wish Android were what it was supposed to be. But it isn't, and I suppose we have Google to blame for failing to set up licensing terms and a hardware-abstraction model to protect users from the current mess it has become.
1. What does there was no competing phone at the time have to do with anything? It's 2012.
Delete2. Android syncs contacts/calander/email/map data/music/video data/files/photos/bookmarks/tans/web history... Pretty much anything you can think of over the air and all with a gmail account.
....
You don't have to root an android phone to get a superior experience. All the things I listed...
Superior maps/apps/music/file transferring/cloud syncing/notifications/fully functional Bluetooth/NFC/multitasking/3rd party integration/google app integration/No More ITunes, etc
... Android has that out of the box.
Also to enlighten you ill provide a link to this youtube video. It'll show you how much easier android is than ios.
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=NMiY1kSTHZw&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DNMiY1kSTHZw
I don't feel like re-exporting and importing all of my data AGAIN after migrating it from Outlook.
DeleteMost of the items you mentioned don't concern me. If they work for you, great.
"Android syncs contacts/calander/email/map data/music/video data/files/photos/bookmarks/tans/web history"
With what?
Anyway, we're getting off track. Does Android address the problem I'm griping about here?
Thanks for your comment. I'll check out that clip.
There are a good number of missed call/text reminder apps for Android. I personally use the one that's also called "missed call reminder". It's a rather important feature in my opinion. I always thought there apps for these kinds of thing for iphones, too, but I guess not.
DeleteI find it funny how the first few replies here were blaming you for the shortcoming. Kind of reminds of the "you're holding it wrong" debacle.
I don't know if the Internet has simply given broader exposure to certain poorly adjusted people, but the state of the human mind looks pretty dismal in online comment forums. Why would people go out of their way to argue for a WORSE experience?
DeleteI think it all boils down to cognitive dissonance. "Hey, this guy has presented a flaw in my pet product. But I BOUGHT the product... Am I stupid? NO! He must be wrong! I will discredit him!" It's a variation of blaming the messenger.
Or maybe it's just laziness. You see this in debates about politics too, obviously: Something is wrong and needs to be fixed. But admitting that everything is NOT OK makes people "uncomfortable", and fixing it takes effort. And when the lazy see someone else doing what they haven't bothered to do, it makes them feel bad. And they lash out with infantile attacks, again blaming the source of their discomfort instead of acknowledging the problem and joining the fight against it.
I think your cognitive dissonance explanation makes good sense.
DeleteTo address to post: great idea! I fully agree. As to why they haven't done it yet, I like the suggestion that Apple wants you tethered to the device, but who knows?
Thanks for the clear description of the problem and for providing a workable solution. Take care!
Sure, Derek. Thanks for your comment!
DeleteHow else will Apple glorify and exemplify something revolutionary to fanboys/girls and the technology clueless about Apples incredible new feature on iOS7 "Audible Notification"
ReplyDeleteApple revolutionized the smart phone, no doubt about it. But they are too slow in coming up with meaningful changes and features. Such as my old iPhone (Galaxy S3 user now) not being able to talk to each other over Bluetooth.
Bye Apple ur crap is overpriced and uninspiring.
Most people look at their phone after taking a shower, walking the dog, making a sandwich etc.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should see if your Microtac can still work on CDMA or you can buy endless loop cassette tapes for your 20 year old messaging machine. My 65 year old father uses an iPhone and calls me back in less than 20 min... even if he was doing laundry in the garage.
"Most people look at their phone after taking a shower, walking the dog, making a sandwich etc."
DeleteHa ha ha! No, that's a pathetic workaround for a defective design. Why are you making excuses for it? That hasn't been necessary for over a decade. Why would you argue for going BACKWARD?
BTW, how loud are your sandwiches? Do you run and check your phone after chewing? Pretzels must provoke continuous staring at your phone.
