Editorial: Apple's iOS 7 needs exclusive, distinctive features, not just a flat UI

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  • Reply 201 of 257
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by poksi

    [post]


     


    Nice false concern. Go away.

  • Reply 202 of 257
    poksipoksi Posts: 482member
    Nice false concern. Go away.

    Have a beer, man, relax, people that make a living programming on those platforms have no false concerns.

    Any specific argumented reply?
  • Reply 203 of 257
    poksipoksi Posts: 482member
    rogifan wrote: »
    Ive just took over HI last October. I doubt he had anything to do with previous OS X design. Can we at least wait until we see the new software before we proclaim he has no clue about it? As far as we know the same people who worked for Forstall are still there. I highly doubt they'd ship junk just because Ive told them to do so. Plus the rumor that Rene Ritchie reported a while back claimed Ive's changes were making people "really happy". Might not make the pro skeuomorphic crowd happy but that doesn't mean it's crap.


    I wish you were right, but i doubt....official date and influence of second most important VP are not one and the same.

    Then there are very bad relations between Forstall and Ive. Over CEO? Don't think so. I'd say Ive wanted iOS to follow changes in design of OS X that have Ive's watermark all over it. GUI started to look like Mac unibody..., While it looks great on the outside ir looks like NExtstep with larger resolution on inside....

    AnywAy, I hope, i am wrng, but seeing completely unnecessary cutbacks in OS X....
  • Reply 204 of 257


    NeXTStep was a thing of beauty...

     


    I remember the first time I fired up my Turbo slab and logged in - it was like 'whoa'...a whole different level of an experience. I've yet to come across any other OS since that I've had the same reaction to unfortunately.

  • Reply 205 of 257
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by poksi View Post

    …ir looks like NExtstep with larger resolution on inside….


     


    image

  • Reply 206 of 257
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    ireland wrote: »
    And when the rumour proves true, will it matter then? Because I think it matters a lot, and that it has a definitely ring of truth to it.
    Certain people can continue to deny it but I'll be interested in their comments come June 10. Probably will be asking for Ive to be fired for ruininng their iPhone. :lol:
  • Reply 207 of 257
    poksipoksi Posts: 482member


    What I meant is that while brushed aluminum looks perfect on computer cases, it looks really poor in the GUI....

  • Reply 208 of 257
    poksipoksi Posts: 482member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


     


    image



     


    What I meant is that while brushed aluminum looks perfect on computer cases, it looks really poor in the GUI....image

  • Reply 209 of 257
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member


    It's only a matter of time until iPhones and iPads are running multi-core processors and performing like a desktop system.

  • Reply 210 of 257
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post


    I think you probably meant to say Google didn't introduce any new hardware as they often do, which disappointed some folks. All they announced was a lot of new software, features and applications.



     


    Key Lime Pie?


     


    Where was the next dessert?


     


    Apple will announce more.


     


    It will be declared by "experts" as less.


     


    The world will go on.


     


    Business as usual.

  • Reply 211 of 257
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by matt_s View Post


    Why is it always 73 degrees?



     


    It isn't, mine says 23 degrees.

  • Reply 212 of 257
    chris_cachris_ca Posts: 2,543member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post



    We need a budget iPhone at around €349, the main iPhone at €499 (599 & 699), and the large iPhone at €599 (699 & 799). I know that won't happen, but the iPhone would sell in incredible numbers at those price points.


    It is selling in incredible numbers at the current price point...

  • Reply 213 of 257
    slang4artslang4art Posts: 376member
    boondoggle...
  • Reply 214 of 257
    wonkothesanewonkothesane Posts: 1,717member
    To me, saying iOS is "boring" is the same as saying sitting in front of a washing machine is boring. The OS needs to provide simple, elegant and I obstructive functionality. It should be the apps that create the entertainment.
  • Reply 215 of 257
    poksipoksi Posts: 482member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    It's only a matter of time until iPhones and iPads are running multi-core processors and performing like a desktop system.



     


    The are already performing like desktop systems from yesterday and tomorrow they will perform like desktop systems of day after tomorrow...image.


     


    However, they will never perform or function as desktop systems. That is why we have desktop systems. Less and less, but still...

  • Reply 216 of 257
    tt92618tt92618 Posts: 444member


    The concept that Apple would devote significant resources to simply making their UI 'flatter' is troubling on many levels, and I remain hopeful that the emphasis such a design direction is receiving in the press is unrelated to the actual work that is going on.  So, I'm hopeful that what Ive is doing is a great deal more sensitive and insightful than simply eliminating skeumorphism and dimensionality.


