Latest Apple interface spotted in new Tiger builds

Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
Brushed aluminum swept aside as Apple's Mail 2.0 will reportedly sport an updated theme.



For the past several years Apple Computer has adorned its Mac OS X applications with a mixture of its Aqua and brushed aluminum interface themes. But with the release of Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" due in a matter of months, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company is primed to add a third interface theme to the mix.



An apparent blending of two themes, the new look lifts interface elements from both of the company's existing themes and embeds them inside a sleek platinum gradient. According to sources, the first application to adhere to the new look will be the company's email client, Mail version 2.0.







Removed from the days of old is the retractable Mailbox drawer. Instead, the reworked email client sports a single window interface with mailboxes and folders that are docked on the left. The titlebar now flows into the toolbar and message counts are encapsulated inside circular interface elements. Overall, the theme presents a soothing, yet futurist feel.



Interface changes aside, Mail 2.0 will sport several additional enhancements such as smart mailboxes, an e-mail certificate viewer, and iCal integration. The application will also interface with an upcoming set of parental controls, which will allow Mac OS X 10.4 administrative account holders to censor information provided to sub-users on an application specific basis.



Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" is currently undergoing extensive development inside Apple with recent builds falling in the 8A27x range. An official release of the operating system is tentatively scheduled for early next year.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 95
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    It screams 'Longhorn'.





    But if Apple discards Metal and Aqua, and uses this consistently, I love it.
  • Reply 2 of 95
    johnpgjohnpg Posts: 37member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Placebo

    It screams 'Longhorn'.





    But if Apple discards Metal and Aqua, and uses this consistently, I love it.




    I think it's more like, Longhorn screams Tiger. This interface is a logical evolution of Aqua and Brushed Metal. Not sure how much I like it, but it's certainly not bad. Thank goodness there isn't that "XP blue" from the spotlight window all over it. Plus I'm sure there will be a lot of refinements going on over the next few months.



    It'll be fun to watch. Thanks Appleinsider for all your great work.



    Cheers,

    John
  • Reply 3 of 95
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Placebo

    It screams 'Longhorn'.





    If I remember correctly, your referring to the image of Longhorn that was put up that everyone said "screams panther"



    At least ONE rumour site is keeping us up to date on Tiger, unlike others......

    Not that it's a competition - but if it were - Appleinsider would be winning - but it's not.
  • Reply 4 of 95
    zazzaz Posts: 177member
    I actually like it a lot.



    In fact, this could just be the 'new' metal.



    The drawers, while useful for somethings, really now look more like Aqua iCandy.



    Mail looks like it will finally be a robust mail app.



    I disagree this is longhorn-ish.



    Quite the opposite. Longhorn seems to be going for OS X 10.1/2-ness. Heavy shadows, over the top effects.



    Apple looks to be settling into a 'futurist' groove and and bringing system wide functionality (spotlight) in a way that is easy to access and functional.



    Tiger is getting more significant.



    Z
  • Reply 5 of 95
    chrisgchrisg Posts: 239member
    Very nice, I just hope they add the option of the 3 tier mail interface that Outlook 2003, Entourage 2004 and Thunderbird have added. It just seems to make more sense.



    One thing I would like to see is what nested folders look like in this new mail.
  • Reply 6 of 95
    Personally, not being a fan of Aqua, I love this new theme! To me, it doesn't scream Longhorn, it screams Apple and how they consistently seem to come out with awesome interfaces. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Tiger in action next year...
  • Reply 7 of 95
    kim kap solkim kap sol Posts: 2,987member
    It looks really cool but one thing doesn't make sense...



    ...is this the new Aqua? Because the 'large titlebar' gradient stuff seen in Spotlight seemed to be reserved for apps that didn't make use of toolbars. But now it seems the toolbar can be part of the titlebar. How do we know which part is draggable and which isn't (I guess the answer is that it works exactly the same way as metal titlebar/toolbar apps)...



