Picture yourself with a phone and a GUI,
With tangerine apps and smokey glass slides.
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly;
The font's kind of hard to make out...
A chromatic flower that represents Photos
A monochrome button for stores;
At least with Maps you won't drive off the road,
That one's fixed.
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
Ah...
Not just the icons, the UIs themselves, too,
Have been all stripped down and quite simplified
No one can say it's not change from the last one;
The trolls still come out and they cry...
Cam-er-a, Stocks, the Compass, and Settings
Have virtually no UI.
No skeuomorphics for Game Center or
Notes either...
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
Ah...
Picture yourself there in Grand Central Station,
With iOS 7 and an iPhone 5.
And who should walk into the Apple Store there;
The girl carrying Samsung's new lies...
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
Ah...
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
Ah...
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
Picture yourself with a phone and a GUI,
With tangerine apps and smokey glass slides.
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly;
The font's kind of hard to make out...
A chromatic flower that represents Photos
A monochrome button for stores;
At least with Maps you won't drive off the road,
That one's fixed.
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
Ah...
Not just the icons, the UIs themselves, too,
Have been all stripped down and quite simplified
No one can say it's not change from the last one;
The trolls still come out and they cry...
Cam-er-a, Stocks, the Compass, and Settings
Have virtually no UI.
No skeuomorphics for Game Center or
Notes either...
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
Ah...
Picture yourself there in Grand Central Station,
With iOS 7 and an iPhone 5.
And who should walk into the Apple Store there;
The girl carrying Samsung's new lies...
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
Ah...
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
Ah...
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
OK old boy I'll bite, to what tune do those lyrics go to? I can normally figure it out but this one escapes me.
The quick settings panel looks a lot better on the iPad than it does on the iPhone.
I still think they are making a horrible mistake in eliminating all the buttons for Windows 8 style text instead. It violates practically every rule of UI design there is.
They say we are now more "mature" users of the system so we don't need the 3D cues anymore, but this is clearly just a lie or cover-story they tell themselves (or us) to smooth things over. No other OS I can think of has ever purposely reduced discoverability or legibility in this way.
Sure lots of mistakes have been made along those lines in the past, but I can't think of anyone who has purposely done such a thing and then tried to explain it away by saying that the users are "too sophisticated" to need that stuff anymore. It's just fluffy words to cover up decisions that have been made based on visuals instead of usability.
I like some of it well enough, However, when you turn over the reins to a knighted esthete like Ives with an overinflated (and constantly fed) sense of his minimalist design genius, the "function determines form" dictum is replaced by "Iveian style = everything" (which makes the funny "iOS Bauhaus" remark I read elsewhere actually the opposite of what this is, NTM Bauhaus architecture is blocky and deadly boring overall).
And then there's the "My first OS" look of a fair amount, e.g., the dead looking iMessages and the bookshelves without shelves mess.
Also while many are singing the praises of the thin typeface and muted color contrasts, I'm betting they'll be bitching after spending some time with this out in the sun where the screens wash out.
But overall, I'm open-minded about how this makeover will elaborate over time....
I actually like most of it. But then, I do like Windows 8 Modern GUI, so my taste is obviously tuned toward such visuals.
Some elements are borrowed from other OSs (which is fine, much as I am concerned), but overall look is still very much iOS-ish.
Save for Newstand. Shelves approximation with different colour gradient for each row is a bit of an overkill for me. I'd personally prefer just a grid of publications' icons... or just two close-matched solid colours swapping for each odd and even row... say white and light grey?
Unfortunately I don't have any iOS7 capable device around me at present, so no go for me, at least not right now...
I don't see what the point of this kind of design trickery.
It replicates the 3D shelves with gradients and squares, but the shelves are still there. If the shelves are still there, why not just let them be shelves? Why try to pretend that they aren't there when they obviously are?
I hated the old wooden shelves, but while these are more attractive, WHY DO WE NEED VIRTUAL SHELVES AT ALL?
Why not just a simple grid of book covers, just like iTunes grid of album covers? F*ck the shelves.
I totally agree. It's like someone was tasked with "getting rid of skeumorphism" and just - rather than redesign the UX - replace the shelves with gradients. Hopefully the marketing guy did that, and it will go away real soon now. If the books are not supposed to be standing on anything they don't need to have different gradients in each row - if they are standing on something, make it a shelf. Even a minimalist one.
The other extremely weird UI/UX is reminders. I challenge anybody to work out what is going on there.