     


    That said, I would like to suggest that almost nobody has asked the root question "what would make Ive qualified to lead software design?"  he is clearly brilliant - perhaps one of the most brilliant hardware designers of our age.  But what about his skill set extends, naturally, to the design of software user interfaces?  I ask this because my observation is that people simply assume that Ive's skills in designing hardware will somehow just naturally map to the design of software user interfaces as well, and that assumption itself rests on another assumption: that what makes the hardware 'good' is exactly the same thing that will make the software 'good'.  I think this basic assertion is highly questionable, however; I do NOT think it is a given that the minimalist design aesthetic we see in Apple hardware will translate magically into a pleasing and useful experience in software user interfaces.  I am troubled that much of this direction, at least as described in the press, seems rooted in the assumption that what makes hardware designs good will somehow equate to what makes software UI design 'good'.


     


    If it were just the press, I would be less concerned.  But I see some indication, in the tea leaves as it were, that this is exactly the perception inside Apple.  Cook essentially stated as much when he indicated that he put Ive in charge, here, because he wanted to create unity between the hardware and the software design.  He expressed the view that because Ive had done so marvelously with the hardware, it was a natural fit for him to head the software design too.  Nobody, apparently Cook included, seems to have paused to ask the basic question "does the stuff that makes a piece of hardware pleasant and well designed... equate to the stuff that makes a piece of software pleasant and well designed?"  I think that is a very important, foundational question.  


     


    In my opinion, it is not at all clear that the minimalist design aesthetic which makes Ive's hardware designs so wonderful... is a solution course that will just naturally map to software just as well.


     


    I remain hopeful that Ive is every bit as brilliant as his hardware designs would indicate, and that he is personally grappling with the question above, and seeking to find the designs which work best for the context.  But I have to admit that I think, in software design, that minimalism purely for minimalism's sake is a very poor design direction.  We have already seen what that looks like in the visage of Windows 8, and I don't think too many people like what they see.  Windows 8 is very minimal in its design aesthetic, and it hangs together very well indeed in terms of the purity of its design aesthetic and the way the core UI adheres to its design language.  The problem is this: that aesthetic and design language sucks.  It isn't better just because there is less detail in the visual field. 


     


    So, I hope what Ive produces is distinct, beautiful, and a masterpiece of functionality and user experience.  But I am not confident that what leads to an excellent hardware design is the same thing as what leads to an excellent software UI.

  • Reply 217 of 257
    aussiepaulaussiepaul Posts: 144member


    The problem with Apple is that they've been too focused on hardware lately, and seem to have dropped the ball a few ago with software.


    Most of their applications like Aperture and iWork haven't seen major updates in years.  And although iOS is important, in many ways as a top-down technology OSX is more important.  People still use and need conventional desktops and laptops.


    Furthermore, in other areas Apple have actually gone backward.  For example, iCloud doesn't include many features that MobileME toyed with like iDisk.  Now look how popular Dropbox is.  It's 2013 and it's *still* too complicated to do basic things like share documents and collaborate with people.


    Steve Jobs said Apple is a software company.  So I find it odd that Apple has been so hardware centric for years.  With the software they have introduced recently (Maps and Siri) it's been either disastrous or ho-hum.  Also, check out Apple's feedback page.  It looks like it hasn't been refreshed in years.


    Apple, if you're reading this, I have all the answers to your problems.  Send me an email and I will gladly come and help map out what needs to be done.

  • Reply 218 of 257
    m4macm4mac Posts: 3member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ChristophB View Post





    Agree...





    Multiuser support on the iPad and at a minimum a guest user on iPhone and older iPads.



    Ability to hide any app in guest or non-admin account



    Contacts parity with OS X



    Some not too battery impacting at a glance items on he locked page.



    Lose the leather looks.



    Text search in Safari (or have I just not found it?)


    Also agree. I cannot count the numbers of times some 'little darling' has has had their wicked way with client's iDevice. This includes spending money (yes, password security 101). A guest account and ideally support for multiple accounts with parental control options is becoming vital for many users.


     


    Losing the skeumorphic 'look' is also big on my wish list - other people's 'taste' is too often appalling. 

     

  • Reply 219 of 257
    m4macm4mac Posts: 3member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by hill60 View Post


     


    It isn't, mine says 23 degrees.



     


    Yes, 73 degrees does seem a tad hot for for those of us who live in a celsius culture ;)

  • Reply 220 of 257
    jeazjeaz Posts: 4member
    I've been a user of iPhone since the first iteration and do think it needs a bit freshening up.

    But I agree with the author that while the UI wouldn't hurt from getting an update, it's alot of the native apps that are dragging behind.

    Safari is great as it is, but beyond that, I feel most of the native apps are a bit lackluster. For instance, the Mail app, which is a rather key app, is a bit too simple and for instance have no spam control.
    It's been discussed over and over again how nice it would be to have some of the settings options easier accessed, like from the drag-down curtain.
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