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Home Screen Widget 'Blocks' Imagined in New iOS Concept
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Need to start somewhere. That must have been a fancy VT
. All I've ever used were VT420 and VT320.
I wonder how many of the naysayers would love it to death if widgets were added to iOS?
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Talking about terrible...
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Putting the caption of a 2x2 block right in the middle would put the caption right above the empty space between two 1x1 blocks.
Talking about terrible...
On top of that, until another couple generations come and go, tech will still be something that, for the vast majority of people with large amounts of money, struggle with. People 40+ aren't going to instinctively know to bring up this "control center" thingy to get to their settings. A nice icon on the homepage allows them to access it easily.
When the people currently in their 30's are in their 50's we can have a lot more of those types of designs. But unfortunately for the next 20 years we are stuck catering to the tech deficient populous. And sure, you can always market for the younger crowd. Hell a smartphone to begin with is doing that, but you still need to make it accessible to the broader scope of people, especially when the money typically resides with people 40+
By the time there are nothing but smartphones in another few years and even some of the older people are used to using them, could you get rid of a feature like the Settings icon on the home screen? Sure. Could you do it now and just deal with the confusion? Sure. But I believe that Apple STILL considers the user experience a top priority and therefore will always be on the "easy" side of the coin and not the "super cool" or "super functional" side of the coin. I can understand their reasons, but being someone who "gets" tech and was raised on it, I just wish it didn't always have to be that way.
I wonder how many of the naysayers would love it to death if widgets were added to iOS?
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Putting the caption of a 2x2 block right in the middle would put the caption right above the empty space between two 1x1 blocks.
Talking about terrible...
That's why I want my dedicated widget page to the left of the main home screen and accessible from the lock screen
Value Added
Can someone please tell me what value they find in widgets? I had an HTC Incredible years back and it had widgets. Completely useless. I would file them as pretty to look at and fun to show off. But when it came down to it, their functionality was too limited to do anything useful. I usually had to end up going into the app to accomplish my task, which completely defeats the purpose of a widget.
Can someone please tell me what value they find in widgets? I had an HTC Incredible years back and it had widgets. Completely useless. I would file them as pretty to look at and fun to show off. But when it came down to it, their functionality was too limited to do anything useful. I usually had to end up going into the app to accomplish my task, which completely defeats the purpose of a widget.
It's basically the idea of Windows Phone tiles, which you don't need to pinch in order to see.
This just makes iOS seem more complicated than it has to be. Either ditch the icons and go to small widgets for everything on the home screen or keep the icons and figure out a more intuitive way for accessing them quickly that's not like this.
The principle behind it is good, but the idea just isn't executed very well.
This just makes iOS seem more complicated than it has to be. Either ditch the icons and go to small widgets for everything on the home screen or keep the icons and figure out a more intuitive way for accessing them quickly that's not like this.
The principle behind it is good, but the idea just isn't executed very well.
Windows Phone?
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I have the Nokia 1520 to Cost as much as my iPhone 5S - I love the Lumia 1520 but in 2 years I'll still get good money for my iPhone 5S and close to nothing for my 1520
Just sold my old iMac for a US $1.150,-
Wonder what people think about. But thanks, cos now I have 27" :-D
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In 3 years or less, that Lumia will be a POS, too
I have the Nokia 1520 to
Cost as much as my iPhone 5S - I love the Lumia 1520 but in 2 years I'll still get good money for my iPhone 5S and close to nothing for my 1520 Just sold my old iMac for a US $1.150,-
Wonder what people think about. But thanks, cos now I have 27" :-D
Being able to tell the weather without opening the app, waiting for it to load and then closing it. I also always remove it from the multitasking list so I can only have a few essential apps that I can quickly jump to. Having a live tile for the weather app (or any 3rd party weather app) alone will be useful.
Yes, please make iOS work more like Android and Windows 8.
Give me a reason to leave Android and Windows 8
Give me more features and less marketing.
