San Fransisco/Watch font for iOS 9?

[Joseph C]

What are people's views on the Apple Watch font becoming the system font on iOS 9?



See mockup and vote in the poll.

Personally I love the San Fran font Apple have created, it has character and style and would freshen up iOS 9's UI especially as it's going to be (if rumours are correct) a mainly under-the-hood release.

 

[Jessica Lares]

It looks fine on a screen like that where all the text is spaced out, and is dominated by graphics, and it makes sense on a smartwatch where you're trying to fit in as much readable text as possible.

But it's otherwise too narrow as a system-wide font on a phone. I have it installed via AnyFont, and have compared it to Avenir Next in Drafts.

 

[gsmornot]

I'm really bummed to say this but...
...as my eyes age a slightly larger, clearer font is a good thing. It seems to me I could read the SF font a little better maybe than our current font. I don't have any issues with the current font but if the purpose was to make it easier to read than I have to vote yes.

 

[Joseph C]

It looks fine on a screen like that where all the text is spaced out, and is dominated by graphics, and it makes sense on a smartwatch where you're trying to fit in as much readable text as possible.

But it's otherwise too narrow as a system-wide font on a phone. I have it installed via AnyFont, and have compared it to Avenir Next in Drafts.

I'm sure Apple would optimise it for legibility. They already have San Francisco Text and San Francisco Display, both of which look slightly different.

 

[J.gerbes]

It's a beautiful typeface, and is far better optimised for displays than Helvetica Neue. I love Helvetica, but San Fransisco looks so much more crisp.

 

[0000757]

It would need tweaking, but it doesn't look horrible. The spacing looks bad but otherwise, I like the overall font shape.

 

[LordQ]

As a custom choice, sure, why not. Looks a bit Android-ish but that's just me.

 

[ReanimationN]

It looks nasty, no way. I'd much prefer if the Apple Watch shared the same font as iPhones/iPads

 

[ebiggs]

I hadn't even thought of this. I certainly wouldn't mind if they made the change, but wouldn't be surprised if they don't.

Edit:

Well now I am not so sure, I wasn't aware that the new Macbook uses the font for the keyboard.

 

[cambookpro]

It looks fine on a screen like that where all the text is spaced out, and is dominated by graphics, and it makes sense on a smartwatch where you're trying to fit in as much readable text as possible.

But it's otherwise too narrow as a system-wide font on a phone. I have it installed via AnyFont, and have compared it to Avenir Next in Drafts.

I highly suggest you install iFont, and compare it with any other font you like under Compare view
</shamelessplug>

I think it looks quite nice, but hope if it is chosen, they go with the lighter weights. Some of the heavier ones look quite old fashioned on the phone.

 

[LightningApple]

It's nice with a new change, I can't wait to see the new San Francisco font

 

[coldjeanzzz]

I don't like it, looks too Android'ish. Helvetica looks a lot more elegant

 

[viperGTS]

I was originally against it, but if they tweak it to look better on iOS then I'll probably be okay with it. I just wish we could have a choice...

 

[AZhappyjack]

People complained when Apple moved to Helvetica Neue because the font was to "light". They said it was too hard to see, and did not contrast enough with the white background of iOS 7 and iOS 8. We've gotten used to it, and now that Apple is rumored to be changing it again, the complaints (concerns) get voiced.

Personally, I had no problem with the new look of iOS 7 or 8. If Apple, indeed, changes the font, I am sure they will do a good job of making it look good.

 

[myrtlebee]

"No" was my vote, for the same reason someone else mentioned - Helvetica has an elegance that San Francisco lacks. SF looks more "techie". That said, change can be fun, so let's see it in action.

 

[Andres Cantu]

I honestly like both fonts. Hope they give people the option so they can pick their favorite.

 

[kmj2318]

I honestly like both fonts. Hope they give people the option so they can pick their favorite.

LOLOL

 

[Andres Cantu]

LOLOL

I know, wishful thinking, right?

 

[fullauto]

I don't like it, looks too Android'ish. Helvetica looks a lot more elegant

Agree

 

[Rogifan]

Mark Gurman was on John Gruber's most recent podcast and they both were very confident San Francisco would be coming to iOS and OS X, but not the exact font that's used on the Watch; it would be optimized for those OSes.

 

[Rogifan]

"No" was my vote, for the same reason someone else mentioned - Helvetica has an elegance that San Francisco lacks. SF looks more "techie". That said, change can be fun, so let's see it in action.

Couldn't it be argued that Helvetica is a better print font than system font? I'll wait until I see it to pass judgement.

 

[XTheLancerX]

It looks pretty good. It definitely looks like it needs to be moderately adjusted for iOS though. The spacing is all wrong and some of the little changes made to the characters for readability on a small screen (Apple Watch) need to be adjusted for large screens again. Then, I think this font would really look good. Just need dark mode and more drop shadows after that and the UI would be perfect!

 

[Rogifan]

It looks pretty good. It definitely looks like it needs to be moderately adjusted for iOS though. The spacing is all wrong and some of the little changes made to the characters for readability on a small screen (Apple Watch) need to be adjusted for large screens again. Then, I think this font would really look good. Just need dark mode and more drop shadows after that and the UI would be perfect!

And then everyone would say Apple copied material design.

 

[XTheLancerX]

And then everyone would say Apple copied material design.

So what? Companies need to copy some things to improve competition. And I wouldn't worry about those dumb people who say "X Company copied this", especially on the matter of drop shadows. That's a really dumb thing to get mad about when it comes to the whole "copying" debacle.

 

[Rogifan]

So what? Companies need to copy some things to improve competition. And I wouldn't worry about those dumb people who say "X Company copied this", especially on the matter of drop shadows. That's a really dumb thing to get mad about when it comes to the whole "copying" debacle.

Well I certainly agree it would be dumb as Matias Duarte didn't invent drop shadows. But that's what everyone would say. Honestly I don't get all the fuss over material design. I actually think the name and a lot of the marketing materials around it are just pretentious.