iOS 10 design language a total mess

[dawson865]

I know its a matter of opinion but for me I see iOS 10 as a huge step backwards in terms of usability and consistency with the design language as a whole.

It feels like every update has a new font and a new font size. Small inconsistencies with navigation design make a massively disturbing experience for people to adjust to. The notifications for example - legibility has been reduced in my opinion so that my wallpaper can shine through without being dulled. And why oh why are app names force capitalized in the notification header! Its small subtle clues like the capitalization of app names or the color of the icon etc that help map short cuts in our brain and reduce fatigue and stress in daily repetitive tasks like the ones we do every day on our iPhones.

Apple literally wrote the book on user interface design and in it they focused heavily on function over form. Great design is all good and well and often a matter of opinion but usability has much less room for interpretation.

It might seem like nitpicking to some, but in my opinion this kind of stuff is important - it has a real measured effect on people lives. I thought with iOS 9 we were finally making some progress, learning from the disasters of iOS 7 & 8, but sadly no. Instead we take another huge step backwards.

 

[zhenya]

I'm sure that I will get used to some things and that Apple will continue to refine others, but I kind of agree. The primary thing I've noticed in that somebody decided that really big bold text was the next new thing. When in reality it now looks like someone has just turned on the bold heading style in an unfinished Word draft.

 

[joesegh]

This is a problem that is hard to deal with when you do yearly updates on a large, complex operating system. Hell, Microsoft still has dialog boxes from the 90s lurking underneath the surface of Windows 10.

That said, I do like the overall visual style of iOS 10 more than iOS 9. I think they've increased legibility and usability in a number of key apps (Maps, Music, Contacts). I do hope they refine the notifications so that they can group together notifications. Maybe link notifications from the same app together, and a tap or 3D Touch opens a detailed view. I woke up this morning with about 4 shipping notifications from Amazon - would be good if they showed as a single line that I could drill in to and handle.

 

[Lappen71]

Bla bla bla bla...same thing was said about iOS 7 when Apple released it.
I wonder how many people are prepared to go back to iOS 6 now
Christ relax and stop complaining because Apple will not change because of that.

 

[yesjam]

Bla bla bla bla...same thing was said about iOS 7 when Apple released it.
I wonder how many people are prepared to go back to iOS 6 now
Christ relax and stop complaining because Apple will not change because of that.

Real talk, if Apple didn't stop its users from downgrading iOS, I'd be running iOS 6.

 

[Lappen71]

Real talk, if Apple didn't stop its users from downgrading iOS, I'd be running iOS 6.

Yeah sure you would because you don't know better.
I wonder how many developers are keen to support apps for older version of iOS.
Probably none so you would use apps that are outdated,unsecure and i many ways unusable.
So good luck with that

 

[VSMacOne]

It's a matter of taste and opinion, so it's definitely subjective. But I like the direction of iOS since iOS 7 came out more than before. iOS 6 and older feel outdated and less useful to me when compared to the brightness and layout of the newer versions.
I definitely think 10 is more consistent than 9 and adds a fresh feel for some of the elements.

 

[C DM]

Bla bla bla bla...same thing was said about iOS 7 when Apple released it.
I wonder how many people are prepared to go back to iOS 6 now
Christ relax and stop complaining because Apple will not change because of that.

While true, doesn't mean it's not worthy of discussion on a discussion forum.
[doublepost=1473864767][/doublepost]

I'm sure that I will get used to some things and that Apple will continue to refine others, but I kind of agree. The primary thing I've noticed in that somebody decided that really big bold text was the next new thing. When in reality it now looks like someone has just turned on the bold heading style in an unfinished Word draft.

Things went almost too thin with iOS 7 design, now it's kind of going the other way.

 

[dawson865]

This is a problem that is hard to deal with when you do yearly updates on a large, complex operating system. Hell, Microsoft still has dialog boxes from the 90s lurking underneath the surface of Windows 10.

Agreed! Phones are becoming more and more complex and its harder and harder to get all that complexity into a streamlined UI that looks great and make sense to use. Not an easy task at all - I wish Apple was a little more iterative with the design language (not with the features) so it was less jarring.

