OSX flat?

[JoEw]

I think it is long over due for a UI redesign. Keep the classy look of OSX but modernize with more flat elements and gut the skeuomorphism, perhaps the next release after Mavericks?

 

[mayuka]

I like most parts of the current UI. I do not see the need to redesign all those icons to look silly, childish and more colorful. What Mac OS X definitely does not need is more transparency such as Windows has. Mission control could use an overhaul. app windows are still not arranged well enough. The whole UI could feel a bit more unified, though. I wouldn't mind a little more flatness, but please do not confuse flatness with icon redesign.

 

[Solomani]

I think it is long over due for a UI redesign. Keep the classy look of OSX but modernize with more flat elements and gut the skeuomorphism, perhaps the next release after Mavericks?

You better be careful what you wish. Many people just like you actually supported Apple to get rid of skeumorphism and redesign iOS..... they ended up with iOS7, the flat design which is loathed by many and the source of many jokes recently. The previous iOS5 and iOS6 design never earned that much hatred and criticism.

I really don't want to see OSX go into that direction (at least not until the iOS7 flat design has been more refined and polished to a successful degree).

 

[colourfastt]

Just what we need: OS X Fisher Price

 

[benwiggy]

They just need to re-introduce an option for 8-bit colour in the Displays preference pane.
That will make everything look like iOS 7.

 

[mayuka]

Actually you can get a first hint how it will look like in the future when using XCode. Pretty cheap.

 

[JoEw]

You better be careful what you wish. Many people just like you actually supported Apple to get rid of skeumorphism and redesign iOS..... they ended up with iOS7, the flat design which is loathed by many and the source of many jokes recently. The previous iOS5 and iOS6 design never earned that much hatred and criticism.

I really don't want to see OSX go into that direction (at least not until the iOS7 flat design has been more refined and polished to a successful degree).

I actually love IOS7.
I think the previous OS never got criticized because there was no previous looking IOS UI to compare it too.
But then again I know there are a few critics of it. Personally, I feel OSX needs a face lift badly.

 

[in4fun]

I actually love IOS7... Personally, I feel OSX needs a face lift badly.

Remember those days when you had the feeling of using a far superior operating system than anyone else? You were just in awe how beautiful it was and so ahead of anything else you have ever seen until then?

I kinda loose that feeling with recent apple products....it's like microsoft bought apple and all they do is updating existing stuff. when they actually do come out with a new product it doesn't reach that level of excitement loyal apple followers got used to in the past

 

[JoEw]

Remember those days when you had the feeling of using a far superior operating system than anyone else? You were just in awe how beautiful it was and so ahead of anything else you have ever seen until then?

I kinda loose that feeling with recent apple products....it's like microsoft bought apple and all they do is updating existing stuff. when they actually do come out with a new product it doesn't reach that level of excitement loyal apple followers got used to in the past

I think and still do think Apple makes the best products, not spec wise but user experience wise. It really is using a product that decides my satisfaction with it. For me little things bug the crap out of me and I respect that Apple normally thinks of a lot more little things when designing products then any of the competition. I have yet to see anything Samsung or Microsoft have brought to the table that really makes me think they are superior or even convincing me to question my apple experience. While I do think there are a lot of things Apple can improve. I do think what separates Apple is they very rarely rush products to market. Notice why OSX has not had a major face lift? Because they have spent tons of time on IOS7 and other projects. I personally don't have a problem waiting for a good end product and as long as Apple keeps impressing me with their product releases I will keep being a costumer of them.

Again I may be seen as a fanboy because of my justification of why I like Apples products, but I have never really been about specs or advertised features. Unless I feel like I can have a better experience with a different ecosystem of devices I do not plan on leaving.

 

[pickaxe]

Actually you can get a first hint how it will look like in the future when using XCode. Pretty cheap.

Man that's a bad sign. Hope Mavericks won't be my last version of OS X.

 

[mayuka]

Man that's a bad sign. Hope Mavericks won't be my last version of OS X.

I agree. The level of inconsistency in just the preference pane of XCode is alarmingly high. Just look at the other option windows. Every one looks different and differently bad designed. We always had some inconsistency in past versions of OS X. I really like to see them gone, but not at the expense of usability. Removing buttons, elements and vital space does not make the UI more usable. In past version you could actually define which "iOS Simulators" you want to have installed. No such luck with the current one. Apple is trying to remove functionality on one hand and on the other they remove vital UI elements that made the UI more beautiful and more logic.

 

[Volkstaia]

Just what we need: OS X Fisher Price

OS X already looks like fisher price, cupcake.

 

[Fishrrman]

The OP has no idea what "flat" really looked like back in the days of System 3.2, etc. That was _flat_ ...

It took years for the OS to get a fuller, more "dimensional" look about it.

Let's keep it that way.

 

[yawns]

I agree. The level of inconsistency in just the preference pane of XCode is alarmingly high. Just look at the other option windows. Every one looks different and differently bad designed. We always had some inconsistency in past versions of OS X. I really like to see them gone, but not at the expense of usability. Removing buttons, elements and vital space does not make the UI more usable. In past version you could actually define which "iOS Simulators" you want to have installed. No such luck with the current one. Apple is trying to remove functionality on one hand and on the other they remove vital UI elements that made the UI more beautiful and more logic.

Those screenshots look very much like the default "flat" UI applications Freshman in college used to dump out of MS Visual Studio back in 2005.

 

[mayuka]

Those screenshots look very much like the default "flat" UI applications Freshman in college used to dump out of MS Visual Studio back in 2005.

Back to the roots...

I guess Jonny Ive is a bit whacked-out at the moment, cause he thinks he's a genius and lately doesn't reflect his on thinking (see the latest news on the Leica and latest interviews of him). In most cases, this is the beginning of the end.

 

[djtech42]

The OP has no idea what "flat" really looked like back in the days of System 3.2, etc. That was _flat_ ...

It took years for the OS to get a fuller, more "dimensional" look about it.

Let's keep it that way.

There's ways to go flat and be tasteful at the same time, though. Flat doesn't mean completely flat, but a more modern-looking design.