Dropbox for iOS Updated With iOS 7 Redesign

[TimeSquareDesi]

Ahh, it's no wonder iOS 7 is too bright!

I totally understand where you're coming from, in fact, I rocked the brightness at 100% for a while back when the original iPad first came out because I thought it made the experience better. However, these days I wouldn't recommend that anybody use their iPad at maximum brightness 100% of the time.

I feel that the iPad looks terrific when set to around 50% and letting auto-brightness handle the rest. Because you favor a brighter screen, maybe 60% would be more appropriate for you personally, but in the end, believe me your eyes will adjust and the display will still look great.

sane, logical, rational, helpful advice. i never thought i wound find this on the internet! (not being sarcastic, thank you! )

 

[DomC]

Screen brightness may play a part in this equation but I wonder if the additional absence of any significant accent colors begins to de-emphasize a hierarchy of page information. Otherwise Your eyes get an overall assault of brightness with so much of the same value. Something as simple as the branded Twitter app with the blue at the top and black at the bottom helps your eyes focus on the information between them. Compare that to Tweetbot which basically has the same information but is more painful to look at.
It might not be just about toning these two bars but using color to highlight information and give it hierarchy could still be done in other ways and still allow an app to exist within the iOS7 structure.

 

[verpeiler]

It's not that I don't like iOS 7... and I can't really say WHAT I don't like with all those iOS7-style apps coming out these days; but IMHO they just look plain boring and uninspiring. The first time I like the android versions better and that says a lot.

 

[proline]

It's not that I don't like iOS 7... and I can't really say WHAT I don't like with all those iOS7-style apps coming out these days; but IMHO they just look plain boring and uninspiring. The first time I like the android versions better and that says a lot.

Boring is fine. The app is the vehicle, not the content. The app, should be clean and professional while deferring to the content. If iOS 7 designs tend to be consistent across apps, all the better. Less time learning UIs because some dev decided to be 'creative' and more time getting the content you want.

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Let me guess, you are the kind of person who accepts everything given to him without questions. Even the bad stuff ? When you get a kick you say thank you sir may I get another ? LoL Because of course you are not resistant to change. You accept everything as long as it's new and freshhhh . No questions and critiques. Ever. The designers are infallible gods.

And bringing the brightness down won't solve the problem if the problem is a lack of contrast (gray text and elements on white background).

At the end of the day you can complain all you want. Thankfully, Apple isn't listening to you. They've done their homework, they know where the puck is going, and they have the courage to stick to their game plan in spite of small-minded critics. That's what I've always liked about Apple and I'm glad to see they still have balls even without Jobs. Btw, the iMac STILL doesn't have a floppy drive!

 

[verpeiler]

Boring is fine. The app is the vehicle, not the content. The app, should be clean and professional while deferring to the content. If iOS 7 designs tend to be consistent across apps, all the better. Less time learning UIs because some dev decided to be 'creative' and more time getting the content you want.

You presume this wasn't the case before... but it wasn't broken, was it?

But you missed my point, I wasn't even talking about usability... just design. And I just don't like this new all-white-UI thing going on, it's an ugly vehicle in your terms. Good design doesn mean every damn app has to look the same. But that's just my opinion.

I really like the new google guidelines for android with their "hamburger menu" on the left side and this holo style transparency. That's a pleasant and clean UI; minimalistic but not "excessive".

Looks like you eat from your plate, no matter what's on it. I like to chose.

 

[C DM]

Boring is fine. The app is the vehicle, not the content. The app, should be clean and professional while deferring to the content. If iOS 7 designs tend to be consistent across apps, all the better. Less time learning UIs because some dev decided to be 'creative' and more time getting the content you want.

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At the end of the day you can complain all you want. Thankfully, Apple isn't listening to you. They've done their homework, they know where the puck is going, and they have the courage to stick to their game plan in spite of small-minded critics. That's what I've always liked about Apple and I'm glad to see they still have balls even without Jobs. Btw, the iMac STILL doesn't have a floppy drive!

Not everything is necessarily a good thing just because Apple does it. There was a time when they did neon bright colorful iMacs which clearly isn't a great thing. There was a time whe the original iOS design was amazing and revolutionary and now random people just can't wait to put it down just because they are bored.

 

[DomC]

They've done their homework, they know where the puck is going

Umm, you may not want to use puck and homework in the same sentence!

 

[tai.michael]

Thankfully, Apple isn't listening to you. They've done their homework, they know where the puck is going... I'm glad to see they still have balls even without Jobs.

