What I like most about them (or, what I like least about this 4th AppleTV UI) is that they advertise movies to rent and buy on the main screen. That should all be kept under the iTunes Store Movies listing.
They should also make it more clear that Movies, TV Shows and Music are pointing you to the iTunes Store, not your already purchased or networked content. Are they all in the same button or do you have to go to Computers for it? I don't know because it's not obvious.
I do like their 16:9 buttons since HDTVs are mostly that aspect ratio or similar, but yours are more familiar and feel less cluttered with more space between icons and 15 instead of 20 icons when showing a full page.
I also like your ticker and widget, which would be a great way to add Dashboard like overlay so long as they had a quick method to call it and then remove it.
I can only say I think that the latest interface if pretty decent on my 50 inch Plasma Panasonic.
The latest Apple TV is pretty darn good.
Not sure if it's the 'last' word on the ATV interface. I suspect IF Apple bring out there own TV then this one is merely the 'placeholder' for it and a more app/iOS style interface...
"Easier than ever to use" does not automatically mean good design. A user interface must also be non-fatiguing and pleasing to look at for long periods of time AND also be easy to use. Regardless of its easy usability there are some folks who don't find this new UI as being pleasing to look at and that alone is a departure from other Apple products that excelled at both.
Let's hope Apple reads these on-line discussions and pays more attention to the visual impact of their UI.
Also, iPhoto for Pad has the most functional, intelligent, and gorgeous UI I've ever seen on any Apple app. Apple is doing the best work today it has ever done, with or without Steve Jobs. Enough with this concern-trolling bullshit.
I'm a true believer in "if it isn't broke don't fix it". There was a reason why the Apple TV was so popular. But Apple has made major guy changes in the past not only to their OS but to Premium applications. Final Cut Pro X was a major change as a good example. We will have to see in the long run. Hopefully Apple wont turn into another Microsoft as to design things that cause the end user more grief than pleasure.
I think Steve Jobs's irritation with this style of UI for the TV would've been based on his gut-feeling. Being consistent with the iOS grid of icons is an obvious and easy choice, but Jobs made Apple special by pushing relentlessly to find the un-obvious choice. Having said that, my wife and friends (who also own iPhones/iPads) immediately discovered previously buried features as if they were new. After the update, I heard "Oh cool, they added Radio stations!"
If I can be so presumptuous, I would guess the new UI would feel slightly clumsy to Jobs. In a small form factor, a grid of colorful icons is inviting and helpful. On a large TV screen, big square icons start to feel more cheap and remedial. I imagine Jobs perceived TVs as a more sophisticated visual experience and deserving of a more elegant UI treatment on the level of elite home theater hardware.
I swear the first thing I thought when I saw that new TV UI was:
"That doesn't look like something Steve would have approved."
And its real simple: the colors of the UI are competing with the colors in the movie posters. It ends up as a cacophony of colors...and the eye doesn't know where to land.
Sorry but most posters on this thread aren't qualified to comment. Design isn't just opinion and it can't be determined by anecdotal nonsense like, "My kids like 'em." You either have a trained and sophisticated design eye -- or you don't. (very few do)
This UI sucks and is a bad sign moving forward.
A good design will appeal to about 95% of its audience...and won't provoke 1/3 of the fanbase to say: "it sucks!"
Why is that Steve Jobs is dead everything Apple does is attacked with comments about how Jobs wouldn't have approved this or that. I don't think it's likely everyone at Apple was waiting for Jobs to die so they could do things their way. This isn't like your parents leaving you in charge for the first time. There is no reason to expect Tim Cook to rebel against everything Apple has built up.
I swear the first thing I thought when I saw that new TV UI was:
"That doesn't look like something Steve would have approved."
And its real simple: the colors of the UI are competing with the colors in the movie posters. It ends up as a cacophony of colors...and the eye doesn't know where to land.
Sorry but most posters on this thread aren't qualified to comment. Design isn't just opinion and it can't be determined by anecdotal nonsense like, "My kids like 'em." You either have a trained and sophisticated design eye -- or you don't. (very few do)
This UI sucks and is a bad sign moving forward.
A good design will appeal to about 95% of its audience...and won't provoke 1/3 of the fanbase to say: "it sucks!"
Unless...it sucks.
Bullshit. You'll find a large percentage designers that will tell you that skeuomorphism is the worst thing ever (ie. iBooks). But another percentage will tell you there's nothing wrong with it, and consumers have shown that they love it. I used to work in a branding agency. Trust me, there's never any 'consensus' by 'design experts'. There would be arguments everyday between the most skilled, talented, and seasoned designers about the most fundamental of things, as well as the tiniest details. Being a designer myself, I'd also say that you're wrong about this new UI being objectively worse than the previous from a design standpoint. Design means so many things to different people, and when it comes to UI, functionality is just as important and plays a huge role in the design process.
