Am I the only one that is struggling with this?

jererermy · Jun 21, 2013

I've been running ios 7 beta on my iphone 4s since it came out. First off, it is amazing. I could not be more happy about the changes and the way it looks. With that said, this is strictly a critic and I was hoping for other opinions.

Ok, so is it just me, or is it sometimes really really hard to see the top bar icons or lock screen controls depending on the wallpaper you choose? I keep seeing tons of screen shots from people with backgrounds like this:

Now I know that 100% of people with ios 7 beta are not all using dark backgrounds. I have tried to put some of my own personal pictures as wallpaper, and I get more of a result like this:

It is so hard to see the clock, and sometimes the top bar information depending on the wallpaper. That is my only critic. I actually came across something in the forum the other day that said the text was supposed to automatically switch when it auto-detects a too bright wallpaper. I have yet to see proof of this on my own device. Can we start dialog about this? I don't have anyone else to discuss this with.

mrapplegate · Jun 21, 2013

I agree that in your bright wallpaper the clock seems hard to see. I have not heard about the switching txt when a bright wallpaper is detected.
File a bug report, they are not just for bugs, feedback is also a category in the reports.

Quercus Alba · Jun 21, 2013

Definitely a problem.

Perhaps some shadows or black translucency would go down well here.

Northernist · Jun 21, 2013

The software is meant to automatically change the text from white to black on a bright background, I'm sure the it's still being tweaked though since it seems to hit or miss for most people.

jererermy · Jun 21, 2013

Oh, so there actually is something in place? Is it also supposed to switch the font color of the app titles too? Or just the top bar. Wish that was working for me right now :-/

Night Spring · Jun 21, 2013

Northernist said:
The software is meant to automatically change the text from white to black on a bright background, I'm sure the it's still being tweaked though since it seems to hit or miss for most people.

So far, it only turns black if you use a white or nearly white background. Any mix of color and white, and the text remains white. Any color, and the text remains white, no matter how bright or pale the color is.

Sheza · Jun 21, 2013

Well it's very easy to see the difference between the two backgrounds.

First of all the home screen isn't a fair comparison with your lockscreen because, well, obviously.

Secondly, the lower part of your lock screen wallpaper is dark. This triggers the white text mode.

tymaster50 · Jun 21, 2013

That's not a 4s lol

msahadi · Jun 21, 2013

jererermy said:
oh, so there actually is something in place? Is it also supposed to switch the font color of the app titles too? Or just the top bar. Wish that was working for me right now :-/

ominx · Jun 21, 2013

From my post here: https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=17463746#post17463746

So playing some more, it looks like the luminance of the image must be 198 or higher in order to display black text.

In order to figure out the luminance using RGB colors, use the following formula:
(0.2126*R) + (0.7152*G) + (0.0722*B)

So what seems to happen is iOS looks at the whole image, calculates the RGB average, then applies either white or black text based on this luminance threshold of 198.

You can find the RGB average of any of your images in Photoshop by using Filter > Blur > Average then use the color picker to find the individual values for RGB. Plug them into the above formula and if the result is 198 or higher then text will be black. A value of 198 and lower and it will be white.

donnaw · Jun 21, 2013

ominx said:
From my post here: https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=17463746#post17463746

So playing some more, it looks like the luminance of the image must be 198 or higher in order to display black text.

In order to figure out the luminance using RGB colors, use the following formula:
(0.2126*R) + (0.7152*G) + (0.0722*B)

So what seems to happen is iOS looks at the whole image, calculates the RGB average, then applies either white or black text based on this luminance threshold of 198.

You can find the RGB average of any of your images in Photoshop by using Filter > Blur > Average then use the color picker to find the individual values for RGB. Plug them into the above formula and if the result is 198 or higher then text will be black. A value of 198 and lower and it will be white.

I read all of your posts. Great work!

Somehow I think it would have been nicer for Apple to have just put a toggle on the Wallpaper select screen saying 'Black text/White text'.

Night Spring · Jun 21, 2013

donnaw said:
Somehow I think it would have been nicer for Apple to have just put a toggle on the Wallpaper select screen saying 'Black text/White text'.

Or just keep things the way they were in iOS 6, with the drop shadows and background gradients and what nots.

iOS 7 just tries to change everything too fast. It's resulted in many small usability issues like this one that when combined amounts to a big problem. Each issue alone is so minor, it's like, who would complain about such a small thing? But then there's another one, and another one, and another one.... *sigh*

Trius · Jun 21, 2013

Night Spring said:
Or just keep things the way they were in iOS 6, with the drop shadows and background gradients and what nots.

iOS 7 just tries to change everything too fast. It's resulted in many small usability issues like this one that when combined amounts to a big problem. Each issue alone is so minor, it's like, who would complain about such a small thing? But then there's another one, and another one, and another one.... *sigh*

Beta.

Night Spring · Jun 21, 2013

Trius said:
Beta.