I still think they are making a horrible mistake in eliminating all the buttons for Windows 8 style text instead. It violates practically every rule of UI design there is.
They say we are now more "mature" users of the system so we don't need the 3D cues anymore, but this is clearly just a lie or cover-story they tell themselves (or us) to smooth things over. No other OS I can think of has ever purposely reduced discoverability or legibility in this way.
Sure lots of mistakes have been made along those lines in the past, but I can't think of anyone who has purposely done such a thing and then tried to explain it away by saying that the users are "too sophisticated" to need that stuff anymore. It's just fluffy words to cover up decisions that have been made based on visuals instead of usability.
I wonder if this concern is not overblown. Do actual real people not get text and a < button? Or is it just designers assuming that wouldn't work. I don't see it. Its easily found out and learned.
Legibility is an issue though, they need some definition - some shadows - on the text in the springboard. You can resize text system wide - though it doesn't affect the springboard.
The thing is this OS is a few minor bugs fixes, and about 20 percent UX fixes from being absolutely awesome. But they need to not miss the last bits.
That said, I am sure that the icons are temporary. We know they had a different clock on the demo - a build which is always ahead of the first OS release - and rightly so as the clock in the build totally disappears in a black background. I bet all icons up for grabs except Game Center which is integrated into the - entertaining - graphics you get when you log in, and I think Calandar app. Both of this have seen a lot of work, not just replaced UI, both UX changes.
A few people were whining and mumbling about iOS becoming stale and they wanted change? Well, they've now got their change, and they're gonna have to deal with it, whether they like it or not.
As for me, I think that some of the screenshots look pretty nice on iOS 7 for iPad, but I need to use it on my iPad and get a feel for it before I pass any final judgement.
Saw iOS 7 in person for the first time today ... not a big fan of the new look. Perhaps I'll change my mind, but I think there needs to be a "classic view" option for those that don't like the new look.
(1) Apple risks alienating their customers especially older customers, and I don't see them pulling a lot of new customers in just because of iOS 7's look. I fear there could be a Windows 8 like backlash.
(2) Part of the problem with iPhone's image is that so many people have one now it's no longer unique or cool. If everyone drove a Ferrari, it would still be an amazing car to drive, but no longer being unique would do serious damage to its coolness factor. Because of that Apple needs to allow for more options and customization both in hardware and software.
I don't think Apple should try to produce 20 different models like Samsung, but three different models (not just past generations) should be quite do-able a 5S, a lower cost 5 in multiple colors, and a top of line 5X or 6 with a larger screen and preferably at least some design tweaks to the 4/4S/5 look, if not a cosmetic overhaul, would be a good start.
On the software side, let iOS 7's new look be an option not a mandate. Keep a classic view and maybe a few more options too.
However, since it is a big step, I wonder about the performance requisites. Will it he "heavier" or "lighter"? I hope they do the right thing. I hope they don't forget about OSX. Coherence between icons, apps and functionality is needed.
I think that's the inherent problem with digital UI. You have to reference something, because it's all just pixels anyway. How do you visually represent a series of digital publications in a GUI? you have to make them look like something familiar...otherwise you have various sized blobs or images with text in the middle. Oh, wait, that's Game Center. Apparently, not even Team Ives knows what games should look like. A magazine has to look like a magazine. A note has to look like a note. I love that the screen-cap for the notes App actually has the first entry titled "these are notes". Really? you have to tell your users what the hell it is because you've dumbed it down so far that it's just a bulleted piece of text now? Removing visual queues with text is the worst direction to take. If you have to make it a piece of text, you've failed. It's no longer a GUI. It's an instruction manual...and everyone knows nobody reads those. You have to create a series of glyphs or icons that are visually distinctive in such a way that in a split second you can glance down a immediately know what they are and what they do. Otherwise you've failed. What are they going to do in the German Version? Or the Chinese Version? Or any other foreign language where the text just doesn't fit the area they've designated for the tap target? when the text they've placed from the icons is too long to display in a single bar? If you have to explain in text what something does, you've failed in the GUI. Text should be supplemental information, not primary source.
You'll know that you are typing a note (or reading one, for that matter) because you clicked on "Notes" to get to that screen. I mean, really.
I didn't mind the old Notes app's look as much as some, or as much as I hated most of the Skeumorphic elements. But there is absolutely no reason to have the "lined paper" look. Some may prefer it, others not so much. But there's no REASON for it.
Think about it: How many "notes" (responses on msg. boards, iWorks/Word documents, whatever) do you type a day? How many words a day? Now, how many of those are typing in an app/application with the lined paper look?