    I don't want another theme in the mix...this has to replace either metal or Aqua. Bringing yet another interface theme into the mix would make me wonder what Apple is smoking these days.



    And hopefully the inactive window pinstripes that don't quite flow with the rest of the 'new theme' is just because they're still in 'early beta' and that they haven't had the chance to refine the theme.



    IMO, though, the Finder would be the next perfect candidate for this theme. This theme seems to fit well with apps that have sidebars.
  • Reply 8 of 95
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    This was supposed to be a reply to this article so feel free to delete



    The "third" theme seen from the very start in Tiger's System Preferences (and now in Mail 2) is merely an evolution of the white theme--specifically, the toolbar is no longer separated from the title bar. The resulting wider title bar is darkish, but that's nothing new, that happened in Panther.
  • Reply 9 of 95
    Why doesn't the Preferences window support the same theme?



    To me, that is the odd thing.



    Oh, and I should say, I like this new interface! Perhaps this is the new Aqua, and if so, would make OS X look like an OS from the 21st century... m.
  • Reply 10 of 95
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    This is NOT a third theme.



    From what I see, this is just the WHITE theme that we already have, modified in one way: the line between the title bar and tool bar has been removed, so the title bar gradient is not the background for both.



    Yes, that title gradient is darker than other bright white elements--but that was already true ever since Panther. (Right down to the way stripes appear when inactive.) This is ONLY a removal of the visible division between the tool bar and window title. A minor evolution. (Mail itself has changed in other ways, but that does not make a new overall window scheme. And individual buttons and highlights continue to evolve--just as with Jaguar and Panther. Still not a third theme--by that standard, OS X already includes numerous themes with different button and tool styles.)



    Also, this is NOT the first we've seen this. Tiger's System Preferences has shown this new title bar style ever since it first appeared months ago.



    I really like it--it looks cleaner and you can probably drag the window by the whole top area--and so I hope the new title bar look quickly spreads to all the white apps--otherwise there will be a visual inconsistency for a while. (As you can see now with Tiger Mail's own prefs not using the new tool bar style.)



    But this change would ONLY affect apps with a toolbar anyway--so many windows would not change at all.



    I predict that AI's headlines on this issue will set off a cascade of complaints about Tiger having three themes. Look at what's really changed though: just the tool bar.
  • Reply 11 of 95
    kim kap solkim kap sol Posts: 2,987member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by nagromme

    This is NOT a third theme.



    From what I see, this is just the WHITE theme that we already have, modified in one way: the line between the title bar and tool bar has been removed, so the title bar gradient is not the background for both.



    Yes, that title gradient is darker than other bright white elements--but that was already true ever since Panther. This is ONLY a removal of the visible division between the tool bar and window title. A minor evolution. (Mail itself has changed in other ways, but that does not make a new overall window scheme. And individual buttons and highlights continue to evolve--just as with Jaguar and Panther. Still not a third theme--by that standard, OS X already includes numerous themes with different button and tool styles.)



    Also, this is NOT the first we've seen this. Tiger's System Preferences has shown this new title bar style ever since it first appeared months ago.



    I really like it--it looks cleaner and you can probably drag the window by the whole top area--and so I hope the new title bar look quickly spreads to all the white apps--otherwise there will be a visual inconsistency for a while.



    But this change would ONLY affect apps with a toolbar anyway--so many windows would not change at all.



    I predict that AI's headlines on this issue will set off a cascade of complaints about Tiger having three themes. Look at what's really changed though: just the tool bar.




    But if you look at Mail prefs, it still uses the Aqua we all know today with the subtle pinstripe toolbar.



    I'm all for changes but the rest of the OS and apps have to follow or else there are crazy inconsistencies. Apple is always changing the widgets and a lot of apps use older OS widgets because they still need to run on a framework that works on older OSs.



    At one point, I swear, we had 2 different brushed-metal (fake and OS native), Aqua, and every possible combination of plastic or glass widgets as well as receded and protruding buttons in metal (still a problem today in Panther.)



