iOS 6 Status Bar Colors

[CBJammin103]

As a developer, I'm feeling mixed things (leaning negatively... ) about the multicolored iOS 6 status bar. My question is this - to developers and users out there, do you see the the status bar as more "part of the app" or more as "part of the background?"

Apple seems to be sending mixed signals about this right now... a colored status bar blends in with the app chrome wheras a neutral status bar blends back into the phone.

 

[Saladinos]

I think users pretty much universally see it as part of the background.

There are no actionable controls on there, just glanceable information (time, battery, network status)

 

[CBJammin103]

I think users pretty much universally see it as part of the background.

There are no actionable controls on there, just glanceable information (time, battery, network status)

If this is true then why highlight it? (Honest question, trying to figure out where I stand on this...)

 

[Splazzatch]

Honestly for me the status bar was something I barely noticed and now I only notice it because it is different. I think it also draws attention to whatever is at the top of the screen, just beneath the status bar.

 

[Tar Sniffer]

I find the depressing grey, blue and black colour of the new status bar to be a real distraction. I hope they get rid of this new 'feature' in iOS 7.

 

[steve-p]

It's a fairly neutral change that some will like, some won't and most probably couldn't care less. They had to come up with "200 new features" somehow. Maybe they were stuck at 199

 

[CBJammin103]

It's a fairly neutral change that some will like, some won't and most probably couldn't care less. They had to come up with "200 new features" somehow. Maybe they were stuck at 199

I wish I felt this way but while trying to understand the design motivation, I'm left stumped. Previously a colored status bar in iOS was clear sign of "something happening" in the background - green was a phone call, blue was tethering, red was recording, etc.

Now it basically looks like random apps are blue (I know this isn't actually what's going on, but that's what it seems like) and I'm sure dev adoption will be random and unpredictable - ultimately a developer could have made a colored status bar before if they really wanted it. Regardless if you think it's "awsome" or "ugly," it just seems plains confusing to the user. Unless I'm missing something.



As a user I hope it grows on me but as a developer I'm torn on what other users will expect.

 

[Richardgm]

To be honest, I always saw it as "a part of the background", then I saw iOS 6 and said, "ewww".

But now. After using iOS 6 for a week, I honestly don't give a flying fu*k.