I'm sorry to break your bubble, but the Apple today is not the same Apple that created innovative products like the Macintosh, iPod, and iPhone. The influence of Steve Jobs' leadership on the company is becoming more and more apparent, and it's beginning to look Apple is completely clueless about what direction to go. In terms of user interface, Jobs understood the limitations of flat design, and why ultimately it was necessary to have more naturalistic elements to create visual hierarchy. Flat design actually existed before. It was used not due to its usability, but only because the technology only allowed for such a design.

iOS7 has more in common with software created decades ago. And there's a reason why user design over the years moved towards skeumorphism.

My main point is just because the company is called Apple doesn't mean every product they make is from the same brain trust. Have you ever noticed that some companies produce these incredible products only later to release an upgrade that looks like it was created by someone else? More often than not, the people who worked on the first product were either fired or moved onto other products, and a lesser experienced person was forced to work on the second version. That's exactly what is happening at Apple.

 

[Tech198]

yay.. Dropbox

I couldn't live without this app.

Not surprisingly Apple to loose their marbles.. I think Apples been going down-hill ever since Steve Jobs.

That, plus the fact Apple been doing allot of layoff's as of late with with Maps etc... iOS....

Isn't it interesting, the moment Apple says they got rid of these people in charge of iOS etc.... and bought in guys from ex-Google people, that have no experience with iOS at all/or some. consumers quickly notice this, because the UI changes dramatically ?

Not very surprising....... And I think this "change" will only get worse, before it gets better.

Allot of features, bugs have all come back into iOS7 that were fixed in version 6.x (even though the UI looked outdated some may say, those bugs were still fixed).

So really.... If something is fixed... why break it again ? only to give us an excuse to fix it in an update...

That, to me, is bad...

 

[dperetti]

More often than not, the people who worked on the first product were either fired or moved onto other products, and a lesser experienced person was forced to work on the second version. That's exactly what is happening at Apple.

Exactly. Most people don't seem to get what happened.

1) Jobs passed away, now replaced with Cook, who is just a supply chain guy (a very good one) but has no vision at all and doesn't now anything about how software works. I bet we'll never see him demo a product in a keynote. Ever.

2) Forstall fired, probably because he disagreed with the new direction that was being given to iOS. Forstall basically CREATED iOS. He was one of the most competent dude on the planet. Firing him, whoever a jerk he might have been, was irresponsible. And he was basically replaced by Ive, who doesn't know anything about software UX either.

Hello, Peter Principle…

So for sure, don't expect "Apple" to be the same "Apple" when the new managers obviously decided to do exactly what Steve Jobs used to loathe…

 

[KALLT]

The app is the vehicle, not the content. The app, should be clean and professional while deferring to the content. If iOS 7 designs tend to be consistent across apps, all the better. Less time learning UIs because some dev decided to be 'creative' and more time getting the content you want.

You are simply explaining the design aesthetics of minimalism in interface design. In my opinion, such a design philosophy is not intrinsically better than a design-rich or skeuomorphic design. It is a different direction, a design that may work better with some kind of apps, but it's certainly not the magic formula that you pretend it to be. A 'clean' UI is not by definition easier to make or use, better or more consistent. It will not prevent inconsistencies (just compare Apple's apps) or necessarily result in better apps. Just as skeuomorphism before, minimalistic design has to be thought through and done well.

Don't consider iOS 7 to be the next level of interface design. It is a different design philosophy that reflects Jony Ive's influence. It is his personal taste, just as skeuomorphic design was Jobs'. That does not tell us much about the intrinsic qualities of both.

 

[TC03]

I got to admit, I'm really starting to enjoy the iOS 7 hate. The thought of people sitting at home in their basements pulling their hair out, hollering threats about switching to Android, or trying to find ways to reinstall iOS 6 because of a few cosmetic changes makes me laugh. Does that make me a bad person?

This isn't iOS 7 hate. If anything, the iOS 7 guidelines make apps look better than iOS 6 apps.

It's just the laziness of developers to be copying the most unoriginal iOS 7 design over and over. There are good examples of iOS 7 designs as well, for instance Yahoo Mail. No whites at all, yet a lot of iOS 7 inspired design cues.

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This. I love iOS 7, but dislike all the white apps. Well, it wouldn't annoy me if it wasn't everywhere.

My NuVo player app (needs proper HW) updated to iOS7, but retained it's color scheme and I like the results!

Excellent example.