    Frankly it doesn't make sense...Apple needs to slow down for at least 2 years to bring all the apps up-to-date in terms of visual consistency.
  • Reply 12 of 95
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kim kap sol

    But if you look at Mail prefs, it still uses the Aqua we all know today with the subtle pinstripe toolbar.



    Yes, I noticed that in the shots too. In a FINAL shipping product, Mail prefs ought to match the new Mail main window and the new System Prefs. If not, it will be an inconsistency--as many shipping products, even from Apple, already have.



    But the point is, this is the white theme evolving, NOT a third theme intended to live alongside two other themes.



    I agree 100% about Apple lacking in consistency in some details like the ones you mention. They don't make my Mac any less easy to use, but it really surprises me. You'd think some "UI proofreader" would go through EVERY Apple app and window and report to the department in question anything that varies from the latest styling.



    (Look at the glassy buttons on metal in Panther's Safari and Finder, vs. the metal-on-metal buttons in iTunes. AddressBook and iCal both use a MIX of the two. But that doesn't mean we have two entire different metal themes.)
  • Reply 13 of 95
    kim kap solkim kap sol Posts: 2,987member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by nagromme



    But the point is, this is the white theme evolving, NOT a third theme intended to live alongside two other themes.





    Hope you're right...this really looks like a combination of OS 8 and 9 Platinum and Aqua. The best of both worlds.
  • Reply 14 of 95
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    I've been thinking about why I like having BOTH metal and white. And why I like Safari better than white browsers. I think the darker metal color is nice visual variety to separate the white "main" part of the window.



    That may be why I no longer mind the darker titles on white windows in Panther. I found it weird at first, but I guess you just have to get used to change.



    Now that I like it, I won't mind seeing that gradient extending to toolbars--or even other things.
  • Reply 15 of 95
    chrisgchrisg Posts: 239member
    The Mail preference (IMO) will continue to look different since it in fact is a different kind of toolbar. It isn't a user customizable area to access commands, it is more of a view-switcher. This is also why the current pref-pane that you have selected has a darker shade behind its icon as introduced with Panther. This makes that icon more connected with the content below them.
  • Reply 16 of 95
    kim kap solkim kap sol Posts: 2,987member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ChrisG

    The Mail preference (IMO) will continue to look different since it in fact is a different kind of toolbar. It isn't a user customizable area to access commands, it is more of a view-switcher. This is also why the current pref-pane that you have selected has a darker shade behind its icon as introduced with Panther. This makes that icons more connected with the content below theme.



    Hmm...good point.



    So you're saying preference toolbars will continue to look as it is...but all other Aqua apps should start looking like Mail's toolbar?
  • Reply 17 of 95
    chrisgchrisg Posts: 239member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kim kap sol

    So you're saying preference toolbars will continue to look as it is...but all other Aqua apps should start looking like Mail's toolbar?



    Well, if thats what happens thats the logic that I can see Apple using. Also depends if its something that you have to code for or if its a system wide change that effects all apps. If its the latter then any app using the system toolbar (without the view switcher view on) should get it.



    I would kind of like to see how its looks when you shrink the toolbar, does the gradient animate and shrink?



    On the note about it looking like Longhorn, well... Current (as in OLD PDC builds) of LH have a look reminiscent of brushed metal, same gradient (light in the middle) just no texture.
  • Reply 18 of 95
    zwebenzweben Posts: 75member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by nagromme

    You'd think some "UI proofreader" would go through EVERY Apple app and window and report to the department in question anything that varies from the latest styling.



    I want that job!



    Also- First post. I'm from Spymac- have over 7,700 posts there...



    Love the frequent Tiger updates... and wanted to reply to this post, so I signed up.



    Hi everyone.
  • Reply 19 of 95
    chrisgchrisg Posts: 239member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Zweben

    I want that job!



    You and me both! And Welcome!
  • Reply 20 of 95
    thttht Posts: 5,421member
    I would love it if they get rid of Drawer UI elements, and it looks like they did in Mail. Cool.
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