Apple, please stop the low contrast text madness

[Doc69]

I really don't like the new style in iOS 6 and OS X since 10.7 where a lot of important text and icons are now displayed in very low contrast, i.e. light gray instead of black.

Specifically in iOS 6 this is visible in the new colored menu bar that you have implemented in some of the apps, i.e. Contacts, Calendar, Phone, Mail etc. Compared to the old white text on black background, it makes things a lot harder to read.

The new iPhone Music app is even worse with its gray text and monochrome icons. Very hard to read and to get a quick overview. Same with the new iTunes app, artist and album names are now gray and very hard to read. When I look in an album list to see if there's anything I'm interested in, I have to READ the artist names. This to me, is the most important information. Apple has now made the artist names the hardest thing to read quickly, i.e. they are most light gray. Sometimes it's so strenuous to read this light gray text on a white background that it actually makes my eyes hurt.

I don't like this new direction at all. We have the same problem in OS X since 10.7, i.e. the side bar in Mail and Finder, buttons in Safari etc. which are now monochrome and have very low contrast. This makes it much harder to find things and read text in general. This has definitely slowed my workflow. It's NOT an improvement.

There was nothing wrong with how things looked in iOS 5 or Snow Leopard. It feels like Apple just changed it for the sake of change. I don't know anyone who likes this new direction Apple is taking.

 

[TJ61]

YESSSSS!!!!! Apple, please give my eyes a break!

It's one thing in the Maps, where roads are a couple pixels of white on a slightly-less-white background. But do you have to make descriptive text in the App store light gray on a slightly-lighter-gray background?! Is that supposed to look cool? Is legible not an OK standard to achieve?

Regards,
Tom

 

[Since OS-6]

Yeah, first rule of design isn't it .... If it isn't ( easily ) legible, what is it ?

 

[Awjvail]

If you're having such a tough time reading a slightly grey-on-black font instead of white-on-black, maybe it's time to invest in a stronger pair of spectacles?

I'm able to see it just fine.

 

[xofruitcake]

If you're having such a tough time reading a slightly grey-on-black font instead of white-on-black, maybe it's time to invest in a stronger pair of spectacles?

I'm able to see it just fine.

This is a typical Apple fan boy comment. Just because you can see it does not mean OP comment not valid. Older customer is a big part of Apple business and they need higher contrast text for clarity. If that is something simple that Apple can change and make this segment of users happy, why not? Stop putting down other people problem with Apple design and think harder of why others has those problem in the first place.

 

[milk242]

Yes the colored status bar menu is just stupid. Seems like they want to add color to their OS but have no clue where so they just said let's add it to the status bar.

As for the monochrome in OS X, the text in the sidebar is still the same as snow leopard, it's just the icons. If you rely on the icons to navigate then I can see your point. Seems like Apple can't decide if they want color or not.

 

[patent10021]

No pics, it didn't happen

 

[Skika]

I dont know what the problem is i think it looks great and even easier one the eyes than iOS5.

 

[Doc69]

If you're having such a tough time reading a slightly grey-on-black font instead of white-on-black, maybe it's time to invest in a stronger pair of spectacles?

I'm able to see it just fine.

The artist names in the new iTunes app for example is NOT "slightly grey-on-black" for example, that text is extremely light gray on white.

I can understand that some people within excellent vision do not understand what I'm talking about. However, this is one of this things where there was really nothing to gain from doing it. It makes reading much more difficult for people with aging eyes, while at the same time providing little or no benefit to everyone else. Don't fix what isn't broken!

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As for the monochrome in OS X, the text in the sidebar is still the same as snow leopard, it's just the icons. If you rely on the icons to navigate then I can see your point. Seems like Apple can't decide if they want color or not.

Yes, the lack of colored icons in the 10.7/10.8 Finder sidebar is the biggest issue for me. I have a large display and over 60 items in the sidebar, including 8 hard drives. Monochrome icons and gray text makes it much harder to find the right folder or disk.

However, I have used "SideEffects" to change my 10.8 Finder to look like it did in 10.6, so perhaps I'm not remembering it correctly. But as far as I can remember, I think they changed the sidebar text in 10.8 to a lighter shade that was harder to read, but I may be wrong.

 

[old-wiz]

Good grief...just noticed this after updating to IOS 6 - the lack of contrast makes the screen harder to read. It looks like they are changing for the sake of change and not thinking about people's eyes.