Products · Broad category
Smartphones
Raised as a usability problem by 595 people on Hacker News over 19 years (2008–2026), in 575 threads.
This is a broad category rather than one product, so its issues aren't ranked on the home page.
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- 17Phone takes half a minute just to unlockUnreviewed
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Every issue, all time, most people first
Touchscreen keyboards offer no feel or sight cues, so typing is slowUnreviewed
20082026- Typing on a phone's virtual keyboard is painful and slows productivity2026-09-14
- Typing on early phone touchscreens was bad, making them hard to use2026-08-18
- Touch-based controls are seen as a poor substitute for a real user interface2026-07-20
Large phone screens put parts of the screen out of thumb reachUnreviewed
20082026- Smartphone touch controls are clearly limited for reading one-handed2026-10-15
- Phones have become too tall and heavy to use with one hand2026-03-13
- UI standardization makes phones unusable with one hand, thumb can't reach the screen2025-07-17
Modern phones are hard for older people to operateUnreviewed
20082026- Mobile interfaces lack elderly accessibility and constantly change, forcing relearning2026-04-06
- Modern devices with much more hardware capability have worse usability than older ones2025-08-24
- Modern smartphones are unusable for elderly and disabled people2024-09-11
Phone's typing interface is so poor that people avoid typing on itUnreviewed
20082026- Commenter struggles to operate smartphones, finds them hard to use2025-10-03
- Typing paragraphs on a phone keyboard is hard enough that people skip commenting2025-05-16
- Tiny phone screen makes web browsing infuriating for the commenter2025-05-05
Apps ship with notifications enabled, spamming until manually disabledUnreviewed
20082026- Turning off marketing alerts also silences needed transaction notifications from the same app2026-04-06
- Apps push notification permission requests and notifications that users must disable one by one2025-04-24
- Spends a lot of time figuring out how to turn off annoying notifications2024-10-25
Touchscreen becomes unusable when wet or rainyUnreviewed
20082026- Capacitive touchscreen becomes completely unusable in rain, unlike physical controls2025-01-05
- Capacitive touch screens stop working when the phone is wet2023-05-07
- Touchscreen becomes unusable when wet from rain or water, and is awkward in snow2023-03-21
Touch interfaces misread taps as drags or scrolls, causing errorsUnreviewed
20082026- Touch input misreads tap-and-hold, and text editing gets the intended action wrong most of the time2026-10-28
- Phantom touches and buttons moving while trying to tap2025-03-25
- Touch UIs often misread taps as drags or scrolls, causing frustrating errors2024-06-24
Accidental touches from holding the device and unclear tapsUnreviewed
20082026- Fat-finger touches trigger unwanted actions; gestures persist despite turning them off2026-05-25
- Holding the phone one-handed upright becomes uncomfortable after a few minutes, forcing awkward finger and palm positions2022-01-14
- Accidental touches from holding device; inconsistent gestures and unclear taps cause frustration2020-06-22
Touch controls are unintuitive and slow for taking photosUnreviewed
20082026- Accidental touches trigger mode switches and notifications while taking photos2026-06-30
- Phones are awkward and slow to control for taking photos without an external grip2024-09-29
- Touchscreen camera controls are too limiting for smooth pan and zoom2023-10-31
Operating a touchscreen phone while driving is distractingUnreviewed
20082026- Small phone screen is hard to read and touch precisely while driving2023-04-15
- Messing with a touchscreen phone while driving is distracting and hard to operate2022-10-07
- Phone interfaces have small text and elements, drawing attention while driving2022-08-17
Nothing shows what is tappable, so people must randomly tap everythingUnreviewed
20082026- Nothing indicates what's tappable, so users must randomly try everything on screen2026-06-18
- Taps don't register quickly, so users tap again and get annoyed2024-05-17
- Users can't tell which on-screen text is tappable, so they tap randomly looking for something that responds2022-11-28
Hard to read more than a paragraph on a phone without glassesUnreviewed
20082026- Writing a sentence longer than three words on a smartphone is unusable with imperfect eyesight2023-10-20
- Frustrating to type more than one sentence on a smartphone2017-01-29
- Smartphones are completely unusable for longer reading2015-12-14
Only one app fills the screen, making multitasking awkwardUnreviewed
20082026- Phone UI and screen size hamper tasks, with no seamless workflow across devices2025-03-12
- Phone UX is awkward for doing many things; one app fullscreen at a time2024-06-13
- Casting a phone to a big screen is fiddly, depends on ecosystem, and mirrors the whole device2021-02-23
Camera takes too long to become ready to shootUnreviewed
20082026- Slow to unlock phone and wait for camera app to load2023-05-27
- Camera takes too long to become ready to shoot2016-11-02
- Camera takes forever to focus and needs perfect lighting to scan2014-04-04
Call features are inconvenient, and multitasking during calls lagsUnreviewed
20082026- Phone use makes people distracted and unable to focus for long2025-11-09
- Phone features are not convenient to use while on a call, and flagship Androids lag when multitasking during calls2021-08-21
- Hanging up calls is hard, with swipe gestures differing across phones, VOIP and WhatsApp calls2020-04-01
