Anyone missing Catalina UI/UX?

[-BigMac-]

Hi guys,

I am frequently thinking about Catalina and aspects of the “old” MacOS. I guess I haven’t really fully adopted BigSur as the new standard..

anyone else in the same boat?

 

[Erehy Dobon]

I installed every version of Catalina on an external SSD test drive and never found a reason to put it permanently on my system/boot drive.

Same with Big Sur.

Thus I'm still on Mojave. At some point (maybe next quarter) I'll migrate to Big Sur, mostly because Apple will stop providing security updates to Mojave this autumn when Big Sur's successor ships. (Apple only provides security updates for the previous two versions of macOS).

One thing for sure, there will never be any more tangible improvements to Crapalina. You are free to return to that version of macOS though if it pleases you. However by October/November 2022, Apple will stop providing security updates to Crapalina as well.

I'm still running Mojave mostly for 32-bit application support and iTunes, the less janky version of whatever Big Sur calls their Finder-based rendition of iTunes.

As far as I can tell, Apple used Crapalina as an opportunity to rewrite key parts of the operating system for Apple Silicon while basically neglecting the existing Intel install base. Apple has done this in the past (e.g., introduction of Intel CPUs from the PowerPC architecture). They also did this in order to bring OS X and iOS code together.

 

[mikzn]

Hi guys,

I am frequently thinking about Catalina and aspects of the “old” MacOS. I guess I haven’t really fully adopted BigSur as the new standard..

anyone else in the same boat?

My vote would be Stay on Mojave or move straight to Big Sur - I like Big Sur much better than Catalina

 

[decafjava]

My vote would be Stay on Mojave or move straight to Big Sur - I like Big Sur much better than Catalina

Same here, and I have posted as much before.

 

[-BigMac-]

My vote would be Stay on Mojave or move straight to Big Sur - I like Big Sur much better than Catalina

What do you like about Big Sur more than Catalina? Miss anything in particular about Mojave?

 

[darngooddesign]

Hi guys,

I am frequently thinking about Catalina and aspects of the “old” MacOS. I guess I haven’t really fully adopted BigSur as the new standard..

anyone else in the same boat?

Nope. I've already moved on to Big Sur, and it's stable and quick on my 2014 MBP.

 

[TheGeneralist]

To make it short: no, not missing anything in regards to the old look & feel.
From my point of view it was about time for some renovation, and I like the new UI much more than the old one.

What I would really like is more fixes for the huge amount of small bugs still pestering the user experience in Big Sur every day - but in this regard, Big Sur is already ahead of Catalina. At least on my machines (2014 iMac and M1 MBP) and performing my use cases.

 

[Feyl]

I moved on you know.. What else can you do, especially if you have the M1 Mac. Design wise I prefer Catalina and Mountain Lion no doubt about that. The only thing I kinda like about Big Sur more is the rounded dock. Hate the iOS like icons though.

 

[-BigMac-]

I moved on you know.. What else can you do, especially if you have the M1 Mac. Design wise I prefer Catalina and Mountain Lion no doubt about that. The only thing I kinda like about Big Sur more is the rounded dock. Hate the iOS like icons though.

This is the boat I am in. I also really miss being able to choose the colour of the menu bar. There is some third-party apps that force the colour, but the presentation is not the same

 

[minik]

My Late 2012 Mac mini stays at Catalina due to limitation but other Mac that I own are all on Big Sur. macOS Catalina 10.15.7 is really stable IMHO however my mind has already adapted to the Big Sur UI.

 

[fisherking]

i use my macs for the things i can do on them (music, video-editing, email, writing, surfing. watching videos. etc etc), and i never understand why anyone would prefer an older OS because of the icons, or menu-bar spacing. not saying ppl can't complain about changes they don't like! but an OS exists to support applications, functionality... and getting lost in the GUI is missing the big picture...

 

[svenmany]

i use my macs for the things i can do on them (music, video-editing, email, writing, surfing. watching videos. etc etc), and i never understand why anyone would prefer an older OS because of the icons, or menu-bar spacing. not saying ppl can't complain about changes they don't like! but an OS exists to support applications, functionality... and getting lost in the GUI is missing the big picture...

A UI exists to make it easy for a user to interact with those applications. If a UI introduces friction, then that can be a pretty big picture.

I still struggle now and again to find a spot to drag a window (which I do all the time since I have so many windows open). I struggle with the notification center, especially in the mornings when I have to deal with clearing out all my news notifications.

Other than that, I'm pleased with Big Sur UI and don't miss Catalina. I've gotten over my discomfort with spacing.

 

[fisherking]

A UI exists to make it easy for a user to interact with those applications. If a UI introduces friction, then that can be a pretty big picture.

I still struggle now and again to find a spot to drag a window (which I do all the time since I have so many windows open). I struggle with the notification center, especially in the mornings when I have to deal with clearing out all my news notifications.

