Inside Mac OS X 10.7 Lion: Developer Preview 3 dials down animated tabs
The third developer preview release of Mac OS X Lion reverts an experimental change in how tabbed panes are drawn and animated, dropping a iOS-like slider animation to present the active tab as simply a depressed button.
Apple is retaining Lion's toned down new version of its Aqua design language, which strips much of the bright blue highlighting and bubbly interface controls such as buttons and window navigation arrows, the omission of which tend to make Mac OS X look more cohesively related to iOS.
However, Lion's new sliding pane tabs, which originally appeared to make the control function like a physically raised button that slid into place on a click (as depicted below) have been revised in Lion DP3 to work, but not look, more like the existing controls in Snow Leopard.
Rather than adopting a bright blue highlight, the selected tab section is now drawn as if it were depressed inward, with a dark background and high contrast, white lettering. The Security & Privacy pane below shows the difference between the current Aqua look, the original Lion appearance, and the revised new design in Lion DP3.
The overall look of the new tab controls when they appear in nestled panes is portrayed below, comparing the Speech pane in Snow Leopard with the revised appearance of Lion DP3. The graphics also depict the loss of colored highlighting throughout the interface, and flatter, round radio button controls as opposed to the "candy drop" bubbles introduced by Aqua.
Apple is retaining Lion's toned down new version of its Aqua design language, which strips much of the bright blue highlighting and bubbly interface controls such as buttons and window navigation arrows, the omission of which tend to make Mac OS X look more cohesively related to iOS.
However, Lion's new sliding pane tabs, which originally appeared to make the control function like a physically raised button that slid into place on a click (as depicted below) have been revised in Lion DP3 to work, but not look, more like the existing controls in Snow Leopard.
Rather than adopting a bright blue highlight, the selected tab section is now drawn as if it were depressed inward, with a dark background and high contrast, white lettering. The Security & Privacy pane below shows the difference between the current Aqua look, the original Lion appearance, and the revised new design in Lion DP3.
The overall look of the new tab controls when they appear in nestled panes is portrayed below, comparing the Speech pane in Snow Leopard with the revised appearance of Lion DP3. The graphics also depict the loss of colored highlighting throughout the interface, and flatter, round radio button controls as opposed to the "candy drop" bubbles introduced by Aqua.
Comments
But yes, it is dull.
I can't recall (iCal?) where I've used that slider interface, but it's very confusing to tell what the selection is.
The slider effect for the tabs looked cool, but I think that was it.... Great for switches (on / off), but not great for a multi-tab UI switcher. But the latest gray look still doesn't look quite finished... let's see some colour added back.
What's the use of having a high-def monitor if the sliders and buttons are monochromatic. I hate the new look! What's the obsession with removing colors?? It looks so dull
Silly rabbit, candy colors are for kids.
Thank god for that. Previous iteratiom looked like you had three tabs active, and one not.
But yes, it is dull.
It's a slider for Christ sake. How hard can it be.
Color. Please.
Silly rabbit, candy colors are for kids.
Sorry friend but this is absurd. Maybe your brain isn't wired to interpret rich information sources, but mine is. Color is an extremely powerful and deep way to provide cues. Flattening out the information layers is desirable only to people with OCD or to people who are shallow enough to think "That's the way we used to do it. This is different. Therefore this is better." is a rational design philosophy.
Also: snark is for amateurs. There's a difference between "color" and "candy colors". (And frankly, just because you mock "candy colors" doesn't make bright colors bad, either. It was used with great skill and beauty in the early days of OS X, and if you think that was an OS for kids, I'd invite you to grow up. Beauty might be enjoyed by children, but it's only fully appreciated by adults. Understand that point, and maybe you'll have taken a small step toward becoming an adult yourself)
I do wish they would at least allow an option to get rid of that faux leather look in iCal and have a less gimmicky Address Book design.
I agree completely. On one hand Apple is going to great lengths to give the OS a more sophisticated look (e.g. removing "candy" elements), and on the other hand they are shoehorning gimmicky faux leather and simulated book-covers into core applications. I'm not sure I understand how to synthesize those two approaches in a single OS update.
I like the animated tabs, but this is a classic example of where a touch of color would help clue the user which tab is selected ? especially if there's only 2 tabs. If it's a matter of shades of grey then it's completely arbitrary which one represents selected and which one unselected.
Color. Please.
100% agree.
When there are only two tabs it's terrible. Sure once you've used it for a while you'll remember, but if someone new to OS X looks at that and it's ambiguous, then it's probably not the best UI decision.
Why the loss of color? It looks dour, monochromatic without Aqua highlights...
What's the use of having a high-def monitor if the sliders and buttons are monochromatic. I hate the new look! What's the obsession with removing colors?? It looks so dull
I like the animated tabs, but this is a classic example of where a touch of color would help clue the user which tab is selected — especially if there's only 2 tabs. If it's a matter of shades of grey then it's completely arbitrary which one represents selected and which one unselected.
Color. Please.
It seems that most of us here get it, but apple designers don't these days, such loss of colour makes for a very dour os, and for a downward spiral in usability, I hope they reverse it along with that crappy slider thing they already reversed.
Enough with the colour-less sidebars and toolbar icons guys, get it that nobody likes it and start focusing on the real issues with the os, we don't really care for interface jackass tweaks.
STOP TAKING AWAY AQUA ELEMENTS, WE 'VE GROWN TO REALLY LIKE THEM. We don't want os x to be ios, we don't want a lifeless os, there's enough grey already on the macs, and on the os to not add more colourless subdued elements.
Lion has a chance to be really great if you don't go pandering after the ios croud. We couldn't care less about minor yet backward interface a la ios tweaks....
So focus on real os improvements.
How about some resolution independence?
How about a functioning filevault?
How about proper 2011 cloud integration as opposed to the buggy as hell idisk?
And how about fixing hfs+, a couple o years ago we were still hoping for zfs, now that's off the table at least improve somehow the filesystem, is that what the world's most advanced os should have? I don't think so...
...and no, full screen apps is not really great, it's a tad better than the windoze f11 key, that's all. welcome, but nothing to write home about.
Stop messing with aqua elements we know and love, or at least put the new tweaks in as options, and start with the real annoyances of the os...
Sorry friend but this is absurd. Maybe your brain isn't wired to interpret rich information sources, but mine is. Color is an extremely powerful and deep way to provide cues. Flattening out the information layers is desirable only to people with OCD or to people who are shallow enough to think "That's the way we used to do it. This is different. Therefore this is better." is a rational design philosophy.
Also: snark is for amateurs. There's a difference between "color" and "candy colors". (And frankly, just because you mock "candy colors" doesn't make bright colors bad, either. It was used with great skill and beauty in the early days of OS X, and if you think that was an OS for kids, I'd invite you to grow up. Beauty might be enjoyed by children, but it's only fully appreciated by adults. Understand that point, and maybe you'll have taken a small step toward becoming an adult yourself)
amen, couldn't have said it better, and I 've tried to.