Funny how someone is arguing to IMPROVE your experience, and you're whining about it.
no one I know who does not have an addictive personality checks their phone repeatedly
Delete- "Android syncs contacts/calander/email/map data/music/video - data/files/photos/bookmarks/tans/web history"
ReplyDelete- With what?
With Google Chrome and Google Music and Google Maps and basic feature like contacts/Calendar/Email etc with Gmail. Also the main beauty is you can always use third party to sync anything if you don't like built in. If you don't want to use Google Music, use Winamp, Dropbox or tons of other alternative.
So it syncs with native Calendar and Contacts? Really?
DeleteAre you talking about iOS here?
And music isn't the issue here, at all.
I can set my Galacy Note 2 running Jelly Bean 4.1.2 to sync my calendar and contacts natively from: samcung account, google (gmail, calendar), microsoft (hotmail, outlook, exchange), facebook, or any other LDAP account.
DeleteI got this phone after having an iphone 4 for two years. I can say that android is far superior to iphone in nearly every way when it comes to functionality. Just being able to plug in my phone and drag files over is an android feature that apple has always sorely needed. Never going back to apple again unless they get out of the closed system mindset.
They should fix the calendar too, or does this exist already? So I have an alert setup... and something important going on... my iPhone beeps a few times then displays a notification but won't keep beeping periodically so I don't see it until I use my phone later on at my convenience. It would be nice to beep every few minutes until I shut it off or have the alert beep 3 times etc like the SMS alert.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It's basically the same problem.
DeleteEven worse: At some recent point, Apple introduced a bug where Calendar alarms never go off if the event has a zero duration (which is quite common, if you use Calendar to remind yourself to do things). I'm not sure if the alarms don't go off on the phone, but they definitely never go off on the computer.
They're aware of the bug but it hasn't been fixed after several months. This is basic functionality we're talking about.
Apple did finally fix the no-alert bug on zero-duration calendar events. It only took about a year after they broke it in the first place.
DeleteThis is a legit complaint in my book. I never realized that I do check my phone when I get the chance for voicemail. I use a GS3 but it doesn't do it either that I know of without an additional app. I've always used Android (which is hit and miss on individual phones unfortunately), but have a iPhone4 and 4S that I don't have activated, and I prefer iOS to Android.. it just gets the job done well without clutter and seems more thought-out and simple.
ReplyDeleteThat said, while my old Android phones were pretty bad, the GS3 is a good one. I recommend iPhones to people though if they ask me. I don't want them to get the equivalent of an 'HTC Thunderbolt'.
I'm wondering if WP8 has repeated beeping upon receipt of a voicemail. If so I'd probably buy that as I'm going to need to buy another phone soon.
Sounds like a pefectly reasonable request. I prefer a device that serves my needs rather than the other way around. Of course it could be disabled for the doting apple fanboys who have been conditioned to continously monitor their precious.
ReplyDeleteOscar, I'm a long time iPhone user and I'm behind you on this one. It's my most common annoyance as it can take me hours to notice a missed call if I'm busy.
ReplyDeleteI tried jail-breaking my iPhone for the 'improvements' but it started crashing like my friend's Andriod phone, so what's the point?
If it wasn't for my iOS buy-in (Apple TV, Airplay Hifi, iTunes movies, etc) I'd be thinking of moving to another ecosystem soon. Here's to a truly new iOS7. Please.
Well, don't hold your breath. But thanks for your comment.
DeleteThe comments amaze me.... humanity is in trouble.
ReplyDeleteAmen.
Deleteit would be nice to have a real functionality comparison between iOS and stock Android. Sure, it would be tedious, but I guess you only discover things like "lack of notification blink feature" when you really, really need it otherwise. I have a small blinking led on my HTC for this, and actually appreciate it even more now.
ReplyDeleteThere seem to be so much disinformation about what is possible in one OS and not in the other. Because of this I almost don't dare switching to iOS, just to find out later that something I really like doing with android doesn't work in iOS. Or things that I take for granted (copy&paste between programs) is not yet implemented. Yes, I know that copy&paste is now available, but it took them forever. To me it just shows what you buy into if you go into the appleverse.