Other than that, I'm pleased with Big Sur UI and don't miss Catalina. I've gotten over my discomfort with spacing.

right, but not everyone has these issues (me, for example). i use my macs, just as always, and nothing graphic seems in the way, distracting, off-putting, weird.

no matter what apple does (for example, on the next OS), some will love the look, some will hate it... and most will just get on with their day, not stressing about it, at all.

meanwhile, here on the macrumors forums, all hell will break loose, and some of those people who are upset know, will long to return to big sur 🤣

 

[-BigMac-]

right, but not everyone has these issues (me, for example). i use my macs, just as always, and nothing graphic seems in the way, distracting, off-putting, weird.

no matter what apple does (for example, on the next OS), some will love the look, some will hate it... and most will just get on with their day, not stressing about it, at all.

meanwhile, here on the macrumors forums, all hell will break loose, and some of those people who are upset know, will long to return to big sur 🤣

I consider Big Sur a visual consistency nightmare.

Here is an example I just grabbed from iTunes.

Go to Album view, Scroll so an album is covering the title bar. Click away from the iTunes window.
Now the title bar is completely transparent.

Nowhere else in the OS does a title bar become fully transparent.

How awkward and cumbersome.

 

[Feyl]

Nowhere else in the OS does a title bar become fully transparent.

I don't remember where but I'm sure it's somewhere else too. I'll be digging in my mind about that.

 

[Ritsuka]

It's not fully transparent here. Do you have some accessibility options enabled?

 

[-BigMac-]

It's not fully transparent here. Do you have some accessibility options enabled?

Oh..

No none. I’m running beta 5, fully updated.

Yes it’s a beta, and we all know what betas are for.. but quite awkward such an inconsistency is still there 9 months after Big Sur announcement.

maybe won’t make RC lets see

 

[Ritsuka]

I'm running the 11.3 beta 5 too, but no issue here 🤷‍♂️

 

[fisherking]

Oh..

No none. I’m running beta 5, fully updated.

Yes it’s a beta, and we all know what betas are for.. but quite awkward such an inconsistency is still there 9 months after Big Sur announcement.

maybe won’t make RC lets see

so. seems to be happening for you, not others, ie... not a big sur issue. something to do with your graphics card? try changing some settings in general prefs, for example (ie dark mode), then changin back. try rebooting.

perhaps reset the nvram.

ppl are so quick to call something a bug, and sometimes, it's just an issue they're having...

 

[-BigMac-]

so. seems to be happening for you, not others, ie... not a big sur issue. something to do with your graphics card? try changing some settings in general prefs, for example (ie dark mode), then changin back. try rebooting.

perhaps reset the nvram.

ppl are so quick to call something a bug, and sometimes, it's just an issue they're having...

By definition, this is a bug, and it is in Big Sur. Anyway

 

[fisherking]

By definition, this is a bug, and it is in Big Sur. Anyway

a bug is something many people are experiencing (or everyone is). an issue is something you have... which this seems to be, and perhaps worth resolving. ask for help here! this is a great community, and, going over the details (which mac, for example) might help.

 

[-BigMac-]

a bug is something many people are experiencing (or everyone is). an issue is something you have... which this seems to be, and perhaps worth resolving. ask for help here! this is a great community, and, going over the details (which mac, for example) might help.

Software bug: A software bug is an error, flaw or fault in a computer program or system that causes it to produce an incorrect or unexpected result, or to behave in unintended ways.

Ergo.. what I am experiencing is a bug.

PS. it only seems to be happening under dark mode

Anyway, back to the thread topic..

 

[retta283]

I adjusted to the Yosemite-Catalina look even though it took a while for me to appreciate that it's not that different from Mavericks other than the depths of some buttons being lost but they're still outlined.

Big sur is a big mess with UI inconsistencies and the inability to change the system icons is extremely annoying. The current ones are junk and if I could change them it would be a nonissue but nope, gotta lock the whole OS down now which is why I've pretty much abandoned it as a main Use OS and only use it on my mini.

The lack of depth to buttons and controls in Finder and other apps is a major blow to the ease of use of the system as far as I'm concerned and it's easily the worst of the intentional changes. Sure, the icons suck but they don't make navigation much harder per se.

 

[-BigMac-]

I adjusted to the Yosemite-Catalina look even though it took a while for me to appreciate that it's not that different from Mavericks other than the depths of some buttons being lost but they're still outlined.

Big sur is a big mess with UI inconsistencies and the inability to change the system icons is extremely annoying. The current ones are junk and if I could change them it would be a nonissue but nope, gotta lock the whole OS down now which is why I've pretty much abandoned it as a main Use OS and only use it on my mini.

The lack of depth to buttons and controls in Finder and other apps is a major blow to the ease of use of the system as far as I'm concerned and it's easily the worst of the intentional changes. Sure, the icons suck but they don't make navigation much harder per se.

I agree with you 100%.

Great point about the flatness.. I know it's in fashion, but even the flat white colour on the light mode UI is distracting. There is no contrast, and it makes it very difficult to distinguish between layers.

I find it quite awkward Apple is trying to merge iOS and MacOS design. Goes against their long standing philosophy.. that their desktops shouldnt be touch screened. So why bring the Touchscreen OS onto desktops.
Confusing

 

[Feyl]

Sadly this flat design trend is very popular because it allows for everyone to be a designer. It’s easy. This horrible “design” allowed absolute disasters like icons with a single letter in a white field. If you ask me, this is not design. Everyone can do it in MS Paint without any creativity or skill required.