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iOS 7 Interface Design is so UGLY!

T

Triangle Man

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 24, 2012
86
0
That is what I said when I first saw screenshots of iOS 7. I hated it and thought it looked childish or girly.

That is until I used it a bit and found a background that I like. Now since iOS 7 reacts to whatever you have set as your background, you can really transform iOS 7's look.

I've been using it for a little while now and I'm really enjoying the flat look and how the interface kind of gets out of your way so the actual content you care about is more prominent.

I think it was a good decision to let Johnny Ive redesign the OS. It works so well in many ways. I hardly miss anything about the old iOS now.

The only thing I can complain about is that there are no drop shadows under the icons on the home screen. Some backgrounds can really make it hard to see the app icons. Also, given the fact that Apple uses the parallax effect where they're trying to make the icons look separate from the background, a drop shadow (even just a slight one) will help make that effect more convincing. The weird thing is, I'm pretty sure the original iOS 7 screenshots that Apple was using for it's marketing had drop shadows under the icons.
 
It definitely grows on you. I hated the look at first when I was watching the WWDC presentation, but after I used it for a couple of days, I loved it.
 
Interesting design choices. The concept of a physical "button", something technology introduced hundreds of years ago, was portrayed beautifully in iOS < 7.0. Rounded, clearly labeled, and ubiquitous. You knew what it was, what it would do if you pressed it, and "felt" its presence without having to look for it.
101244-1-large-c206eda92ea23730.jpg


Enter iOS 7.0. Buttons are now text. In order to use them, you basically have to read everything on the screen and then "figure out" which text represents actionable UI elements.


So, in rethinking iOS into a "modern" look, Ive and his team looked to 1996 for inspiration.
2862038959_2c0ab49d0b_o.jpg
 
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Please tell me if this is true: From screenshots I've seen of safari-ios7 in action, news or blog page headlines were plain text & were not in bold (as normal news headlines always are).

Maybe it was just 1-2 sites that the photos of safari were showing & not an ios7 system-wide forced-safari-thing at all?? i want my news as always, with bold headlines. If safari is plain text everywhere now, no thanks.
 
beegie said:
Please tell me if this is true: From screenshots I've seen of safari-ios7 in action, news or blog page headlines were plain text & were not in bold (as normal news headlines always are).

Maybe it was just 1-2 sites that the photos of safari were showing & not an ios7 forced-thing at all??
Click to expand...

The photos might have been of the Safari Reader feature where it converts the website into plain text (and is optional)
 
djtech42 said:
The photos might have been of the Safari Reader feature where it converts the website into plain text (and is optional)
Click to expand...

Whew! Thank you, djtech42, for that revelation & explanation, & thank goodness it is an OPTION!! I like all headlines in bold (old newspaper hound here). The only time I use plain text via google cache is when certain java hog sites won't load on my older ios. The other 99.98% sites across the net work fine, bold included.

----------

haha @iMacFarlane & 1996 Yahoo. :)

It's the "little things" that were removed that add up to Big Time Ugly, such as the adorable glossy 3D rounded/protruding green battery symbol in top right menu bar, now a flat fuzzy-lined dull green puke look. Jony Ive has no finesse & is a lifeless zombie dork.

And I hear the ios7 look copies Microsoft & Android. So what happened to "Think Different"?

iMacFarlane said:
Interesting design choices. The concept of a physical "button", something technology introduced hundreds of years ago, was portrayed beautifully in iOS < 7.0. Rounded, clearly labeled, and ubiquitous. You knew what it was, what it would do if you pressed it, and "felt" its presence without having to look for it.
Image

Enter iOS 7.0. Buttons are now text. In order to use them, you basically have to read everything on the screen and then "figure out" which text represents actionable UI elements.


So, in rethinking iOS into a "modern" look, Ive and his team looked to 1996 for inspiration.
Image
Click to expand...
 
iMacFarlane said:
Interesting design choices. The concept of a physical "button", something technology introduced hundreds of years ago, was portrayed beautifully in iOS < 7.0. Rounded, clearly labeled, and ubiquitous. You knew what it was, what it would do if you pressed it, and "felt" its presence without having to look for it.
Image

Enter iOS 7.0. Buttons are now text. In order to use them, you basically have to read everything on the screen and then "figure out" which text represents actionable UI elements.


So, in rethinking iOS into a "modern" look, Ive and his team looked to 1996 for inspiration.
Image
Click to expand...

Sorry I'm over that design. I'd rather not have a rolling dial UI to choose my day and time.

priceisright.04.lg.jpg
 
Whenever I see the photo-realistic icons now, it just looks really silly for some reason. The whole interface before iOS 7 just looks cheesy to me now.

iOS 7 has a modern look and feel to it. Like I said earlier, the interface isn't really much there anymore... it's the content that shines and the interface just gets out of your way.

I don't miss the old UI at all anymore. iOS 7 just works and it works well. It sort of just clicks with me as I use my iPhone, I don't feel like I'm tapping buttons, it feels like I'm just getting to the content that I REALLY care about.

Oh, and I can't get over how awesome swiping between pages is. It's that kind of thing that would kill me if I went back to iOS 6.
 
"Interesting design choices. The concept of a physical "button", something technology introduced hundreds of years ago, was portrayed beautifully in iOS < 7.0. Rounded, clearly labeled, and ubiquitous. You knew what it was, what it would do if you pressed it, and "felt" its presence without having to look for it."

I agree. On the bright side iOS7 saved me some $; I won't go chasing after the iPad5 like I was planning. Figure I can squeeze in another year before having to look at 7 on a daily basis. :eek:
 
Djay said:
"Interesting design choices. The concept of a physical "button", something technology introduced hundreds of years ago, was portrayed beautifully in iOS < 7.0. Rounded, clearly labeled, and ubiquitous. You knew what it was, what it would do if you pressed it, and "felt" its presence without having to look for it."