It's very basic, intuitive and iOS 7, but it is NOT white.

Why do all these developers seem to think that your app can't be iOS 7 without it being white?

 

[Colpeas]

I just can't understand why do y'all kepp whining about the white UI. It was white even before the update, so what's the deal??!

 

[tai.michael]

You are simply explaining the design aesthetics of minimalism in interface design. In my opinion, such a design philosophy is not intrinsically better than a design-rich or skeuomorphic design. It is a different direction, a design that may work better with some kind of apps, but it's certainly not the magic formula that you pretend it to be.

Totally agree. I have to point out that I don't think flat design is completely bad. I think there's a good way of doing flat and a bad way. iOS7 is a very amateurish way of doing flat. Even stranger is that it's not really flat.

It's a contradictory design. It has gradients. The Games icon has specular highlights. And there are colors that blend. So much for flat.

One can compare the differences between flat and skeumorphism to traditional and 3D animation.

Beauty and the Beast is a traditionally animation film that is done well. Even though it is considered traditional (aka 2D), it still has "skeumorphic" elements like highlights, shadows and reflections.

And then there's less than stellar traditional animation.

On the flip side, there's good 3D animation.

And there's bad 3D animation.

Notice how Beauty and the Beast looks better than the 2nd 3D example. And notice how Toy Story 3 looks better than the 2nd traditional animation example. I wouldn't consider traditional better than 3D or visa versa. Each one has its own discipline and craft. But there is a good and bad way of doing each.

It is my belief that iOS7 hasn't even scratched the surface of what makes a good flat design, let alone be consistent.

 

[KALLT]

It is my belief that iOS7 hasn't even scratched the surface of what makes a good flat design, let alone be consistent.

This is how I feel about it as well. To me, iOS 7 reflects the acquisition of control by Jony Ive and his personal taste for minimalism. Whether you like that or not is ultimately a matter of preference. What is not as certain, however, is that is progress. It would have been progress if the design allowed for new functionality, some new way to use the iPhone or iPad. This is simply not evident (yet). iOS is still iOS and many, if not all, of the new features would have been right at home in iOS 6 too. I accept that some people might find the new design fresh, modern and more likeable. That is perfectly fine. But I have a problem when those people also say that this is the same as progress and accordingly dismiss complaints as conservatism or the like.

 

[Frost7]

All right! Now Dropbox can look like **** like the rest of Jony Ive's interface.

 

[dennno]

That dropbox icon with the white background is just terrible, just like the Chrome one. Why are they all copying Safari? Safari has such an ugly icon. White background on an icon just looks wrong and unfinished.

 

[marioguarneros]

I like the new design, now that the design part is out of the way I hope they turn the heat on in the features department, I could really use renaming of files and preservation of exif metadata in photos.

 

[Jonytheblue]

I have been waiting for this for a while.

Finally!

 

[Tech198]

Drop is Sweeet !!

Nice redesign....

I only hope they fixed the "unlink" option in iOS, since this never unlink from website the for other platforms (aka, Windows and Mac). You must manually login, and click the "unlink" button, in addition to the app on tablets/devices, otherwise the more devices you add, the longer the list will get.

All right! Now Dropbox can look like **** like the rest of Jony Ive's interface.

Consistently is the thing

 

[deluxeshredder]

Totally agree. I have to point out that I don't think flat design is completely bad. I think there's a good way of doing flat and a bad way. iOS7 is a very amateurish way of doing flat. Even stranger is that it's not really flat.

Image

It's a contradictory design. It has gradients. The Games icon has specular highlights. And there are colors that blend. So much for flat.

One can compare the differences between flat and skeumorphism to traditional and 3D animation.

Image

Beauty and the Beast is a traditionally animation film that is done well. Even though it is considered traditional (aka 2D), it still has "skeumorphic" elements like highlights, shadows and reflections.

And then there's less than stellar traditional animation.

Image

On the flip side, there's good 3D animation.

Image

And there's bad 3D animation.

Image

Notice how Beauty and the Beast looks better than the 2nd 3D example. And notice how Toy Story 3 looks better than the 2nd traditional animation example. I wouldn't consider traditional better than 3D or visa versa. Each one has its own discipline and craft. But there is a good and bad way of doing each.

It is my belief that iOS7 hasn't even scratched the surface of what makes a good flat design, let alone be consistent.

I agree with this comparsion, but I think that the main difference is that hand-drawn animation is tough and unfashionable, while flat design is relatively easy and fashionable.