I mean, do we really need visual cues to tell you that you are typing in Notes when you click on ... well, Notes?
Apple has really fallen far from the mark with this new UI direction. It's no longer user friendly. It's like staring into a light bulb with all the bright white UIs. There's no longer any separation of elements and makes scanning the UI much harder than it was before. I was never a fan of the linen backdrops and the faux cowhide needed to go... but this is bad on so many levels it hurts. Jonathan Ives is an amazing hardware designer, but what works for hardware doesn't necessarily work for software. One button UIs? I'm worried we're witnessing Michael Jordan play baseball all over again, but this isn't baseball and Michael striking out couldn't sink a company. I'm scared.
However, since it is a big step, I wonder about the performance requisites. Will it he "heavier" or "lighter"? I hope they do the right thing. I hope they don't forget about OSX. Coherence between icons, apps and functionality is needed.
I'm guessing OS X 11.0 will have a similar look to iOS 7/8; it was probably too much too soon.
I doubt they'll look any more identical than they did with iOS 6 though, as Apple is pretty clear that iOS is for mobile while OS X is for desktops. But there will be commonalities.
Comments
Where's the $22 million Swiss Railway clock?
Picture yourself with a phone and a GUI,
With tangerine apps and smokey glass slides.
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly;
The font's kind of hard to make out...
A chromatic flower that represents Photos
A monochrome button for stores;
At least with Maps you won't drive off the road,
That one's fixed.
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
Ah...
Not just the icons, the UIs themselves, too,
Have been all stripped down and quite simplified
No one can say it's not change from the last one;
The trolls still come out and they cry...
Cam-er-a, Stocks, the Compass, and Settings
Have virtually no UI.
No skeuomorphics for Game Center or
Notes either...
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
Ah...
Picture yourself there in Grand Central Station,
With iOS 7 and an iPhone 5.
And who should walk into the Apple Store there;
The girl carrying Samsung's new lies...
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
Ah...
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
Ah...
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
iPhone made by Ive with iOS!
OK old boy I'll bite, to what tune do those lyrics go to? I can normally figure it out but this one escapes me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
The quick settings panel looks a lot better on the iPad than it does on the iPhone.
I still think they are making a horrible mistake in eliminating all the buttons for Windows 8 style text instead. It violates practically every rule of UI design there is.
They say we are now more "mature" users of the system so we don't need the 3D cues anymore, but this is clearly just a lie or cover-story they tell themselves (or us) to smooth things over. No other OS I can think of has ever purposely reduced discoverability or legibility in this way.
Sure lots of mistakes have been made along those lines in the past, but I can't think of anyone who has purposely done such a thing and then tried to explain it away by saying that the users are "too sophisticated" to need that stuff anymore. It's just fluffy words to cover up decisions that have been made based on visuals instead of usability.
I like some of it well enough, However, when you turn over the reins to a knighted esthete like Ives with an overinflated (and constantly fed) sense of his minimalist design genius, the "function determines form" dictum is replaced by "Iveian style = everything" (which makes the funny "iOS Bauhaus" remark I read elsewhere actually the opposite of what this is, NTM Bauhaus architecture is blocky and deadly boring overall).
And then there's the "My first OS" look of a fair amount, e.g., the dead looking iMessages and the bookshelves without shelves mess.
Also while many are singing the praises of the thin typeface and muted color contrasts, I'm betting they'll be bitching after spending some time with this out in the sun where the screens wash out.
But overall, I'm open-minded about how this makeover will elaborate over time....
Ah, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. I think I have a few too many syllables in a few places.
Some elements are borrowed from other OSs (which is fine, much as I am concerned), but overall look is still very much iOS-ish.
Save for Newstand. Shelves approximation with different colour gradient for each row is a bit of an overkill for me. I'd personally prefer just a grid of publications' icons... or just two close-matched solid colours swapping for each odd and even row... say white and light grey?
Unfortunately I don't have any iOS7 capable device around me at present, so no go for me, at least not right now...
I totally agree. It's like someone was tasked with "getting rid of skeumorphism" and just - rather than redesign the UX - replace the shelves with gradients. Hopefully the marketing guy did that, and it will go away real soon now. If the books are not supposed to be standing on anything they don't need to have different gradients in each row - if they are standing on something, make it a shelf. Even a minimalist one.
The other extremely weird UI/UX is reminders. I challenge anybody to work out what is going on there.