Although, I agree feature creep is something to be avoided. If Apple would implement ALL features that computer geeks crave, it would simply be too much.
Since android is more open and based on an existing proved OS kernel, the probability that a fix for my (perhaps specific) problem exist somewhere. This is the main benefit of open source software and internet. If you have a problem, someone else has already solved it, and the solution is easy to find and available for download. With apple it just seems so... #dealwithit. That attitude only makes sense if you are the owner of a monopoly business.
My HTC EVO V 4G vibrates after missed calls and my phone buzzes around the night stand. My notification light also blinks. I don't miss "missed calls". Apple is too busy worried about what Samsung is doing. They just keep copying more and more Android Features.
ReplyDeleteThey stole the notification shade from Android. Now they are supposedly working on a 120 fps video that Samsung pioneered in phones. Quit buying Apple junk if you want to complain about it. My GF was the same way for 3 years before she finally got tired of iCrap and got a GS4. She couldn't be happier. I know a lot of people who are tired of Apple's; People are stupid and they don't know what they want. We will give them what they need! And they will like it.
I can't believe that you, an iOS developer would even use their crap beyond a Dev phone. You should be a smart man and just switch to Android. You will be a much happier person. I got laid for getting my GF a Galaxy S4.
Ha ha! Well, I am considering Android, but unfortunately it hasn't lived up to its promise as an "open-source" OS. It's still hacked into dozens of proprietary versions, which are dribbled out by telcos one at a time for every device separately over a period of months (or never).
DeleteI need all my contacts, calendar, and bookmarks synced across all my computers and portable devices, and iCloud (as shitty as it is) does eventually do that. I do not use online calendars and contact management, because I need pop-up calendar notifications to interrupt me on my computers, which isn't going to happen with Web-based services. I also want all this info to be accessible offline (except bookmarks, of course).
And, a final annoyance: Android devices don't have audio line outs or any standard port configuration on the bottom. I listen to a lot of music, and mostly in the car. I don't want a junky, fussy setup with wires running all over the place. Bluetooth is not going to cut it (and doesn't charge the phone anyway). I built an iPhone dock into my dash, so I just hop in my car, plop the phone onto it, and I have music and charging with no mess. Of course, Apple ruined all chances for this setup in the future with their new, defective dock connector...
My wife has an iPhone 4 with iOS 6 on it, I have a Smasung Galaxy Nexus. I used her phone one day to see what all the fuss was about with the iDevices, and almost threw the phone across the room after trying to write an email for 10 minutes. I wanted to attach multiple file types to one email, a basic function that my windows mobile HTC Touch could do in 2007. There is no comparison on functionality. My Android will periodically inform you of missed calls if you tell it to, I can't believe an Apple won't.
DeleteAs far as Android goes, I have 1 huge gripe: The calendar is abysmal. If you get a meeting invitation, the email doesn't list the time or place, just gives you an "accept/decline" option. You have to open the event in the calendar before you have any idea when/where the meeting your invited to is. I used to be a webOS user, and honestly, I'm still waiting for other devices to measure up to that overall experience. I have high hopes for the new Blackberry line.
Most android phones have a small multicolor LED hidden somewhere in the face. It flashes for notifications. You can customize what it flashes for and what color for what notification. With third party apps you can assign all sorts of functionality like flash fast, slow or stay on. For instance constant red (or pink or orange) while charging and green (or white or purple) when it's done. etc etc.
ReplyDeleteMost other phones like WM and BB also have this.
Well, a flashing light really doesn't solve the problem. The point is to have an AUDIBLE notification and a vibration. You won't see a light in your pocket or in the other room.
DeleteI assume there are Android apps that provide an audible notification, right?
Thanks for your comment.
Firstly, An iphone is not like an answering machine or a microwave. The iphone comes with you. To the movie theater. To dinner. To school. To work.
