I have always scoffed at those who jumped onto the "I can't stand the new look" bandwagon. However, I find myself on it desperately trying to find a way off. I hope I do. I hope I wake up one day and say, "wow I guess I was wrong." I just can't get over the flat square corners on everything. It just seems like they took away all of the nice subtle design features that have alway made Apple distinct from a bland PC dialog box.
I guess you missed the new phone app buttons which are not flat square corners?
I agree! Having something that looks like a button on a digitial device with a touchscreen is skeuomorphism and frankly an old way of going about a touchscreen OS. Apple only did this in the beginning so people could adjust easily to using only a touchscreen. Now that everyone has come into contact with modern smartphones, music players, and tablets it's ridiculous to go about this approach like we don't know how to use them without something holding our hands the whole way. This is only holding iOS back. Out with the old in with the new!
Seems to me the buttons were still there, they just were edge to edge and thus were square, not rounded corners. Buttons have existed forever in the digital world and I don't see them going away anytime soon as they serve a functional purpose. I don't think buttons in and of themselves are skeuomorphic. To me, skeuomorphism would be making the calculator app look exactly like a physical Braun calculator. Or some remote control apps that are made to look exactly like their physical counterpart (I think one of the cable companies did this). I don't see how a rounded rectangle colored green or red constitutes skeuomorphism
In iOS 7 SDK, Apple removed all the standard UIButton appearances we used in iOS 6 and replaced them with text. So if you want to create an actual button you have to create your own custom UIButton with custom appearance.
Thus, making apps conform to the new standard takes less effort than retaining the old look. If they kept the old UIButton, too few developers would bother updating.
Apple experienced something similar when transitioning to Cocoa, watching Adobe stick to the Carbon compatibility layer for about six years too many.
Rogifan
AnalogJack
The rounded corners, bordered, heavier type icons have a clunky ad hoc dated ugly look, that is neither fish nor fowl. The borderless, to the edge buttons look better. If they carry on with this 'design by committee' approach, no good can come of it. Apple needs to remember Jobs' dictum whereby Apple knows what people want better than they know themselves.
I don't mind the buttons. And no way would Apple ever use buttons that don't have rounded corners. Though I like translucent better than opaque. If Apple is getting feedback that certain things are difficult or confusing I don't have a problem with them making changes. Like adding a little arrow next to slide to unlock. At the end of the day useability will have to trump aesthetics. I just hope by GM Apple has found a way to incorporate both well.
Things are only difficult or confusing in the same way that a Facebook layout change is. Anytime you change something, people will complain, regardless of how improved things are. I think Apple should have stuck to their vision regarding elegance; all this backpedaling feels like giving us what we deserve, instead of what we need.
techno
I have always scoffed at those who jumped onto the "I can't stand the new look" bandwagon. However, I find myself on it desperately trying to find a way off. I hope I do. I hope I wake up one day and say, "wow I guess I was wrong." I just can't get over the flat square corners on everything. It just seems like they took away all of the nice subtle design features that have alway made Apple distinct from a bland PC dialog box.
Using iOS 7 in daily life is how to get off the bandwagon.
Captions for the FaceTime conversation between Ive and Cook?
"C'mon! Like this!"
"… No."
"Just pull the muscles up in the corners!"
"No, Tim."
"What about a frownsmile, then; try one of those. It's the same thing you're doing now, just a little bit further and with happier eyes."
"You stole my french fries. Do you think that's forgivable so easily?"
I, too, admire the "elegance" and "sophistication" of the ultra light font. But my 67 year-old eyes force me to value usability over aesthetics. Glad to see Apple is going for a balance of form and function.
They still haven't fixed the missing 'to'. That's really embarrassing.
It's not missing. They are cleverly returning to the original form of the expression, and not using it in the product name form. As in: "He wants face time with the boss."
Significant changes. I mean, while it may seem like tiny details that are just scaling back areas where Apple pushed too far, in reality the sum of these changes is leading to a very differently nuanced UI.
For example, instead of just panes above each other like in the original concept, there is now the idea of objects lying above each other. The buttons present this as opposed to the text with backgrounds we saw before.
I tend to disagree. while it's always nice to see them tweaking things, I would characterise these latest few as crossing over into "unnecessary." Other than the full-screen FaceTime, I don't see any of these as a clear improvement over what was there previously and in a couple of spots, like the "message" button, a bit of a step backwards. There are still areas of the original concept for the UI that are both less functional and less attractive IMO that aren't being worked on at all. I take these last few tweaks as an indication that any kind of substantial changes are off the table at this point and I think that's a shame.
