New Square POS App interface is awful

[TapSelectBar]

We have updated to the new POS user interface today before it is inflicted on us next week. It is awful.

I can't see how anything has been improved - design choices are bizarre and the UX team clearly haven't used the app in a real retail setting.

Adding extra steps, taps/touches of the screen when they only used to take one is the opposite of good design. It is now less efficient and features that were useful have been removed.

Most infuriating of all is that the charge button has been moved up an inch to accommodate the 'More' button. Having used Square for four years, the charge button has always been in the very bottom right of the screen. It is second nature to hit this area of the screen to charge a sale, now I'm hitting a menu and having to hit the back button EVERY SINGLE SALE.

Why the move button can't be at the top left (or even top right) where it would be on the Square website, where users would intuitively expect it to be? 

Why is the search function now only restricted to the category you're in? We have three different burgers, but hundreds of cans - if a customer says they want to order a burger, I now have to tap out of the Burger category before I can use the search function to find the can of beer they want instead of being to search all the items straight from the burger menu. 

I have tried setting up favourites to help ease the problem, but the search function isn't available on the favourites screen, so another touch of the screen is required. If I open a category from the favourites, I have to reopen the category for every item added. This method is doubling the number of screen taps required. 

I appreciate that change is a normal part of software development, but I can't see how this new interface improves the service. The app has aways been great and worked well. 

Anyone else tried this out yet? 

[Breffni]

Hi @TapSelectBar - I really appreciate you taking the time to leave this feedback and I'm disappointed to hear that you feel the new app version isn't beneficial for your business. 

Our product team hoped to simplify the way that sellers interact with the app when making all of these changes. This includes the new navigation bar, where you will have instant access to the Checkout screen, Transactions page, and Notifications, — all conveniently located at the bottom of the app screen across all compatible devices. All other tools are tucked away under the “More” tab. I do understand that this will take some getting used to. 

This goes hand in hand with merchants using Square on iOS, Android, and Square Terminal devices - you will also notice that the Keypad, Library, and Favorites sections have moved from the bottom of the screen to the top. It means the interface is aligned on all devices which will be really useful for businesses that use multiple different devices, including the Register. 

Some other changes that may come in handy someday: 

- Sellers using SPOS on a mobile device or Square Terminal will now have the ability to create an item grid through the Favorites section of the Checkout screen (previously only available on Tablets and Square Register). 

- Orders in the navigation bar - Sellers actively managing orders will be able to fulfil them right from the main navigation bar. --- For those not using Orders, it will be placed out of the way under the “More” tab.

“Review Sale” step on mobile - When accepting payments on mobile or Square Terminal devices, you must tap the “Review Sale” step in Settings for sales with single, custom amounts

There are more in-depth details on all of these features here in the support centre. 

Again - I understand that you may view some of these updates as a hindrance but they were made with the intention of helping, and overall we have received mainly positive feedback around this app refresh. 

Nonetheless, I will pass this thread on as it's valuable feedback and I hope in time that you and your staff will benefit from some of these updates. 

Hopefully, some other sellers can hop in here and share their experiences! 

[Haswalt]

I agree in the original points. The UX doesn’t feel like an improvement. Especially the change to product variants. With a busy bar it’s now so much harder to quickly put orders through. 4 pints is now 5 taps instead of 2. 

[TapSelectBar]

Hi @Breffni  - I appreciate you taking the time to reply. 

If you can ask the design team to reinstate the ability to search all items from every category rather than just limiting to the one that you're in, this would improve things dramatically. It would also make the favourites screen more useful to have the search bar available at the top also. 

We are finding that because the keypad, library and favourites are now swipeable, this is happening unintentionally when trying to scroll up and down to find categories that have been obscured by placing all of the discounts/rewards etc at the top of the library screen. Again, we are using the app in a busy environment and little things like this make using the app infuriating and frustrating.