Can I disable the iPhone search function?

I don't want to get this into a back and forth about why people are going to like the search functionality or not. I simply want to know if I can disable it or not. You like it, I don't (nor does 3qualizer) -- it doesn't work for me where it is. I'm sure there are plenty of people that would reside on both sides of this issue.

If it cannot be disbled, then I will submit a feature request to enable the abiltiy to disable it.

john.grayson wrote:

not true. while on the home screen all you need to do is click the home button and the search screen will appear. you don't need to go one extra swipe.

Maybe I did not explain myself well enough...

If you swipe to the right (to go left) when on the home screen it continues on to the search screen. You can also get to the search screen in the manner you are describing.

If you know of a way that prevents me from swiping to the right on the home screen and getting to the search screen, please let me know.

RestlessFool wrote:
ACTUALLY, IF you configure and use your iPhone's facilities appropriately then you may find that you DO NOT need to SWIPE nearly as much as you used to do - it's called 'usability'.....

One touch on 'Home' can take you to 'Home' (the first page that is not 'Search'), but a double-touch on 'Home' can take you to 'Search'.

If you place ALL of your regularly-used facilities on the first page then you're 'home' and dry! (Pun intended) If you place all of your next most-frequently used facilities on the second page then you're a single 'swipe' away from twice as much as the most-frequently used but only a touch OR a swipe away from the first page and still only a double-touch away from 'Search'.

I used to hate having to swipe several pages to get to something when now I can double-touch to get to 'Search', enter two or three characters and be one touch away from something really precise or unique.

Personally I am THANKFUL for the simplicity of the GLOBAL search function (capitals intended!)

As I eluded to before, people use their phones in different ways. I have the way I like using the phone, which involves swiping, you have your way of using the phone, which involves clicking. What works for you does not work for me. One way is not better than the other, it is simply different. This was the beauty of the iPhone interface pre version 3.0.

With the search function as-is, it definitely favors the clickers over the swipers. With most other Mac OS interfaces, there has always been multitudes of ways to customize the experience so each user could make things work for them -- this is simply not one of those instances.

I am hopeful that in version 3.01 there will be something to allow me to disable the search feature from being located where it is or disable it altogether. And like I said in a previous post, there are plenty of people like you who will love the search capabilities, there will be many more who use the search capabilities every now and again, then there will be plenty like me who will not find the ability to search our phones the slightest bit useful.

Why not just make it into an icon? And/or still allow for the double click to take you there?

paulcb wrote:
Perhaps you could find it in the manual... http://manuals.info.apple.com/enUS/iPhone_UserGuide.pdf

Message was edited by: paulcb

No such luck. Thanks for the link to the manual though.

Message was edited by: AppleTom29

Jim VanLeeuwen wrote:
Is is what it is, at least until we get a software update. I can't find any OFF option.

File your desires here: http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

Thanks for the link. My request for a feature enhancement for disabling the search functionality and/or removing it as the first page and replacing it with an app icon has been submitted.

I encourage others to submit this same feature request so we can get it implemented in the next release.

In the request I also suggested an alternative to having the search page to the left of the home page... Why not to the top or bottom of that page? Where a swipe up or down would bring you there. This would make the interface resemble more of the Spaces in OS X and would also prevent getting to the page inadvertently with a swipe to the right.