Phone takes half a minute just to unlockUnreviewed
20082026- Phone is so slow it takes half a minute just to unlock2025-09-24
- Simple messaging takes more phone resources, and text takes seconds to appear after unlock2021-08-16
- Phone home screen sometimes takes 10 seconds to load after unlock2018-02-05
Phone interface slows over time until it becomes unusableUnreviewed
20082026- Early Android UI was sluggish and laggy on real hardware, barely usable2026-07-17
- Phone UI gets so slow over time it becomes unusable2023-10-14
- Smartphone UI has atrocious latency, slower than a 30-year-old Amiga2021-02-28
Controlling music requires looking at the screen every timeUnreviewed
20082026- Touch screens make it hard to change volume or tracks without looking2022-05-11
- Adjusting song and volume without looking is hard on a touchscreen phone2022-04-22
- Must keep looking at the phone screen instead of the controlled device2016-02-16
Swipe typing produces obscure words and ignores people's own vocabularyUnreviewed
20082026- Swipe typing produces ungrammatical, obscure words and ignores the user's own vocabulary2025-08-13
- Hidden swipe gestures must be guessed by trial and error on every screen2022-11-29
- Hidden swipe-right screen was undiscoverable for months, with no UI hints2022-11-28
Putting personal files on a smartphone is harder than on a PCUnreviewed
20082026- Putting your own digital files on a smartphone is significantly more difficult and annoying than on a PC2023-12-06
- Editing text files and copying them to a PC is very difficult on smartphones2022-04-18
- Can't easily extract files off your phone2021-01-07
Cannot fully disable incoming calls, so robocall notifications keep interruptingUnreviewed
20082026- No way to fully disable incoming calls; constant robocall notifications interrupt use2024-04-25
- Can't figure out how to allow calls without turning off DND entirely2023-10-02
- Unwanted calls and texts interrupt constantly, with no effective way to block them2013-08-09
Phone lags 30 or more seconds when answering a callUnreviewed
20082026- Screen took so long to turn on that callers hung up2025-04-14
- Phone lags for 30+ seconds when trying to answer a call2017-09-11
- Dialpad freezes and the phone lags about 5 seconds before responding to taps2014-06-20
Music controls mixed with calls make pausing or skipping awkwardUnreviewed
20082026- Ads and many features interrupt simple music playback, pulling attention away from listening2020-11-08
- Can't skip or pause songs without looking at the phone screen while driving2019-06-17
- Music controls are mixed with calls and apps, so pausing or skipping without looking is awkward2011-04-13
Phones are too big and bulky, with a bloated OS hurting usabilityUnreviewed
20082026- Finds smartphones too big to carry and annoying to use2022-08-17
- Phones are too big and bulky, and OS is often bloated beyond usability2021-06-24
- Phones become unusable after a few years due to slow, bloated apps2020-06-15
Non-technical users cannot find notification settingsUnreviewed
20082026- Notifications must be micromanaged, and the controls keep changing with updates2026-01-23
- Non-technical users can't find notification settings, so they treat notifications as tasks to clear2024-04-02
- Notification settings fail either missing urgent messages or flooding with irrelevant spam2023-12-20
Correct word gets replaced with another as typing continuesUnreviewed
20082026- Keeps changing typed words, so users must repeatedly convince it what they meant2023-10-31
- Correct word gets replaced with another once the user keeps typing2021-10-23
- Small keys cause many typos and autocorrect often changes intended words2020-07-03
Voice commands act without confirmation and still need on-screen tappingUnreviewed
20082026- Voice commands act without confirmation and need on-screen interaction, so they're unusable hands-free2026-04-23
- Frustrating to use voice commands in the car, so the user gives up trying2022-01-02
- Voice commands require unlocking the phone, raising it, repeating wake phrases, and often misinterpret2015-02-24
Replacing the battery requires peeling adhesive and using a heat gunUnreviewed
20082026- Replacing the battery requires heating the screen, prying glass, unscrewing many screws, and removing the mainboard2023-06-17
- Simple repairs like replacing the battery are a nightmare to do2021-03-09
- Replacing the battery requires adhesive peeling, a heat gun and luck2020-07-21
Dark patterns manipulate people into endless scrollingUnreviewed
20082026- Apps use dark patterns to grab time and money from users2024-06-14
- Phones are dark pattern traps that pull people into procrastination2022-04-18
- Phones use dark patterns to manipulate people into scrolling and keep them engaged2019-09-20
Cannot dial numbers by feel without looking at the screenUnreviewed
20082026- Can't dial phone numbers by feel without looking at the screen, unlike physical keypads2024-03-23
- Must turn on screen, find the dial pad button, then press digits during automated calls2016-03-09
- Dialing a number not in contacts takes too many button presses to reach the dialer2010-01-06
So many notifications needing attention that a glance is a nightmareUnreviewed
20082026- Smartphones are user-hostile designs that flood people with notifications they cannot filter easily2026-01-30
- Phone has so many notifications needing attention that simply looking at it is a nightmare2023-11-13
- Incoming notifications tempt drivers to look at their phone2019-04-10
Coding on phones is slow with too little screen space to debugUnreviewed