I wonder if this concern is not overblown. Do actual real people not get text and a < button? Or is it just designers assuming that wouldn't work. I don't see it. Its easily found out and learned.
Legibility is an issue though, they need some definition - some shadows - on the text in the springboard. You can resize text system wide - though it doesn't affect the springboard.
That said, I am sure that the icons are temporary. We know they had a different clock on the demo - a build which is always ahead of the first OS release - and rightly so as the clock in the build totally disappears in a black background. I bet all icons up for grabs except Game Center which is integrated into the - entertaining - graphics you get when you log in, and I think Calandar app. Both of this have seen a lot of work, not just replaced UI, both UX changes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dasanman69
OK old boy I'll bite, to what tune do those lyrics go to? I can normally figure it out but this one escapes me.
Strawberry Fields - The Beatles meets LSD.
I can't say I'm entirely sold on the new look. It looks an odd mix of colors to me and the start menu looks even more barren these days.
Some things look better, others like the bookshelves, well...
I guess time will tell when its out of beta and we can all play with it but I'm not convinced yet.
A few people were whining and mumbling about iOS becoming stale and they wanted change? Well, they've now got their change, and they're gonna have to deal with it, whether they like it or not.
As for me, I think that some of the screenshots look pretty nice on iOS 7 for iPad, but I need to use it on my iPad and get a feel for it before I pass any final judgement.
Good old LSD, timeless classic.
(1) Apple risks alienating their customers especially older customers, and I don't see them pulling a lot of new customers in just because of iOS 7's look. I fear there could be a Windows 8 like backlash.
(2) Part of the problem with iPhone's image is that so many people have one now it's no longer unique or cool. If everyone drove a Ferrari, it would still be an amazing car to drive, but no longer being unique would do serious damage to its coolness factor. Because of that Apple needs to allow for more options and customization both in hardware and software.
I don't think Apple should try to produce 20 different models like Samsung, but three different models (not just past generations) should be quite do-able a 5S, a lower cost 5 in multiple colors, and a top of line 5X or 6 with a larger screen and preferably at least some design tweaks to the 4/4S/5 look, if not a cosmetic overhaul, would be a good start.
On the software side, let iOS 7's new look be an option not a mandate. Keep a classic view and maybe a few more options too.
Looks awesome.
However, since it is a big step, I wonder about the performance requisites. Will it he "heavier" or "lighter"? I hope they do the right thing. I hope they don't forget about OSX. Coherence between icons, apps and functionality is needed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by antkm1
I think that's the inherent problem with digital UI. You have to reference something, because it's all just pixels anyway. How do you visually represent a series of digital publications in a GUI? you have to make them look like something familiar...otherwise you have various sized blobs or images with text in the middle. Oh, wait, that's Game Center. Apparently, not even Team Ives knows what games should look like. A magazine has to look like a magazine. A note has to look like a note. I love that the screen-cap for the notes App actually has the first entry titled "these are notes". Really? you have to tell your users what the hell it is because you've dumbed it down so far that it's just a bulleted piece of text now? Removing visual queues with text is the worst direction to take. If you have to make it a piece of text, you've failed. It's no longer a GUI. It's an instruction manual...and everyone knows nobody reads those. You have to create a series of glyphs or icons that are visually distinctive in such a way that in a split second you can glance down a immediately know what they are and what they do. Otherwise you've failed. What are they going to do in the German Version? Or the Chinese Version? Or any other foreign language where the text just doesn't fit the area they've designated for the tap target? when the text they've placed from the icons is too long to display in a single bar? If you have to explain in text what something does, you've failed in the GUI. Text should be supplemental information, not primary source.
You'll know that you are typing a note (or reading one, for that matter) because you clicked on "Notes" to get to that screen. I mean, really.
I didn't mind the old Notes app's look as much as some, or as much as I hated most of the Skeumorphic elements. But there is absolutely no reason to have the "lined paper" look. Some may prefer it, others not so much. But there's no REASON for it.
Think about it: How many "notes" (responses on msg. boards, iWorks/Word documents, whatever) do you type a day? How many words a day? Now, how many of those are typing in an app/application with the lined paper look?
I mean, do we really need visual cues to tell you that you are typing in Notes when you click on ... well, Notes?
I'm guessing OS X 11.0 will have a similar look to iOS 7/8; it was probably too much too soon.
I doubt they'll look any more identical than they did with iOS 6 though, as Apple is pretty clear that iOS is for mobile while OS X is for desktops. But there will be commonalities.