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# User Test: Eli (2026-04-01)

## Context

* Informal follow-up test session.
* Uses Apple Photos with **Optimize Mac Storage** enabled.
* Feedback was recalled and recorded from memory on 2026-04-02.

## What went well

* Apple Photos loading status was reportedly returning more accurate feedback than before.
* The app did eventually start yielding results, even when optimized-storage downloads were slow.

## Observations / Issues

* **Optimized-storage waiting is still frustrating:** when Apple Photos had to pull assets down from iCloud, Eli ended up waiting a long time before anything usable generated.
* **Forward navigation during loading compounded the delay:** while trying to get results faster, he skipped forward and triggered more generations, which in turn caused more files to start loading.
* **Results eventually arrived, but the experience was muddy:** this sounds less like a correctness bug and more like a UX problem around communicating that Apple Photos assets are still loading and what the user should do while waiting.
* **Effects adjustment felt laggier than expected:** Eli noticed that changing effects felt a bit more sluggish than he remembered.
* **Export affordance was not obvious:** Eli did not realize during the session that he could save out a video.
  * He may have worked around this by taking screenshots or using screen capture instead.

## Takeaways

* Optimized Apple Photos storage is still a meaningful friction point even when the app is technically behaving correctly.
* The app likely needs clearer user guidance during long Apple Photos downloads, especially when the user is tempted to keep skipping forward.
* Export/rendering capability may need stronger orientation or onboarding treatment so users notice it earlier.

## Potential follow-ups

1. Make Apple Photos loading state even clearer, including what the user should expect while waiting.
2. Explore some kind of preload or prefetch behavior for Apple Photos-backed video sources.
3. Explain the consequences of using optimized storage more directly:
   * downloads can take time
   * downloads can temporarily use disk space
   * local file sources avoid this issue
4. Investigate the recent feeling of lag while adjusting effects.
5. Improve onboarding/orientation around saving or rendering output.