The letter shapes are similar with minor changes but there's differences in the kerning (letter spacing).
Okay, so San Francisco lower case "e" is more readable in small font sizes. Other than that, I would say Helvetica Neue looks much better. I really like Myriad Pro in that screenshot too.
If I don't wear glasses, I can clearly see everything outside the vehicle (car/truck/airplane) to the horizon. What I can't see as well are instruments and panel/cockpit controls, especially if they're all similar in appearance, shape, and local contrast to the panel.
There's a very wide range between "I can see it so everyone else can get stuffed" youth and "it's really time to give up driving" vision impairment.
The guy telling you to stop driving probably has perfect vision... Or at least perfectly comfortable correction in use.
Exactly. Ridiculously small in many many cases, including within some of Apple's own apps.
More so in 3rd party apps where the font size is down to 4 point, sometimes less. And reading on a phone screen doesn't magically mean that the type is more readable than in print. In my publishing days, 6 point was the minimum size to be readable. I'd like 8 point minimum in iOS, and still include the option to Bold it like we have now.
Thank JOBS we have so many industry leaders here to take time out of their illustrious careers to voice their opinions on this groundbreaking and pivotal moment.
Also, people prefer Nueue but then criticize it for not being good enough? What kind of bizzaro world do AppleInsider commenters live in?
Thanks for this post. I am with the others who really didn't see much, if any, difference. The examples in use help in showing the difference. I also wondered why the article in their side-by-side comparison did not use the fonts on the same background, backgrounds make a lot of difference in perception, also.
I guess I must be one of the old farts that Apple usually tries to help - but in the case of the new keyboard, they're making it more difficult for guys like me: LOWER CASE LETTERS ARE HARDER TO READ on those tiny onscreen keyboards!
To be honest, until I saw this article, I thought Apple had just changed the font to a less legible one. I didn't even realize that the key labels had changed to lower case!
They have made the iOS and OS X versions of San Francisco more rounded. Some of the tests of San Francisco on OS X took it straight off the Watch but that version has been renamed San Francisco Compact, which has flatter edges on some of the characters.
They also have some context-sensitive features like different glyphs, different alignment, differences for displaying and different spacing (proportional vs monospaced).
Having their own font gives them complete control over all aspects of the display like even for small things that are important but they can't change easily with typefaces that someone else controls e.g the colon alignment in the time. When you write colon in text like this: it's better aligning with the lower-case letters but when you write the time 12:45, it looks better vertically centered like on clocks:
Been using ios 9 since it became available, And while the difference is minor, it makes huge difference. The OS has never looked and felt more polished and sophisticated. It was the right choice to change it among the other minor changes.
I still prefer Helvetica Neue over San Francisco. I had no issues reading text on my iPhone or iPad (both retina devices).
If thickness was an issue, why did Apple not use Helvetica Neue "Medium" (65) weight as the default system font in iOS?
There are other aspects of San Francisco that improve legibility, particularly at smaller font sizes.
This will benefit everybody, especially in situations where legibility is iffy — bad lighting, quick glances (eyes over forty take way too long to adjust distances), etc.
Comments
So still got that fugly flat minimalistic POS user interface going on there, eh?
Well, we are sure going to miss you as you migrate back to your employer, Samsung.
I still prefer Helvetica Neue over San Francisco. I had no issues reading text on my iPhone or iPad (both retina devices).
If thickness was an issue, why did Apple not use Helvetica Neue "Medium" (65) weight as the default system font in iOS?
I appreciate changes that improve readability. I still like Neue, though.
But though I'm young, I've burnt out my eyes with straining to read screens all the time. Anything to make it better gets a thumbs up.
Typography is fascinating-- one of those things we look at everyday and don't consciously think of, but can make a big difference.
Did someone beat me to it?
This.
Spot on.
Exactly.
iOS7 UI redesign had some very cool features and functionality, but it's "look" was a big disappointment. Different, but not better.
The guy telling you to stop driving probably has perfect vision... Or at least perfectly comfortable correction in use.
More so in 3rd party apps where the font size is down to 4 point, sometimes less. And reading on a phone screen doesn't magically mean that the type is more readable than in print. In my publishing days, 6 point was the minimum size to be readable. I'd like 8 point minimum in iOS, and still include the option to Bold it like we have now.
We aren't all 18 years old.
Apple didn't create Helvetica. It's been around before computers existed.
You can easily turn on bold fonts in Accessibility and everything becomes bold. It's a non-issue.
Also, people prefer Nueue but then criticize it for not being good enough? What kind of bizzaro world do AppleInsider commenters live in?
Thanks for this post. I am with the others who really didn't see much, if any, difference. The examples in use help in showing the difference. I also wondered why the article in their side-by-side comparison did not use the fonts on the same background, backgrounds make a lot of difference in perception, also.
To be honest, until I saw this article, I thought Apple had just changed the font to a less legible one. I didn't even realize that the key labels had changed to lower case!
https://developer.apple.com/videos/wwdc/2015/?id=804
They have made the iOS and OS X versions of San Francisco more rounded. Some of the tests of San Francisco on OS X took it straight off the Watch but that version has been renamed San Francisco Compact, which has flatter edges on some of the characters.
They also have some context-sensitive features like different glyphs, different alignment, differences for displaying and different spacing (proportional vs monospaced).
Having their own font gives them complete control over all aspects of the display like even for small things that are important but they can't change easily with typefaces that someone else controls e.g the colon alignment in the time. When you write colon in text like this: it's better aligning with the lower-case letters but when you write the time 12:45, it looks better vertically centered like on clocks:
[IMG ALT=""]http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/60862/width/500/height/1000[/IMG]
so they can allow you to change those settings without manually laying out characters.
Exactly, why make a big deal about it when almost no one will notice.
Because Apple is all about sweating the details that make YOUR life easier and their products more pleasant without you ever noticing.
I still prefer Helvetica Neue over San Francisco. I had no issues reading text on my iPhone or iPad (both retina devices).
If thickness was an issue, why did Apple not use Helvetica Neue "Medium" (65) weight as the default system font in iOS?
There are other aspects of San Francisco that improve legibility, particularly at smaller font sizes.
This will benefit everybody, especially in situations where legibility is iffy — bad lighting, quick glances (eyes over forty take way too long to adjust distances), etc.