I would argue that the one word "Message" button with the word balloon in the bottom right image is really not clear at all. It *looks* nicer by far, but I think it's a step back usability wise. It's not currently a thing that you can respond to a ringing phone with a text. The average user will have to bravely push it at least once before they even find out what it does. I don't think it's good to have a feature that *requires* the user to watch a TV spot or read a manual to know what it's going to do because most people are not going to know what this button does.
It's not missing. They are cleverly returning to the original form of the expression, and not using it in the product name form. As in: "He wants some face time with the boss."
It's not currently a thing that you can respond to a ringing phone with a text. The average user will have to bravely push it at least once before they even find out what it does.
"Bravely"? What sort of doomsday scenario are you imagining Apple would implement on such a button?
I would argue that the one word "Message" button with the word balloon in the bottom right image is really not clear at all. It *looks* nicer by far, but I think it's a step back usability wise. It's not currently a thing that you can respond to a ringing phone with a text. The average user will have to bravely push it at least once before they even find out what it does. I don't think it's good to have a feature that *requires* the user to watch a TV spot or read a manual to know what it's going to do because most people are not going to know what this button does.
I agree and was thinking the same thing.
It seems to me that "Reply with message" and "Remind me later" should be sub-menu options under Decline. Surely Jony Ive's team could find a way to design that in an intuitive way.
I would argue that the one word "Message" button with the word balloon in the bottom right image is really not clear at all. It *looks* nicer by far, but I think it's a step back usability wise. It's not currently a thing that you can respond to a ringing phone with a text. The average user will have to bravely push it at least once before they even find out what it does. I don't think it's good to have a feature that *requires* the user to watch a TV spot or read a manual to know what it's going to do because most people are not going to know what this button does.
While I agree its not perfect it's not that bad.
It's a pretty nice solution for the feature without all of the washed out text that was in previous betas. That would have probably been harder to understand for some.
It seems to me that "Reply with message" and "Remind me later" should be sub-menu options under Decline. Surely Jony Ive's team could find a way to design that in an intuitive way.
I disagree with making those submenus. When I want to decline a call I want to decline it. Sometimes I will want to send a message instead and now I can that simply right from the call screen.
Can't we all agree this is a better solution than what we currently have?
In regards to buttons and the look and feel, Im probably wa'h-ing over trivial stuff, but should not the 'design and feel' be finished before the beta begins work? Almost smacks of in-decision? Won't developers say... 'what the hey'?
It seems to me that "Reply with message" and "Remind me later" should be sub-menu options under Decline. Surely Jony Ive's team could find a way to design that in an intuitive way.
Yeah, I might have overstated it a bit, but it's just not clear what pushing a button marked "message" will do when my phone is ringing. The same with "Remind me" actually.
Is the message button going to take me to the messages app? Is it going to take me to the voicemail part of the phone app? Will "remind me" take me to a calendar and make a reminder for ...?
I like the idea someone else had on this thread where it's just Accept or Decline, and then Decline takes you to some other options.
Maybe this is one of those things we will just learn, it will become the new standard, and we will wonder how it was ever confusing previously, but for right now I think folks will be confused.
I do like the new Phone app overall though. The current one has even more egregiously bad UI problems. After five years of using iPhones I still have problems using the voicemail, and trying to look at calls and contacts without inadvertently calling someone. It's really poorly designed at the moment so anything new is probably a good thing.
Comments
NasserAE
In iOS 7 SDK, Apple removed all the standard UIButton appearances we used in iOS 6 and replaced them with text. So if you want to create an actual button you have to create your own custom UIButton with custom appearance.
Thus, making apps conform to the new standard takes less effort than retaining the old look. If they kept the old UIButton, too few developers would bother updating.
Apple experienced something similar when transitioning to Cocoa, watching Adobe stick to the Carbon compatibility layer for about six years too many.
Rogifan
AnalogJack
The rounded corners, bordered, heavier type icons have a clunky ad hoc dated ugly look, that is neither fish nor fowl. The borderless, to the edge buttons look better. If they carry on with this 'design by committee' approach, no good can come of it. Apple needs to remember Jobs' dictum whereby Apple knows what people want better than they know themselves.
I don't mind the buttons. And no way would Apple ever use buttons that don't have rounded corners. Though I like translucent better than opaque. If Apple is getting feedback that certain things are difficult or confusing I don't have a problem with them making changes. Like adding a little arrow next to slide to unlock. At the end of the day useability will have to trump aesthetics. I just hope by GM Apple has found a way to incorporate both well.
