THE UX REFLEX THEORY: LESSONS FROM APPLE'S SEARCH BAR EXPERIMENT

Summary from the TLDR Design newsletter

Experiments by Apple and Amazon in moving their search bars to the bottom of the screen were met with resistance, highlighting the UX Reflex Theory. Users' conditioned muscle memory, shaped by the consistent use of traditional designs, makes them averse to abrupt changes. While new patterns can be learned, initial reluctance is expected until these new behaviors become ingrained reflexes.