Bla bla bla bla...same thing was said about iOS 7 when Apple released it.

And as I said above I thought iOS 7 was a totally mess - so bad from usability as well as functionally point of view.

But I like the direction of iOS since iOS 7 came out more than before. iOS 6 and older feel outdated and less useful to me when compared to the brightness and layout of the newer versions.

I absolutely agree that Apple needed to refresh iOS and move in the direction that it has moved in - nobody would want iOS 6 still today - but the move could have been a bit slower, a bit more through. Say what you will about iOS 6 and earlier but it was very consistent and cohesive, design and functionality were paired very tightly and things "just worked". I'm not saying I hate the design (although there are elements that I think are quite ugly) but more I hate the sacrifice of usability because of change for the sake of change itself.

 

[VSMacOne]

I absolutely agree that Apple needed to refresh iOS and move in the direction that it has moved in - nobody would want iOS 6 still today - but the move could have been a bit slower, a bit more through. Say what you will about iOS 6 and earlier but it was very consistent and cohesive, design and functionality were paired very tightly and things "just worked". I'm not saying I hate the design (although there are elements that I think are quite ugly) but more I hate the sacrifice of usability because of change for the sake of change itself.

I absolutely see your point. But I also think iOS 10 wouldn't have been possible without 7,8 and 9. I think they needed a radical departure in 7 in order to set up a much different and needed direction for the future. I agree that some things could have been done better (in hindsight it's always easier to opine on WHAT Apple should've done). However, I feel like they're still doing better work than anybody else on the market. And I can support that.

 

[Jayson A]

The things I don't understand is the random drop shadows on certain things like notifications, but not on alert messages and many other iOS panels.

Also, why do notifications take on the color of your wallpaper in any app?

You also have the new music app which doesn't look like it belongs in the same OS as everything else. It's huge and breaks a lot of iOS design rules.

It looks like they've redesigned some apps to take on the new rounded look, but a lot of apps still look like they belong in iOS 9. When was the last time iTunes Store design was updated?

iOS 10 feels half finished (design-wise) and I wouldn't be surprised if they keep tweaking the UI in upcoming versions.

Also, what's the deal with the app switcher. It's so hard to control. It seems way too sensitive. The slightest movement and you jolt past the app you want, and when you wanna tap an app, it either just stops the scrolling, or you move a tiny bit and it scrolls some more. It also takes 2 or 3 taps to hit the home screen from the switcher. It's so frustrating.

 

[nevesis]

Imagine if Apple actually had talented UI designers?

I bet they are still doing this stuff in Photoshop and not Sketch!

It's amazing how these decisions get approved by the creative directors and even the CCO's...

Give me dark notifications please now and thank you.

 

[DomC]

So much nicer. Would be even better with less padding.

 

[puma1552]

I agree with the OP - the design language is a mess on this. The bold typeface on music and news is awful and disjointed, but the worst for me is the thicker/zoomed in time and date on the lock screen, it's awful to look at - they really need to fix that.

They put so much effort into using beautiful thin typefaces from iOS 7-9 to show off the high PPI screens, now they are going completely opposite with hideous bold fonts...sometimes?

Aesthetically, this is the most dosjointed iOS IMO. It's also buggy and a bit slow in places on my SE, can't wait for 10.1.

And why doesn't my keyboard automatically switch back to qwerty after I input a comma+space or apostrophe? Just noticed this as I'm typing this reply. EDIT: appears to be a macrumors/forums issue, works fine in messages and gmail but not here or another forum I frequent. Don't remember if it was always that way, but pretty sure it wasn't.

 

[MrGuder]

Things went almost too thin with iOS 7 design, now it's kind of going the other way.

I couldn't agree more, the music app in iOS10 is a perfect example of this, what is with the huge font and words like LIBRARY it reminds me of shouting and it's not uniform and takes up way too much space. It just looks horrible. This is something I would never get use to seeing. I don't understand their logic in using this font.

 

[riverfreak]

While true, doesn't mean it's not worthy of discussion on a discussion forum.
[doublepost=1473864767][/doublepost]
Things went almost too thin with iOS 7 design, now it's kind of going the other way.

Totally. iOS7 (and later) was ridiculously precious.