Not feeling optimistic that ALL issues will be fixed before general release. Last year, they made the iPad music player app unusable. Quite a few people complained about it while on beta, but it never got fixed.

Trius · Jun 21, 2013

Night Spring said:
Not feeling optimistic that ALL issues will be fixed before general release. Last year, they made the iPad music player app unusable. Quite a few people complained about it while on beta, but it never got fixed.

I hear you, but be realistic. This is Beta 1. It's pointless to complain about these little things right now. The color of the status text will be fixed... all of the little UI issues will be addressed. I'm more concerned with what's happening behind the scenes. They're working on it... again, this is a BETA release. The whole point is to test and debug.

ominx · Jun 21, 2013

donnaw said:
I read all of your posts. Great work!

Somehow I think it would have been nicer for Apple to have just put a toggle on the Wallpaper select screen saying 'Black text/White text'.

Thanks and I agree 100%. It would be very easy for Apple to include a simple toggle in the "Brightness and Wallpaper" settings.

jererermy · Jun 21, 2013

Trius said:
I hear you, but be realistic. This is Beta 1. It's pointless to complain about these little things right now. The color of the status text will be fixed... all of the little UI issues will be addressed. I'm more concerned with what's happening behind the scenes. They're working on it... again, this is a BETA release. The whole point is to test and debug.

You obviously missed the part where we stated this was a critic and dialog....not a complaint. A forum specifically designed to talk about everything ios 7 beta would be a terrible place for someone who gets constantly upset and accuses other of complaining. I would hate to be upset as much as that would cause

----------

ominx said:
From my post here: https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=17463746#post17463746

So playing some more, it looks like the luminance of the image must be 198 or higher in order to display black text.

In order to figure out the luminance using RGB colors, use the following formula:
(0.2126*R) + (0.7152*G) + (0.0722*B)

So what seems to happen is iOS looks at the whole image, calculates the RGB average, then applies either white or black text based on this luminance threshold of 198.

You can find the RGB average of any of your images in Photoshop by using Filter > Blur > Average then use the color picker to find the individual values for RGB. Plug them into the above formula and if the result is 198 or higher then text will be black. A value of 198 and lower and it will be white.

You just blew my mind. My hat is off to you

Paddle1 · Jun 21, 2013

There is no way to do this 100% because a background can be dark in some areas and bright in others.

This is where the black bars from older iOS versions would come in handy. Black app titles also won't be easy to see on dark (especially black) backgrounds, while the white ones will be more legible with drop shadow.

They are going to have to tweak this for the final version.

KenAFSPC · Jun 22, 2013

Trius said:
I hear you, but be realistic. This is Beta 1. It's pointless to complain about these little things right now. The color of the status text will be fixed... all of the little UI issues will be addressed. I'm more concerned with what's happening behind the scenes. They're working on it... again, this is a BETA release. The whole point is to test and debug.

Pointless to complain? That's one of the main purposes of a beta -- to identify issues that need to be fixed. Don't assume Apple is aware of every issue. Because they are not. If they were, this wouldn't be beta 1.

Granted, posting on Macrumors is not how Apple prefers to receive feedback, but they do follow this forum. There are also a fair number of unregistered users running IOS7 that are unable to report issues though the proper channel. Posting to this forum allows others to duplicate issues and submit reports on their behalf.

KeanosMagicHat · Jun 22, 2013

Paddle1 said:
There is no way to do this 100% because a background can be dark in some areas and bright in others.

This is where the black bars from older iOS versions would come in handy. Black app titles also won't be easy to see on dark (especially black) backgrounds, while the white ones will be more legible with drop shadow.

They are going to have to tweak this for the final version.

I much prefer the translucency to the black bars as it gives the illusion of full screen apps.

You're correct though, it will need some work before GM and release.

iBreatheApple · Jun 22, 2013

Quercus Alba said:
Definitely a problem.

Perhaps some shadows or black translucency would go down well here.

Shadows aren't flat, though.

Quercus Alba · Jun 22, 2013

iBreatheApple said:
Shadows aren't flat, though.

Neither is gyroscope parallax, 3D live wallpapers, or floating, translucent overlays.

darngooddesign · Jun 22, 2013

Night Spring said:
Not feeling optimistic that ALL issues will be fixed before general release. Last year, they made the iPad music player app unusable. Quite a few people complained about it while on beta, but it never got fixed.

I've been using it for a year so it isn't unusable. They fixed it.

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Quercus Alba said:
Neither is gyroscope parallax, 3D live wallpapers, or floating, translucent overlays.

Did apple ever say flat?

Quercus Alba · Jun 22, 2013

darngooddesign said:
Did apple ever say flat?

No, but iBreatheApple just did?

iBreatheApple · Jun 22, 2013

Quercus Alba said:
No, but iBreatheApple just did?

Incorrect. I never stated Apple said flat.

Am I the only one that is struggling with this?

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