ReplyDeleteIf you're in school and someone called you, your phone wil keep reminding you. If you're in the theater you will keep feeling it buzz.
When you're at home and your microwave goes off, whatever. You made food, it took 2 minutes to cook and now it's time to eat before it cools off. That makes sense.
Anyone, at anytime, for any reason can call you.
Secondly, Iphone has an option to alert you through the LED flash to phone calls you've missed. If you hadn't noticed.
Thirdly, if it's important enough to need an answer immediately, they will call you back. Period. Or they will text you. Or face time you. Or facebook you. There are a million ways to contact each other and if you want to be in society where everyone is tech savvy and phones do everything you want them to, then the people need to be tech savvy enough to use them and check them. Do you expect your iphone to answer itself on it's own? Do you expect it to record video when you travel states automatically? No. It does what you tell it. You have to look at it.
How damn lazy do you have to be to have to everything yell at you before you do something.
Lastly, it is a cell phone. It is always with you. If you don't look at it in hours, and they haven't called back it's not important. A shower last half an hour ish. If you are tied enough to your phone to make this blog, you should be tied enough to your phone to check it when you get out.
This is literally the stupidest blog I've ever seen in my life.
You're creating an issue for yourself.
You see a pattern here? You're just regurgitating the same bizarre, incorrect arguments against AN OPTION. An OPTION that ALREADY EXISTED ON CELL PHONES A DECADE AGO.
DeleteLet's dismantle these yet again.
"your phone wil keep reminding you. If you're in the theater you will keep feeling it buzz."
NO, the iPhone WILL NOT. That's the entire point of this post, which you have clearly missed. And, by making this statement, you're SUPPORTING my point that this is expected to be a standard feature on any phone. And it once was.
"Iphone has an option to alert you through the LED flash to phone calls you've missed"
Again, you didn't read the post. A flashing LED does not make NOISE, nor does it VIBRATE. It's a useful extra option, but far less useful than simply fixing the problem properly with periodic audible and palpable alerts.
"if it's important enough to need an answer immediately, they will call you back."
Once again, this tired and lame excuse. WHY SHOULD THEY HAVE TO? This is a pre-1990s solution that has been unnecessary for a generation. What's your next idea? Having the operator keep trying for you?
"if you want to be in society where everyone is tech savvy and phones do everything you want them to, then the people need to be tech savvy enough to use them and check them"
Are you simply floating this ridiculous argument as some kind of exercise? That is exactly BACKWARD. The iPhone is a UNIX COMPUTER. But you're telling us it's too much to ask that it BEEPS periodically if you miss a call? You can't be serious. Expecting people to call you back, and compulsively pulling your gimped phone out of your pocket and activating it to check for missed calls is exactly the opposite of "tech savvy."
"it is a cell phone. It is always with you"
No. No it isn't. Again, you failed to read the post you presume to refute. I won't bother repeating what you already should have read.
Your desperate and illogical arguments against a non-instrusive OPTION represent the stupidity of this option's absence. I'm going to let this comment stand as a catalogue of the idiotic reasoning that has led to this crippled user experience. There is simply no valid excuse not to offer this OPTION, no matter how many ridiculous workarounds you propose.
You also failed to read (despite a large graphic illustration to assist you) that Apple added a limited version of this very option for text messages. So you must find that extremely "stupid" as well. Where's your outrage over that?
Yes the old flip phones could be set to auto answer. Hands free.
DeleteYou're absolutely right. My old Razor phone did this and I found it helpful. All the arguments against why Apple would add this are ignoring the simple fact that it's a useful feature that's proven itself on other phones and there's no rhyme or reason why Apple wouldn't include it on theirs.