Give me a reason to leave Android and Windows 8
Give me more features and less marketing.
I don't get people who dismiss the idea based on the look of this specific demo. Use your imagination and focus on the core idea.
I don't get people who forbid Apple from implementing something like this because they don't want it and think it is a terrible feature. Most people probably have something about iOS they don't like even if they generally prefer iOS. Some people hate folders, so they don't use them. Diff'rent strokes.
I do not stare at the home screen on my iPhone, nor do I have any interest in doing so. That said, I would love to have a 2x2 block on the home screen showing my next calendar appointment or two. Not to stare at, but to have more opportunities to be incidentally reminded of something I'm supposed to be doing or need to do soon. This is the same reason Outlook has the ability to show your next few appointments while in the email view.
I don't know how many times I've unlocked my phone in a hurry to do or check something, inadvertently swiping away a meeting reminder that I didn't notice because I was distracted or away from my desk momentarily or didn't feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. If the next time I went to my home screen, a Calendar widget was there to show me I was 5 minutes late to a meeting, that would be fantastic. It doesn't require a separate intentional motion of swiping down the Notification Center.
Similar argument for a Reminders widget. I don't see much use for other widgets off the top of my head (I personally don't want the Weather widget consuming minute amounts of battery and data every time it is visible on the screen), but I don't fault others who may want other widgets. I think new uses would present themselves over time.
I think this concept would help ergonomics with an upcoming larger screen. Even with the current 4" screen, the way I usually hold my phone for one-handed access to the whole screen requires a slightly uncomfortable motion, or changing my grip slightly, to reach the Home button. If a widget occasionally saves me from diving into an app to look at one thing and then pressing the Home button to exit, it's worth it to me.
For the temporary widget idea, maybe a simple double-tap on the app icon could open a hovering widget view if the app supports it, then it goes away with you tap elsewhere, including tapping to launch a different app. Limit activation of permanent-widget status to the rearrange-the-wiggling-icons mode after pressing and holding an icon.
I don't get people who forbid Apple from implementing something like this because they don't want it and think it is a terrible feature. Most people probably have something about iOS they don't like even if they generally prefer iOS. Some people hate folders, so they don't use them. Diff'rent strokes.
I do not stare at the home screen on my iPhone, nor do I have any interest in doing so. That said, I would love to have a 2x2 block on the home screen showing my next calendar appointment or two. Not to stare at, but to have more opportunities to be incidentally reminded of something I'm supposed to be doing or need to do soon. This is the same reason Outlook has the ability to show your next few appointments while in the email view.
I don't know how many times I've unlocked my phone in a hurry to do or check something, inadvertently swiping away a meeting reminder that I didn't notice because I was distracted or away from my desk momentarily or didn't feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. If the next time I went to my home screen, a Calendar widget was there to show me I was 5 minutes late to a meeting, that would be fantastic. It doesn't require a separate intentional motion of swiping down the Notification Center.
Similar argument for a Reminders widget. I don't see much use for other widgets off the top of my head (I personally don't want the Weather widget consuming minute amounts of battery and data every time it is visible on the screen), but I don't fault others who may want other widgets. I think new uses would present themselves over time.
I think this concept would help ergonomics with an upcoming larger screen. Even with the current 4" screen, the way I usually hold my phone for one-handed access to the whole screen requires a slightly uncomfortable motion, or changing my grip slightly, to reach the Home button. If a widget occasionally saves me from diving into an app to look at one thing and then pressing the Home button to exit, it's worth it to me.
For the temporary widget idea, maybe a simple double-tap on the app icon could open a hovering widget view if the app supports it, then it goes away with you tap elsewhere, including tapping to launch a different app. Limit activation of permanent-widget status to the rearrange-the-wiggling-icons mode after pressing and holding an icon.
I really like it. I started off with an android and when I moved to the iPhone I missed having certain widgets, like weather and calendar. I know we can look at that under the notification screen but it would be even better if I didn't have to go to an extra screen, if it was just on my home page.