Scenario
The user can choose multiple items from a list, which will be carried forward to the next action.
Problem
In iOS, there are no checkboxes available to make it clear to the user that this is a multi-select list.
Android provides checkboxes indicating which options are available for selection to the user.
Question
How do you visually convey multi-select options in iOS?
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Answer
Sliding switches were a nifty looking control way back when. They were one way for iOS to announce
"Hey, look! I like gestures. You should swipe stuff."
In a short list where you might want to flip your wifi or Bluetooth off to save some battery, it works okay. When you have a list of selectable items, iOS asks you to think of those items in switchable I/O terms.
I assume the lack of checkboxes in iOS' recommendations is not an oversight — they've had a while to live with that decision. That doesn't mean it's not a mistake. The idea that we'd use their pretty little switches for everything was unnecessarily limiting.
iOS does hint that checks are still cool with select lists. The un-selected indicator (no indicator) isn't checkbox like. And it's for single item selection any way so ... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What's an empathetic UX designer to do? The interwebs have been asking this question for a while. The conclusion I subscribe to:
There's nothing wrong with checkboxes on touch devices.
Ask the developer to make a checkbox out of a button. It's an easy thing to do. And people already get this whole checkbox thing. Afterall, iOS users aren't studying up for the iOS HIG test or anything right? They do use other interfaces in the course of their day.
In my experience, users know what to do when they see clearly indicated checkboxes. In fact, I've found that more users know what to do with checkboxes than toggle switches, at least for multi-select lists. Test your audience and see if you can confirm otherwise.
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