Apple, listen up! Wallpaper on main screen PLEASE!!!

[bluenoise]

I have seen a similar desire expressed in another thread and I completely agree. It's not to say there aren't other things I'd like prioritized higher than customized home screens, but it's still something I'd like. It is one thing I miss about my old WM phone. I created a custom home screen using a JPEG background image of my kids and some simple XML so my home screen showed me everything I'd want to see at a glance without unlocking the phone:

- Number of unread emails
- Number of unread SMS/MMS messages
- Number of missed calls and awaiting voicemail count
- Current Day, Date, and Time
- Next upcoming appointment in my calendar
- Recently-used apps with the ability to relaunch any of them with one or two button presses
- Current profile, such as 'Outdoor' or 'Silent'

I could pull the phone from my pocket, bump the power button to light the display for a few seconds, see all I'd want to see, and put it back in my pocket without ever unlocking it. It would be really cool if Apple could do the same thing with their home screen.

 

[bubbagumpshrimp]

I have a feeling that for $$$ reasons apple is going wait until the next phone to add some of these features so that it drives us consumers back to the apple store to get the brand new OS that "does it all." Surely they will introduce it like they invented wallpaper

 

[skwoytek]

Maybe Apple just doesn't like the way it destroys their reflection effect.

 

[DreamPod]

Geez, if your finger is already on the ‘home’ button, tell me: how difficult is it to press it again?

Actually, it would get quite annoying. Because the iPhone already has a "double-tap the home button" feature, so to make sure you weren't triggering that, you'd have to tap, pause, then tap again and hope you paused long enough. I have this problem all the time on a Mac when I want to quickly rename a file - I tap the icon to highlight it, then have to pause and tap the name - and often I end up hitting it too fast and it tried to open the file.

Really, the problem is the iPhone is designed first and foremost to be easy to use - you turn it on, you see all of the most important icons, you tap what you want to do. Apple will NEVER make that more complicated.

 

[sr5878]

quick job in photoshop, so obviously this isn't "two months in an apple design lab" quality... but proof of concept nonetheless.

 

[alFR]

I created a custom home screen using a JPEG background image of my kids and some simple XML so my home screen showed me everything I'd want to see at a glance without unlocking the phone:

- Number of unread emails
- Number of unread SMS/MMS messages
- Number of missed calls and awaiting voicemail count
- Current Day, Date, and Time
- Next upcoming appointment in my calendar
- Recently-used apps with the ability to relaunch any of them with one or two button presses
- Current profile, such as 'Outdoor' or 'Silent'

That's the info that's on a normal WM homescreen, isn't it? So where does the XML come in?

 

[MacFly123]

Maybe Apple just doesn't like the way it destroys their reflection effect.

Or the fact that it just looks HORRIBLE lol. Why would u want ur home screen to look so chaotic and confusing like a maze of colors and icons all lost together? I wouldn't ever want a background on the home screen even if they did let you. It is confusing enough now with like 20 icons on it and 9 home screens lol.

 

[Apple Ink]

I would rather have that pressing the home screen would lead us to the lock screen (where we slide to unlock) and this screen will have two translucent buttons (like the slider bar) at the bottom! One says 'Lock' which would, obviously, lock the screen and the other would say 'Home' which would lead us to the app screen!

Locking the screen will bring back the slider and unlocking it will bring the buttons up in the usual Apple way!

 

[jakeacc]

Apple takes design very seriously. From user interface to hardware design, they've always preferred a minimal clean approach. Apple doesn't make skins/cases for the iPhone because they like it as is.

Having a wallpaper for your iPhone would be relatively easy for them to implement in a firmware upgrade, but it will never happen. They like the black clean background so the Apps really pop out. Once they allow the user to choose their wallpaper, things are going to get ugly. Soon we'll see iPhones with wallpapers of people's pets, crappy photos they've taken with the iPhone, or the latest blockbuster movie poster.

Some things are better left alone.

 

[tony-in-japan]

How about the OSX dock on the home screen?

Apple takes design very seriously. From user interface to hardware design, they've always preferred a minimal clean approach. Apple doesn't make skins/cases for the iPhone because they like it as is.

Having a wallpaper for your iPhone would be relatively easy for them to implement in a firmware upgrade, but it will never happen. They like the black clean background so the Apps really pop out. Once they allow the user to choose their wallpaper, things are going to get ugly. Soon we'll see iPhones with wallpapers of people's pets, crappy photos they've taken with the iPhone, or the latest blockbuster movie poster.

Some things are better left alone.

I take design seriously too (it is my profession)... And having all x20 icons on your home page is not exactly ‘minimal clean’ is it?

