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Would you like an iOS 6-style UI option on Apple Watch?
- Thread starter deluxeshredder
- Start date
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I think Apple Watch UI looks great, I like that it's reminiscent of iOS 8, but not identical. However, I definitely don't want it to look like iOS 6, which is now even more outdated that it seemed once iOS 7 was announced.
Don't get me wrong, I loved iOS 6. I loved the skeuomorphic design, the faux leather, the green felt. I thought it was great. When iOS 7 was released, though, it was a welcome change, in my opinion, because it felt fresh and new, and it wasn't just more of the same type of design that dominated iOS since it's introduction. iOS 7 was a huge change and that was really exciting.
I understand why people are still so stuck on iOS 6. But it's dead and gone and not coming back in any way. We have to accept the change and move on. Apple has been improving upon and refining both the look and functionality of iOS since iOS 7's redesign, and it will continue to get better this year with iOS 9.
Let's look toward the future and not be stuck in the past.
Don't get me wrong, I loved iOS 6. I loved the skeuomorphic design, the faux leather, the green felt. I thought it was great. When iOS 7 was released, though, it was a welcome change, in my opinion, because it felt fresh and new, and it wasn't just more of the same type of design that dominated iOS since it's introduction. iOS 7 was a huge change and that was really exciting.
I understand why people are still so stuck on iOS 6. But it's dead and gone and not coming back in any way. We have to accept the change and move on. Apple has been improving upon and refining both the look and functionality of iOS since iOS 7's redesign, and it will continue to get better this year with iOS 9.
Let's look toward the future and not be stuck in the past.
It is definitely much better executed than iOS 7/8, but still uninspired and unexciting, just "good enough" and current.
Unfashionable ≠ outdated.
Many flat designs are arguably even more skeuomorphic than classic iOS. They are often trying to imitate print typography on some kind of advanced e-ink instead of morphing a touchscreen device into a specialised device.
The faux leather and green felt were the worst part of the classic iOS design. Aside of them (and some other textures and glossy effects), that UI had tons of sublime detail, perfect chrome/controls/content/eye-candy balance and understated beauty and user-friendliness.
You could get flat design (which is arguably better than most attempts at ornate UI) on Windows Phone since 2010 or on Android since 2012 (not counting Honeycomb). iOS 7 felt to me (and still feels) like a bad derivative of Android's take on flat UI with some added pastel and neon and early-2000s-Flash-style FX. Absolutely nothing exciting.
I could have accepted this change if the new UI at least had functional advantage. As of 8.1.3, I don't see any new features that couldn't have been done better with the classic iOS design.
What did users gain from the trendy design? Shouldn't the resources have been spent on refining iCloud, Maps, iWork '13 and big new features (like fingerprint scanning and not like third-party keyboards) instead?
iOS 8.1.3 is definitely much more refined and bearable than iOS 7.0.0.
Do you have an example of what you'd want it to look like? Lots of drop shadows and faux glass everywhere?
I guess I should have said gloss. iOS 6 & prior app icons had this glossy effect that made them look glass like.
I personally think that it seems obvious that the slow transition to a flat UI over the last two iOS versions was with the Apple Watch in mind... It becomes more apparent that is what works best on a small interface when you look at the Android Wear UI as well. Looks like both Apple & Google's design teams agree.
The new "Material" or whatever Google is calling it, is embracing Apple's flat design almost to a T.
That's your opinion.
The UI design changed very little from iPhone OS on the original iPhone in 2007 until iOS 7 in 2013. To say that iOS wasn't becoming outdated after looking relatively the same for 6 years is a bit naive. Especially considering the rate at which the technology and design of the devices themselves advanced in the same timeframe.
I'm not sure what your point is here.. I'm saying I liked the design of iOS 6, even what you call "the worst parts." And besides, I think when most people think of Apple and skeuomorphic design, they think more of iOS 6 and the design of many apps that were inspired by and created to look like certain real life objects.
Yes iOS 7/8 is very skeuomorphic, but in a much less obvious way, with much less ornamentation.
Well, I for one think that the UI is much cleaner now, there is a lot less distraction. Looking back at iOS 6, I see a lot of unnecessary embellishments, which also provided no functional advantage. That's my opinion.
But the way I see it, the redesign that came with iOS 7 was less about function and more about updating the look and feel of the software to match the quality level of the hardware. Like I said before, with each iteration of iPhone and iPad, the design and functionality had always improved, but the UI was the same for a long time. You have to realize that the world is becoming increasingly more fast-paced, especially where technology is concerned. In that type of environment, things tend to become outdated even more quickly than they used to. With iOS 7, Apple wasn't just changing the design for the sake of change, but it was a big thrust forward into the future for Apple devices.
Whether people feel that the design is derivative isn't really the point, the point is that Apple felt it was the right change to keep their flagship devices current and updated. And they weren't wrong, the new design hasn't hindered their sales, in fact it's been quite the opposite.
Also, the people working on iCloud, Maps, and iWork are most likely not the same team as the people working on the overall UI design for iOS.
Agreed.