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KdParker

macrumors 601
Oct 1, 2010
4,793
998
Everywhere
i don't care about live wallpapers, i'm just talking about the UI itself. the menu's look better, and more modern. apple's look old. the "gloss" look has to go. that's so 2000's lol



not at all, i don't want to see drastic changes each year. but like the above poster said, the pinstripes have to go. it isn't 2007 anymore.

this looks outdated:
Image

compared to this:
Image

and this:
Image

i think windows phone has the best UI, android is 2nd, and iPhone is last.

There is some truth to the out dated UI when looking at the standard interface on IOS, but I think this is by design. I have seen apps with more modern looking interfaces, so Apple could update the look and feel if they wanted to.
 

nuckinfutz

macrumors 603
Jul 3, 2002
5,542
406
Middle Earth
Apple puts the focus on what happens inside the apps.

Have you heard this slogan

"There's an app for that'


Apple's not going to spend a lot of time making the settings look fancy. Why? iOS 6 is designed to look difference from within an app and not outside of the app.

When you grow up someday you'll actually be about getting isht done and you won't have time to sit and smile about the gradient behind your settings.
 

KdParker

macrumors 601
Oct 1, 2010
4,793
998
Everywhere
Yup. Android looks 80ish to me and Windows is just.. wow. Big colored squares with ugly text. Nifty. :rolleyes:

Have you used a wp7?

It actually is a nice interface once you stop trying to use it like an iPhone. That being said, I still like my iPhone, and hopefully I will have a real choice in 2013/2014 when contracts from next iPhone have expired.
 

RoboCop001

macrumors 68000
Oct 4, 2005
1,573
454
Toronto, Canada
I think all they need to do to make it look better, in my opinion, is remove the pin stripes. Maybe change the blue title bars to silver. I really like the way the new App store looks.
 

alexander25

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 17, 2012
212
0
I think all they need to do to make it look better, in my opinion, is remove the pin stripes. Maybe change the blue title bars to silver. I really like the way the new App store looks.

silver, or black.

make the entire UI more consistent. the app store and music app are black, then maps is silver..

pick a colour, and stick with it.

personally, i'd go with black because it's more 'sleek'
 

Nevzorus

macrumors 6502
Feb 29, 2012
441
0
silver, or black.

make the entire UI more consistent. the app store and music app are black, then maps is silver..

pick a colour, and stick with it.

personally, i'd go with black because it's more 'sleek'

The music app is silver and black.
 

igiboi

macrumors member
Jun 17, 2012
86
0
i don't care about live wallpapers, i'm just talking about the UI itself. the menu's look better, and more modern. apple's look old. the "gloss" look has to go. that's so 2000's lol



not at all, i don't want to see drastic changes each year. but like the above poster said, the pinstripes have to go. it isn't 2007 anymore.

this looks outdated:
Image

compared to this:
Image

and this:
Image

i think windows phone has the best UI, android is 2nd, and iPhone is last.

I agree but jumping to a windows phone for the UI is hard to do especially when I'm so invested in iOS. But I'm considering going android again this year because of the samsung galaxy note 2. I want changes in screen resolution and tablets made me want more screen size.
 

cbutters

macrumors member
Jul 27, 2012
42
2
While this looks sleek and clean, ease of navigation is lost due to the lack of color/differentiation in the icons themselves. One of the best parts of iOS's settings is the familiarity through consistency.

That said, I agree that there is room for improvement in iOS.

Sorry, I know that I might be taking this out of context, and I do note that you say there is room for improvement in iOS;

But are you seriously criticizing the android settings screen in favor of the iOS settings screen on the grounds that A)There is a lack of color and B)There is a lack of differentiation in the icons, when iOS settings screen has A) no color at all and B) no icons that differentiate it at all?
 

Doombringer

macrumors regular
Feb 13, 2012
162
0
iOS needs a refresh in the visual department. Perhaps some layout items, too.

Something I'm noticing that is just plain ugly is how the back/forward buttons exist alongside the title of the screen you're currently on. Settings for example, or Contacts, etc.

You can run into many situations where the text on these buttons is more than, say, six characters... requiring abbreviating. Then the title of the screen you're on can also be abbreviated if it is too long or these buttons are too large (or both).

