Insanely great, or just good enough? (2004) Apple are pursuing perfection, but should they be? https://www.cityofsound.com/blog/2004/02/insanely_great_.html

Apple have produced a series of beautifully near-perfect products - honed, polished, focused, designed to be "one-reading-only". For this, their team is rightly lauded I think. However, as a result of this near-perfection, the effect of each slip will be grossly amplified, as each product feels so finished that users don't think they can adapt; they don't feel part of a process of evolution. Apple need to find a way of retaining their quite brilliant pursuit of simplicity and attention to detail whilst also enabling change in their products - visibly enabling adaptation and seeing design as an experiential process after point of sale. In this way, they'd not only engage a generation who need a way in to technology, but nurture a generation who want to get involved in the product, modifying it over time.

...since adaptation is

what sets us apart▾

, adaptive design is the only design strategy which will enable these increasingly sophisticated devices to remain truly meaningful.

"Perfection"??? Maybe their hardware and software look pretty, but they're a UX nightmare. It's like a torture chamber: their walled garden locks you in then tortures you with UX horrors, and on top of that, they've perfected a psychological manipulation similar to Stockholm Syndrome to convince the in-mates they're loving it.

@Duncan Cragg I disagree, specifically for iOS devices. I was an Android user for many years, but actually trying an iPhone got me convinced. The breathtakingly simple design of icon on desktop = installed app. The folders that show what's inside when they're closed. Consistent navigation between apps. The lack of preinstalled third party apps. The proper app isolation. The consistent design throughout the whole OS and hardware.

You're describing Android

The article is about a movement called Adaptive Design that seems applicable to end-user programming. Perhaps I should have posted the link where I found it (via @Stefan): https://interconnected.org/home/2020/08/26/adaptive_design Apple is just an example, particularly Apple at a specific point in time 15 years ago.

Adaptive Design sounds good in principle