ReplyDeleteYes, having it as an option will be good, and I've had many times when I wished the phone had reminded me of a call, particularly when I'm not interested in checking it repeatedly — I want it to tell me I missed a call, without me having to check it myself.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, I could imagine situations where users might find it a hassle, because they find themselves having to activate and deactivate it time and again in different situations (wanting it to constantly remind when at home, jogging, etc, but preferring it to remain quiet when in a meeting, theatre, sleeping, etc), and the best of us could forget. Still, that's probably a minor setback for a useful thing. :)
I need this function! Missed calls on iPhone are the bane of my life. I'm partly deaf, and in a noisy area with my iPhone in my belt pouch, I can't even hear that annoying Klaxon ringtone. Notifications for text messages are great, unless people are calling you who can't or don't text.
ReplyDeletePlease share your example with Apple. They continue to ignore this problem, but you've provided another compelling argument for addressing it. Thanks for your comment!
Deletecan anyone recommend a single app (in cydia or appstore) to vibrate every 5min after a missed call? thanks
ReplyDeletei am ready to pay up to 10bucks, if anyone wants to develop one)
Unfortunately, Apple's crippled SDK denies developers access to the necessary information to implement this feature. Otherwise I would have written it already.
DeleteInstead of using my carrier's voice mail, my phone is set on Ring No Answer to forward to a web-based voice mail service. When a message is left, a text is sent to ALL of my mobile devices - multiple carriers, multiple manufacturers. Then, those devices repeat the text notifications. I never thought of this.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how many people here say "Just check your phone more often". Makes me insane. Technology is supposed to make life more convenient for humans. Devices which add chores to your routine are junk. I will never get an IPHONE ever ever ever again. The worst part about the iPHONE, are the PHONE features. Not only is the missed call alert non-existent, text message notifications are limited to 20 minutes.
ReplyDeleteAnd people defend that, or completely miss the point. Infuriating.
Not only does the iPhone not have a missed call reminder, but it makes it so that any apps that try to implement the feature don't work.
ReplyDeleteMy old RAZR had this feature. Why doesn't every smart phone have a feature that a 2003 phone had?
Great question. As I mention in the post, my 1990s StarTAC had this feature!
DeleteSure wish I had read this before buying an iPhone. I just assumed there was such missed call reminder. Now to sell that i6 at a loss and go back to Android. (Though Google is making me paranoid.)
ReplyDeleteI'll be a first-time Android user when Apple commits its final act of stupidity: removing the headphone jack.
DeleteI'm very late to this conversation but I totally agree with you. Like the commenter above, I would have thought twice before going with iphone after android. I had no idea that a missed call reminder wasn't a standard feature on iphone. I can't believe there isn't even a blinking light to let me know I've missed a text/call. My phone is usually on my desk on vibrate so I'd love that little blinking light to let me know I missed something. I honestly thought it was standard. DUH! It only makes sense so that I'm not chained to my phone.
ReplyDeleteThe incredible part is that Apple has continued to ignore this glaring problem for EIGHT YEARS. And if you file a bug on it, you will be notified that it has been classified as a duplicate. And that too was true eight years ago. So numerous people have complained, Apple bafflingly added (almost) this feature for TEXTS, but continues to ignore phone calls. No excuse.
DeleteThanks for your comment.
iOS is based on BSD, not Unix!
ReplyDeleteThat statement doesn't make any sense.
Deletehttp://engineering2.berkeley.edu/labnotes/history_unix.html
You're absolutely right Oscar ... unfortunate I checked my facts AFTER posting & couldn't take it back =)
DeleteNo problem, Michael! Thanks for your comment anyway!
DeleteI can delete your original if you'd like...
It's 2017 and Apple still has not changed this. They must have what they believe is a good reason. I'm still missing messages because I go to the bathroom and come back to my office and only hours later do I realize I missed a time-sensitive message. Apparently all the readers of this blog believe that every time I go to the can I should look at my phone, because that would be way more convenient than an intermittent beep. Why not just apply polling to all aspects of our lives? Instead of having people knocking or using a doorbell, I can just open the front door every two minutes to see if somebody is standing there.
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha! I'm going to use that door example. Nice work!
DeleteThanks for your comment.