What you end up with is

< Button of... ] Text Here Is T... [ Another Butto... ]

at the top of your screen, and it looks cluttered, ugly.
 

Patriot24

macrumors 68030
Dec 29, 2010
2,813
805
California
Sorry, I know that I might be taking this out of context, and I do note that you say there is room for improvement in iOS;

But are you seriously criticizing the android settings screen in favor of the iOS settings screen on the grounds that A)There is a lack of color and B)There is a lack of differentiation in the icons, when iOS settings screen has A) no color at all and B) no icons that differentiate it at all?

I was simply mentioning that copying the Android UI probably isn't the best approach. There is certainly room for improvement in iOS as well.

At the end of the day, we're talking about the settings screen. It is probably the lowest item in terms of priority if I'm ranking what I really care about in an OS.
 

faroZ06

macrumors 68040
Apr 3, 2009
3,387
1
I still like the iOS GUI. The pinstripes sure are old, but they still look good. Other GUIs use solid backgrounds and stuff that are just too boring or gimmicky.

My friend spent a while telling me about how he can change the animation speed on his Nexus, which I can do on iOS since I'm jailbroken but will never do. I'd never change the GUI because the current one is so clean and classy.
 

Ddyracer

macrumors 68000
Nov 24, 2009
1,786
31
I still like the iOS GUI. The pinstripes sure are old, but they still look good. Other GUIs use solid backgrounds and stuff that are just too boring or gimmicky.

My friend spent a while telling me about how he can change the animation speed on his Nexus, which I can do on iOS since I'm jailbroken but will never do. I'd never change the GUI because the current one is so clean and classy.

All well and good but you can change the animation, window scaling without rooting. Part of the appeal. Besides JB makes your device slow. Even if you backup'ed and restored it still feels slow. This is of course in my humble experience.
 

faroZ06

macrumors 68040
Apr 3, 2009
3,387
1
All well and good but you can change the animation, window scaling without rooting. Part of the appeal. Besides JB makes your device slow. Even if you backup'ed and restored it still feels slow. This is of course in my humble experience.

Jailbreaking doesn't seem to slow my device down, but it crashed once, and I think it had to do with the jailbreak. You just have to be extra careful what you install.
 

Zaft

macrumors 601
Jun 16, 2009
4,570
4,049
Brooklyn, NY
Its more focused on apps, thats really the main reason IMO that its staying relatively the same. Apple got it right from the start.

It took google until 4.0 to get a good layout. I dont see google drastically changing the look of stock android from here on out.
 

AAPLinc

macrumors 65816
Jul 27, 2012
1,292
2
Hollywood, CA
I still like the iOS GUI. The pinstripes sure are old, but they still look good. Other GUIs use solid backgrounds and stuff that are just too boring or gimmicky.

My friend spent a while telling me about how he can change the animation speed on his Nexus, which I can do on iOS since I'm jailbroken but will never do. I'd never change the GUI because the current one is so clean and classy.

Very well said.
 

The iGentleman

macrumors 6502a
Jul 13, 2012
543
0
Nope. Android may look nicer, but it's too complicated and flashy for my tastes. Plus it still doesn't run as well in my opinion. I'm more of a "simpler is better" person I suppose.

Someone else said something similar to this in another thread, but never gave me an answer to this question, so I'll ask you..... Being very specific, what exactly is too complicated? What specifically, is it that you find to be so complicated? Please don't give any generalities, I'd like to know specifically what it is. I hear people make these vague statements like this, but they never expound on it specifying why they think that.
 

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
To me, it isn't a matter of being outdated.

It's more the lack of functionality in the core apps of iOS. Mail is the prime example of this. No attachments except for pics when iOS 6 rollsout, no easy way to navigate between accounts (the "All Mail" is only inboxes), no threaded messaging, and no true backlog of your mail (it saves only, what, up to 3-weeks worth? Versus Gmail on the Android which gives you virtually your entire mailbox).

There are other things that sorely need features and updating: keyboard, Safari, easier access to settings.

That's the real problem with iOS 6; not that it's outdated looking (I mean really, you weren't expecting Apple to make any major changes were you?), but more that their core apps just aren't getting better fast enough. Only now can we get attachments in emails, and only for photos? It's a joke.

