Apple’s Inconsistent Ellipsis Icons

Detailed analysis by Josh Centers at TidBITS on Apple’s increasing use of “•••” ellipsis buttons to show “more” in iOS:

The broader issue here in terms of usability isn’t the philosophical issue of “what is more,” but the practical issue of what “More” means to the user. As you saw in the above examples, tapping an ellipsis button can activate a varying degree of user interface elements. Unlike, say, the Share icon, which consistently presents an activity view that contains sharing-related options, the behavior of ellipsis buttons isn’t predictable or consistent, which leads to user confusion. It confuses me, and I’ve spent years documenting iOS!

★ Monday, 2 September 2019