The Pixel range is often praised as the Order Stallion for Android, offering a clean, simple and bloating experience that many other manufacturers cannot match.
However, simple does not always mean perfect. Despite years of refinements and iterations, the Pixel user interface still has several rude quirks and edges that affect my daily user experience.
Let’s make the most boring user interface problems – those who continue to be unnecessary sources of frustration and who always irritate me every time I pick up my phone.
An implementation of the private space lower than the average
The way in which Pixel’s user interface manages confidentiality is one of the most frustrating things I manage, in particular with regard to private space. It looks less like a polished and more like Google feature by simply offering a user profile to the main operating system and calling it one day.
For me, the biggest defect is that the private space is essentially just a locked Android profile. It is a huge distinction in relation to the seamless secure file experience that other OEMs offer.
Because it is a separate profile, it creates a wall between two identities on the phone. This is why file transfer is a nightmare.
I can’t just move a document or a photo of my main gallery to my private space. I have to go through several steps that completely break the flow of solid management of my data.
There is also the duplication of features. Why do I have three different places to hide a file?
- Private space: A separate profile for applications and files.
- Google photos locked: For photos and videos only.
- Files by Google Safe Folder: For any type of file.
It is confusing and an excellent example of a boring experience of the pixel user interface.
A major change in the notification panel
Let’s talk about a change that sums up the idea of repairing something that has not been broken.
For years, the notification flow has been intuitive: an application annoys me, I have been writing the notification for a long time and I get a simple rocking or a clear option to silence these alerts permanently. It was fast, reliable and anchored in my muscle memory.
Now Pixel UI displays two options: reject and turn off. This is a UX disaster. I can literally slide the notification to reject it.
So why is a double function in good place in the long pressure menu? I only want to manage the deactivate menu so that I can completely deactivate the notifications.
It is a change for change and adds an additional layer of confusion.
Persistent search bar on the home screen
The features of the Pixel user interface home interface are a classic example of Google prioritizing its services compared to my control of my own device.
My biggest irritation with the pixel user interface starts on the home screen: the Google persistent search bar at the bottom and the time widget / event at a plastered glance at the top.
Let me be clear: I know I have a Google phone. I constantly use Google services. However, I should have the opportunity to decide what takes first -rate real estate on my display.
The lower search bar is the worst offender. It is still there, taking a precious space that I could use for another row of applications or my personalized widgets. The same goes for the widget at a glance at the top.
I appreciate the concept. It is intelligent and contextual. But what happens if I want a different weather widget? I can change the information it shows, but I cannot ban it entirely.
Search bar at the top of the settings and application drawer menu
Google often lacks the brand on conviviality in the real world and with one hand. I constantly use my pixel 8 with one hand. The placement of search bars in the basic user interface is a daily source of frustration for me.
Take the Settings application. As I open it, my goal is to often find a specific framework buried in this list. Naturally, I want to press the search bar, but it is clumsily placed at the top.
Since the settings menu is one of the densest parts of the user interface, the search bar must be placed at the bottom.
The situation is identical in the application drawer. When I slide to find an application that is not on my home screen, the search bar appears at the top. It is placed as far as possible from my thumb.
The placement of the Erase All button in the application switch is another of these pixel UI decisions that makes me ask me if the design team really uses their own phones in real life.
When I finished with a long work session, or I just want a clean slate, my immediate goal is to type Erase And move on. But this button is buried at the very end of the horizontal carousel.
A typical day, I could have seven to eight open applications. I have to slide on the left, after each recent application, until I finally arrive at the end of the line.
It is a terrible design in terms of user flows. It must be pinned at the bottom of the screen.
Inability to search for local files
I have already placed myself on the persistent search bars, but what makes them boring is their uselessness for local files. Sometimes I want to use the search bar to find a local PDF or a video on my pixel.
However, he executes the search request via the web and other Google services such as the play store, YouTube and contacts, and completely ignores the sites on local storage. I have to open the Files application and find it manually.
Regarding the mobile hotspot menu, my complaints are here all about the missing power user features. Things that have been standard on Android phones in competition for years.
Whenever I need to share my connection, the Pixel’s Hotspot menu is naked. For example, I cannot generate a single password or define a data limit for connected devices. It is a total loss of control over my cell level.
And speaking of control, let’s go back to the home screen. There is no way to modify the provision of the application icon. I cannot adjust the spacing of the column, and I cannot organize my icons like the other launchers allow.
I would like to see more customization options in future updates of the pixel user interface.
Pixel ui flaws
It is easy to focus on new flashy features, but the real test of a user interface is the way it manages daily interactions.
Although the pixel software is powerful, these quirks stand out for its varnish. These are not massive technical obstacles; These are minor design adjustments that would lead to enormous improvements in quality of life for millions of pixel owners.
Hopefully Google will favor the refining of fundamentals on the addition of more features than few people use. Once your pixel has received Android 16, be sure to deactivate these settings to avoid unnecessary headaches.