FWIW, I believe a good UI is as intuitive and "invisible" as possible. If you have to think about it, if it draws attention to itself, or if it leaves you wondering how to do something, then it is less than that. For this reason, an easier interface is a better one, regardless of how ugly it is or isn't. People who need the stimulation of a complicated UI can buy something else.
Comments
I just don't get why they wouldn't have just gone with a direct iOS lookalike though, you know?
Something like this.
Those mockups are brilliant.
What I like most about them (or, what I like least about this 4th AppleTV UI) is that they advertise movies to rent and buy on the main screen. That should all be kept under the iTunes Store Movies listing.
They should also make it more clear that Movies, TV Shows and Music are pointing you to the iTunes Store, not your already purchased or networked content. Are they all in the same button or do you have to go to Computers for it? I don't know because it's not obvious.
I do like their 16:9 buttons since HDTVs are mostly that aspect ratio or similar, but yours are more familiar and feel less cluttered with more space between icons and 15 instead of 20 icons when showing a full page.
I also like your ticker and widget, which would be a great way to add Dashboard like overlay so long as they had a quick method to call it and then remove it.
The latest Apple TV is pretty darn good.
Not sure if it's the 'last' word on the ATV interface. I suspect IF Apple bring out there own TV then this one is merely the 'placeholder' for it and a more app/iOS style interface...
Lemon Bon Bon.
Let's hope Apple reads these on-line discussions and pays more attention to the visual impact of their UI.
All of a sudden the appl tv's UI is crap.
The haters are out in full force.
Yet despite all this tash talk the apple tv wil still sell like hotcakes.
Then the UI might make more sense soon?
Great line. So true.
Think of reverse air play...
Then the UI might make more sense soon?
I don't see of any reason it would go the other way.
AirPlay mirroring is the best this to happen to the AppleTV UI. People wanted a web browser on the AppleTV and now they have it.
If I can be so presumptuous, I would guess the new UI would feel slightly clumsy to Jobs. In a small form factor, a grid of colorful icons is inviting and helpful. On a large TV screen, big square icons start to feel more cheap and remedial. I imagine Jobs perceived TVs as a more sophisticated visual experience and deserving of a more elegant UI treatment on the level of elite home theater hardware.
"That doesn't look like something Steve would have approved."
And its real simple: the colors of the UI are competing with the colors in the movie posters. It ends up as a cacophony of colors...and the eye doesn't know where to land.
Sorry but most posters on this thread aren't qualified to comment. Design isn't just opinion and it can't be determined by anecdotal nonsense like, "My kids like 'em." You either have a trained and sophisticated design eye -- or you don't. (very few do)
This UI sucks and is a bad sign moving forward.
A good design will appeal to about 95% of its audience...and won't provoke 1/3 of the fanbase to say: "it sucks!"
Unless...it sucks.
AirPlay mirroring is the best this to happen to the AppleTV UI. People wanted a web browser on the AppleTV and now they have it.
What app is that showing Earth in the solar system?? Very cool looking!
What app is that showing Earth in the solar system?? Very cool looking!
That is Solar Walk - 3D Solar System ($2.99).
- http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/solar...347546771?mt=8
Another great feature for an iPad/Apple TV combo is dual-screen mode. That is MetalStorm: Wingman (Free).The TV shows, Movies, Music for shared computers would be listed under those icons.
IMO, that would be much simpler, especially for users who may not know the particular item is on a shared computer.
After about a week with it, I have to agree that the new UI grates. I miss the simplicity and subtlety of the previous one.
Interestingly, however, my kids (both teenagers) prefer the new UI.
Can't win them all, I suppose......
Yeah, they probably also prefer the new Star Wars trilogy to the old one.
I swear the first thing I thought when I saw that new TV UI was:
"That doesn't look like something Steve would have approved."
And its real simple: the colors of the UI are competing with the colors in the movie posters. It ends up as a cacophony of colors...and the eye doesn't know where to land.
Sorry but most posters on this thread aren't qualified to comment. Design isn't just opinion and it can't be determined by anecdotal nonsense like, "My kids like 'em." You either have a trained and sophisticated design eye -- or you don't. (very few do)
This UI sucks and is a bad sign moving forward.
A good design will appeal to about 95% of its audience...and won't provoke 1/3 of the fanbase to say: "it sucks!"
Unless...it sucks.
Bullshit. You'll find a large percentage designers that will tell you that skeuomorphism is the worst thing ever (ie. iBooks). But another percentage will tell you there's nothing wrong with it, and consumers have shown that they love it. I used to work in a branding agency. Trust me, there's never any 'consensus' by 'design experts'. There would be arguments everyday between the most skilled, talented, and seasoned designers about the most fundamental of things, as well as the tiniest details. Being a designer myself, I'd also say that you're wrong about this new UI being objectively worse than the previous from a design standpoint. Design means so many things to different people, and when it comes to UI, functionality is just as important and plays a huge role in the design process.
The Devil Wears Prada is the top movie on iTunes? Bullshit! Tell me it ain't so!
deleted