If Android upgraded at this pace and iOs upgraded at Android's pace, the iOS fanatics would be all over Android's slowness to adopt and improve. But if Apple does it, it's tolerable. Apple fans allow them to get away with a lot, I notice. Same thing with hardware. People bash Samsung for putting out the slight variations of essentially the same phone, rehashing it, but generally have no problem with the 4S, or that if the rumors of the next gen iPhone are to be believed, have no problem with the ever so slight changes due to come (which may last for 2 years).
 

Technarchy

macrumors 604
May 21, 2012
6,753
4,927
I think Windows Phone looks great, it runs lean and fast, and epitomizes glance and go mobile computing.

Oppo-Windows-Phone-8.jpg


windows-phone-8-start-screens.jpg


I still think iOS makes for a better lifestyle product where content is king. If you want content, you want iOS, where almost no time is spent looking at the home screen.

passbook_2246204b.jpg


phone-app-ios6.jpg


phone-app-ios6-quiet.jpg


iOS-5-Lock-Screen-Notifications-screenshot-001.jpg


Then you have brand X JB...

android-41-jelly-bean-home-screen.png
android-41-jelly-bean-voice-search.png
android-41-jelly-bean-notifications_0.png
 
Last edited:

iEvolution

macrumors 65816
Jul 11, 2008
1,432
2
Having a ipad 3, xoom with jellybean and windows 8 preview on my PC, yes iOS looks dated and generic. Though I think having the most 3rd party apps is more important than the look of the operating system, especially in the tablet market. Android just doesnt have enough apps designed for tablets and what makes it worse is there is no separation between the smart phone apps vs tablet apps.

On another note, iTunes looks like its from the 90s. The Zune software looked years ahead of iTunes in appearance anyway and actually still does even years later.

I think Apple needs to do a major update on iOS as well as iTunes. It doesn't have to be really dramatic just something like they did with the iPod Classic VS iPod Video, not dramatically different but enough to refresh the experience.

After all we have had essentially the same look with iOS since its inception 5 years ago.
 

Orange Furball

macrumors 65816
May 18, 2012
1,325
8
Scranton, PA, USA
Then you have brand X...

You mean Brand Amazing...

Anyway, I wish there was a phone that looked live Windows Phone, has the customization and ability to cook and flash roms like Android, and the app selection of iOS. With one standard processor, base ram, ans base storage. The companies can customize from there. So we will have variety without to much fragmentation. The happy medium of cell phones.

Make the same type of standard for tablets and streaming devices (Like the Apple TV and Nexus Q)

If I could have those requirements in a 5" phone and 11" tablet, I would be content.
 

Technarchy

macrumors 604
May 21, 2012
6,753
4,927
On another note, iTunes looks like its from the 90s. The Zune software looked years ahead of iTunes in appearance anyway and actually still does even years later.

I had a Zune, and no doubt the interface looked great, and still does, while iTunes is fairly straight forward and low on flair.

But the Zune software really was freaking dog crap. It was horrible. Navigation was bad, catalog management was bad, and it was buggy all to hell.

I'd take iTunes starkness functionality over Zune's fancy dreck any day of the week.
 

iEvolution

macrumors 65816
Jul 11, 2008
1,432
2
I had a Zune, and no doubt the interface looked great, and still does, while iTunes is fairly straight forward and low on flair.

But the Zune software really was freaking dog crap. It was horrible.

I'd take iTunes starkness over Zune's fancy dreck any day of the week.

Yeah I was talking strictly interface, feature-wise it really sucked I agree.
 

Technarchy

macrumors 604
May 21, 2012
6,753
4,927
Yeah I was talking strictly interface, feature-wise it really sucked I agree.

On a similar note, it's not exactly a good comparison.

With Zune desktop, and iTunes, both are destinations, while Windows itself is not. I use Windows to get to content, and only tinker with the OS when something is wrong.

I don't stare at my Windows desktop and describe it as boring and it's not really changed since 1995. I do expect the content to get more advanced however and the OS itself to become more feature rich, so content gets better.

With that mindset, iOS sits right with me. Some people spend a lot of time staring at their home screen expecting to be dazzled. There are other brand devices for them.
 
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