What I don’t mean is to have all x20 icons combined with the wallpaper of you choice. My god, that would be a disaster and user headache.

What I mean is to simplify having so many icons on the home page and to introduce a space for a nice image instead. Statistically, do we use ALL those x20 icons on a regular basis? I guess, around 4-6 would be used frequently, but the others are used very occasionally if ever at all, so why need them on the home page? (I know you can move them onto another screen). It is like your desktop on your mac, do users put every icon of their apps on the desktop so they are handy to be there and for ‘just in case I need them moments’? Of course not.

What could be nice is to have the ‘dock’ idea from OS X implemented into the iPhone home screen. Say, if you put you finger at the bottom, a dock reveals itself with those four main icons. Then, if you scroll you finger along like you do to ‘slide to unlock’ it scrolls across to another four icons. This dock could be endless and you can put as many icons on that strip as you like.

I think this could be a much more elegant solution to ‘easy access’ to your apps, while maintaining a screen to put your favourite photo in.

 

[Small White Car]

So let me get this straight...rather than:

1)Hit Home 2)See Wallpaper 3)Swipe 4)Get to work

...you'd rather have...

1)Hit Home 2)Swipe 3)See Wallpaper 4)Hit button 5)Get to work


What am I missing? You'd rather add one step just so you can see the SAME WALLPAPER that you can now?

What's the point? It's more work for the same result!

 

[srl7741]

I have seen a similar desire expressed in another thread and I completely agree. It's not to say there aren't other things I'd like prioritized higher than customized home screens, but it's still something I'd like. It is one thing I miss about my old WM phone. I created a custom home screen using a JPEG background image of my kids and some simple XML so my home screen showed me everything I'd want to see at a glance without unlocking the phone:

- Number of unread emails
- Number of unread SMS/MMS messages
- Number of missed calls and awaiting voicemail count
- Current Day, Date, and Time
- Next upcoming appointment in my calendar
- Recently-used apps with the ability to relaunch any of them with one or two button presses
- Current profile, such as 'Outdoor' or 'Silent'

I could pull the phone from my pocket, bump the power button to light the display for a few seconds, see all I'd want to see, and put it back in my pocket without ever unlocking it. It would be really cool if Apple could do the same thing with their home screen.

You just described my BB home screen. Some theme(s) allow just that to be displayed. That is one of the things I miss about my BB. I'm not switching back but I would also like to see additional options with my iPhone screen.

 

[bluenoise]

Apple takes design very seriously. From user interface to hardware design, they've always preferred a minimal clean approach. Apple doesn't make skins/cases for the iPhone because they like it as is.

Having a wallpaper for your iPhone would be relatively easy for them to implement in a firmware upgrade, but it will never happen. They like the black clean background so the Apps really pop out. Once they allow the user to choose their wallpaper, things are going to get ugly. Soon we'll see iPhones with wallpapers of people's pets, crappy photos they've taken with the iPhone, or the latest blockbuster movie poster.

Some things are better left alone.

That's exactly why Apple doesn't allow users to choose custom desktop pictures on their Macs...Oh wait...

 

[wronski]

Apple takes design very seriously. From user interface to hardware design, they've always preferred a minimal clean approach. Apple doesn't make skins/cases for the iPhone because they like it as is.

Having a wallpaper for your iPhone would be relatively easy for them to implement in a firmware upgrade, but it will never happen. They like the black clean background so the Apps really pop out. Once they allow the user to choose their wallpaper, things are going to get ugly. Soon we'll see iPhones with wallpapers of people's pets, crappy photos they've taken with the iPhone, or the latest blockbuster movie poster.

Some things are better left alone.

Except you forgot one detail: that I could do it better. Especially if we're talking about streamlining my personal experience or bringing in my own taste.

 

[tony-in-japan]

Didn’t Mr. Jobs say...

That's exactly why Apple doesn't allow users to choose custom desktop pictures on their Macs...Oh wait...

Didn’t Steve Jobs in one of his presentations of Leopard OS X expressed how ‘users like to put their own personal photos on the desktop’ rather than use Apple’s own pre-made desktops pictures?

So, I think even Mr. Jobs appreciates and understands how many Apple users love to be able to customize their main working screens rather than use Apple-styled ones. Of course, many users like Apples sense of style (I tend to use their pre-made desktop pictures) but it is nice to have the choice...

..rather than treat users as if they are unimaginative and have no sense of style and aesthetic sensitivity.

 

[bigmouth]

Really, the problem is the iPhone is designed first and foremost to be easy to use - you turn it on, you see all of the most important icons, you tap what you want to do. Apple will NEVER make that more complicated.

No you don't. You see ALL of the icons, not just the most important ones. I would frankly prefer a MUCH simpler home screen without all that clutter.