20082026- Typing code on a phone is slow and there is little screen space to view and debug2026-01-07
- Code lines are cut off on the narrow phone screen, making skimming hard2024-12-10
- Writing code on a phone is awkward and painfully slow, and shortcuts and screen size make it hard2023-04-15
Locked-down phone restricts features so much it is effectively unusableUnreviewed
20082026- Locked-down government phone was so restricted it was effectively unusable2023-11-07
- Phones are hard to use when temporarily impaired, like after major surgery2023-02-04
- Unlocking a smartphone takes so much attention it's unsafe while driving2020-01-19
Notes app takes forever to open on a slow phoneUnreviewed
20082026- Opening and navigating the notification app to leave a note takes too long, so people use sticky notes2025-12-26
- Too slow to open the app and start a note, so ideas get forgotten2019-06-06
- Notes app takes forever to open on a slow phone, so jotting long notes is a pain2019-01-06
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Touch input misreads tap-and-hold, and text editing gets the intended action wrong most of the time2026-10-28
- Smartphone touch controls are clearly limited for reading one-handed2026-10-15
- Hunting and pecking on a phone keyboard to type ls and cd is hard2026-10-09
- Can't type accurately without looking at the screen, and can't type in rain2026-09-23
- Phones feel increasingly hostile to use, and apps keep logging users out at regular intervals2026-09-18
- Typing on a phone's virtual keyboard is painful and slows productivity2026-09-14
- Everything feels clunky, so simple tasks are unpleasant to perform2026-09-06
- Smartphones lack tooltips, so hover-based help content is unavailable to users2026-08-21
- Typing on early phone touchscreens was bad, making them hard to use2026-08-18
- Touchscreen phone ordering is too cumbersome for some people, who cannot use it2026-08-09
- Interval sessions on road in January make the detection feature a terrible experience2026-08-07
- Keeps rerouting to the faster highway despite a programmed preferred route2026-08-06
- Can't find which hardware is supported or how to install it2026-08-05
- Phone music apps make users swipe endless lists, wait for loads, and dismiss pop-ups2026-07-24
- Touch-based controls are seen as a poor substitute for a real user interface2026-07-20
- Early Android UI was sluggish and laggy on real hardware, barely usable2026-07-17
- Phone mounts are awkward and a phone on a mount is hard to read while driving2026-07-03
- Accidental touches trigger mode switches and notifications while taking photos2026-06-30
- Nothing indicates what's tappable, so users must randomly try everything on screen2026-06-18
- Fat-finger touches trigger unwanted actions; gestures persist despite turning them off2026-05-25
- Hides basic computer functions like files, folders and installs, so users don't learn them2026-05-12
- Copy and paste on phones takes many more steps than on desktops2026-05-10
- Touch keyboard makes typing code and reaching special characters a chore2026-05-02
- Phone UI changes with each update, forcing users to relearn basic functions they already knew2026-05-01
- Voice commands act without confirmation and need on-screen interaction, so they're unusable hands-free2026-04-23
- Turning off marketing alerts also silences needed transaction notifications from the same app2026-04-06
- Mobile interfaces lack elderly accessibility and constantly change, forcing relearning2026-04-06
- Phones are frustrating to use because companies prioritise advertising over basic usability2026-04-06
- Navigating spreadsheets and many browser tabs on a phone is slow and clumsy2026-04-06
- Hard to turn a modern phone into a plain, no-nonsense tool2026-03-20
- Phones don't let users adjust treble and bass, so they need a headset EQ workaround2026-03-14
- Phones have become too tall and heavy to use with one hand2026-03-13
- Small screens show few results and cluttered pages, making reading and finding answers hard2026-03-13
- Doing anything on a phone is miserable compared to a desktop with good input devices2026-03-11
- Setup takes hours; too many accounts, permissions, and backups to sort through2026-03-01
- Transferring many photos to PC by cable is so slow it gets abandoned2026-02-24
- Getting more annoying each year to configure for specific needs without new problems2026-02-03
- Smartphones are user-hostile designs that flood people with notifications they cannot filter easily2026-01-30
- Notifications must be micromanaged, and the controls keep changing with updates2026-01-23
- Clutter and adverts make texting and finding contacts take many taps2026-01-22
- Scrolling feels jerky and disconnected from touch when frame rate is capped2026-01-11
- Doing advanced tasks on a touchscreen smartphone is frustrating2026-01-09
- Setting up apps on a new phone means constant codes, popups and switching between apps2026-01-09
- Typing code on a phone is slow and there is little screen space to view and debug2026-01-07
- Opening and navigating the notification app to leave a note takes too long, so people use sticky notes2025-12-26
- Hard to tell which phone model a device is from its name2025-11-25
- Phone use makes people distracted and unable to focus for long2025-11-09
- Phones are hard to use for anything beyond passive consumption, making it hard to get unstuck2025-11-09
- Constant typos and slow typing on a touchscreen without physical key feedback2025-10-06
- Commenter struggles to operate smartphones, finds them hard to use2025-10-03