Things are only difficult or confusing in the same way that a Facebook layout change is. Anytime you change something, people will complain, regardless of how improved things are. I think Apple should have stuck to their vision regarding elegance; all this backpedaling feels like giving us what we deserve, instead of what we need.
techno
I have always scoffed at those who jumped onto the "I can't stand the new look" bandwagon. However, I find myself on it desperately trying to find a way off. I hope I do. I hope I wake up one day and say, "wow I guess I was wrong." I just can't get over the flat square corners on everything. It just seems like they took away all of the nice subtle design features that have alway made Apple distinct from a bland PC dialog box.
Using iOS 7 in daily life is how to get off the bandwagon.
They still haven't fixed the missing 'to'. That's really embarrassing.
"C'mon! Like this!"
"… No."
"Just pull the muscles up in the corners!"
"No, Tim."
"What about a frownsmile, then; try one of those. It's the same thing you're doing now, just a little bit further and with happier eyes."
"You stole my french fries. Do you think that's forgivable so easily?"
Oooooh, I cannot wait for the IOS7 update. It is going to be so supercool.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smiles77
Significant changes. I mean, while it may seem like tiny details that are just scaling back areas where Apple pushed too far, in reality the sum of these changes is leading to a very differently nuanced UI.
For example, instead of just panes above each other like in the original concept, there is now the idea of objects lying above each other. The buttons present this as opposed to the text with backgrounds we saw before.
I tend to disagree. while it's always nice to see them tweaking things, I would characterise these latest few as crossing over into "unnecessary." Other than the full-screen FaceTime, I don't see any of these as a clear improvement over what was there previously and in a couple of spots, like the "message" button, a bit of a step backwards. There are still areas of the original concept for the UI that are both less functional and less attractive IMO that aren't being worked on at all. I take these last few tweaks as an indication that any kind of substantial changes are off the table at this point and I think that's a shame.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleInsider
...
..
I would argue that the one word "Message" button with the word balloon in the bottom right image is really not clear at all. It *looks* nicer by far, but I think it's a step back usability wise. It's not currently a thing that you can respond to a ringing phone with a text. The average user will have to bravely push it at least once before they even find out what it does. I don't think it's good to have a feature that *requires* the user to watch a TV spot or read a manual to know what it's going to do because most people are not going to know what this button does.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Connie
Oooooh, I cannot wait for the IOS7 update. It is going to be so supercool.
Me too!
I personally liked the thin type face and border to border buttons. But the new rounded buttons with thicker type face are good, too!
Can't wait!
Ooh. You're absolutely right. I like this now.
Come off it.
With Jony at the helm of UI design it reminds me of watching a talented desktop publisher try their hand at web programming for the first time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
I would argue that the one word "Message" button with the word balloon in the bottom right image is really not clear at all. It *looks* nicer by far, but I think it's a step back usability wise. It's not currently a thing that you can respond to a ringing phone with a text. The average user will have to bravely push it at least once before they even find out what it does. I don't think it's good to have a feature that *requires* the user to watch a TV spot or read a manual to know what it's going to do because most people are not going to know what this button does.
I agree and was thinking the same thing.
It seems to me that "Reply with message" and "Remind me later" should be sub-menu options under Decline. Surely Jony Ive's team could find a way to design that in an intuitive way.
While I agree its not perfect it's not that bad.
It's a pretty nice solution for the feature without all of the washed out text that was in previous betas. That would have probably been harder to understand for some.
I disagree with making those submenus. When I want to decline a call I want to decline it. Sometimes I will want to send a message instead and now I can that simply right from the call screen.
Can't we all agree this is a better solution than what we currently have?
Quote:
Originally Posted by randallking
I agree and was thinking the same thing.
It seems to me that "Reply with message" and "Remind me later" should be sub-menu options under Decline. Surely Jony Ive's team could find a way to design that in an intuitive way.
Yeah, I might have overstated it a bit, but it's just not clear what pushing a button marked "message" will do when my phone is ringing. The same with "Remind me" actually.
Is the message button going to take me to the messages app? Is it going to take me to the voicemail part of the phone app? Will "remind me" take me to a calendar and make a reminder for ...?
I like the idea someone else had on this thread where it's just Accept or Decline, and then Decline takes you to some other options.
Maybe this is one of those things we will just learn, it will become the new standard, and we will wonder how it was ever confusing previously, but for right now I think folks will be confused.
I do like the new Phone app overall though. The current one has even more egregiously bad UI problems. After five years of using iPhones I still have problems using the voicemail, and trying to look at calls and contacts without inadvertently calling someone. It's really poorly designed at the moment so anything new is probably a good thing.