I agree. On the bright side iOS7 saved me some $; I won't go chasing after the iPad5 like I was planning. Figure I can squeeze in another year before having to look at 7 on a daily basis. :eek:
Click to expand...

Just upgrade to iOS 7, you'll like it very quickly. Might as well start getting used to change because you can't stay behind forever.
 
You have two things going on at the same time : form vs function.

If it's form over function it will fail, to whatever degree this is true.
That is because design changes, where function doesn't, so it will simply outlive it (yikes this is childish eh? :D )

Fortunately, iOS 7 is ok function wise, but there are some things.......,

I have spoken :mad:
 
Triangle Man said:
Just upgrade to iOS 7, you'll like it very quickly. Might as well start getting used to change because you can't stay behind forever.
Click to expand...

Enough with the preaching already! :mad: I would not want to upgrade to iOS 7 if it turns my into an iOS 7 evangelist like you. What if it makes me insist that other MacRumors members get the update even though it makes NO DIFFERENCE to me whatsoever?

Some people use iOS 6. Get over it.

InB4 'app developers can only code for one operating system at a time', because boo hoo.
 
Jynto said:
Enough with the preaching already! :mad: I would not want to upgrade to iOS 7 if it turns my into an iOS 7 evangelist like you. What if it makes me insist that other MacRumors members get the update even though it makes NO DIFFERENCE to me whatsoever?

Some people use iOS 6. Get over it.

InB4 'app developers can only code for one operating system at a time', because boo hoo.
Click to expand...

If you don't wanna update, that's up to you obviously, but you can't stay on iOS 6 forever. Eventually your device will get left behind.

Trust me, I used to be just like you. I didn't want anything to do with iOS 7. I was actually worried that I would be stuck with my iPhone 4 forever, but I updated to see what the fuss was about. Thought it was pretty weird at first and it's quite a jarring jump from what iOS 6 was, but once you use it on a daily basis, it's my preferred OS now.

It's insane how much I was not a fan at first and I truly think it's a masterpiece now.

It's true that human nature resists change.

It's sort of like when you test the water of the pool and at first you're like "It's too cold! I'm not going to like this!" and it may shock your system a bit at first, but once you get in, you don't wanna get out because it feels so nice.
 
The new UI is just a step to the final transition.

iOS 7 removes graphics, color, and a sense of 3D/realism.

iOS 8 goes the next step and removes all of the text. All that will be left is a white screen and an Apple logo. Sir Ive will call it the ultimate expression of minimalism.

You'll get used to it. You'll love it. You'll buy it. :)
 
al1cre said:
iOS 8 goes the next step and removes all of the text. All that will be left is a white screen and an Apple logo. Sir Ive will call it the ultimate expression of minimalism.

You'll get used to it. You'll love it. You'll buy it. :)
Click to expand...

Controlled all by voice :cool:
 
iMacFarlane said:
Interesting design choices. The concept of a physical "button", something technology introduced hundreds of years ago, was portrayed beautifully in iOS < 7.0. Rounded, clearly labeled, and ubiquitous. You knew what it was, what it would do if you pressed it, and "felt" its presence without having to look for it.
Image

Enter iOS 7.0. Buttons are now text. In order to use them, you basically have to read everything on the screen and then "figure out" which text represents actionable UI elements.


So, in rethinking iOS into a "modern" look, Ive and his team looked to 1996 for inspiration.
Image
Click to expand...

If you need to "figure out" Date/Month/Year, you have more to worry about than iOS 7.
 
While the button metaphor was important moving away from physical devices in 2007, most iPhone buyers have now owned a touch device. For that reason I support the move to touch targets that resemble web links. I've always been fanatical about Helvetica and the advent of retina was begging for a lighter typeface. The early betas had an ultralight font that I actually preferred. When moving away from the button metaphor the biggest loss is discoverability. Eg I can tap "< Notes" but not "5:57 PM." Typically Apple and devs are using a medium Helvetica for navigation but I am seeing a few too many indiscernible glyphs.

I truly enjoyed moving through the OS and discovering new wireframe design language in icons. The Radio icon in Music is truly delightful (look for the notch in the antenna)! Of course, a few minutes in iOS 7 exposes the pixel the pixel imperfections listed above but I am confident they will be fixed in 7.1. All of the vector icons may be Apple showing its cards regarding resolution independence as we see more screen sizes.

Home screen icons are a mixed bag and due to their user-facing nature it is a very vocal discussion. While the creation of an app seems daunting, to normals the icon is a different story. "I just draw a square and put a picture inside." I quickly adjusted to the golden ratio grid system in iOS 7 and have been enjoying experimenting with revised icons. Look to the new Tweetbot icon for an example of the power of the grid. To me, the superellipse lends the icons motion and pairs especially well considering the degree at which we hold our iPhones and parallax.

Calendar is horrendous. Not a day passes that I don't experience a major navigational error. In year view Apple did a great job with touch targets but it still gives me pause to think I'll be able to tap a 14px x 14px circle!

I am pleased to see the gold border go the way of the Dodo; specifically game icons. On the other hand, a few stock icons commit the biggest faux pas, white/black space. Stocks, clock and Memos disappear into wallpapers anywhere close to white/black; instantly resembling Android home screen icons.

It’s been four months since I installed iOS 7 and I’m 100% sold on now. It’s an extremely solid update for iPhone users (Apple should’ve delayed the iPad version another month). I thought the colors were too flashy at first, but after using it day to day, the new color palette is great. It really brings your iPhone to life, coming from the dull colors, drop shadows, and gloss effects of the previous versions of iOS. I am a bit sentimental about some of the more iconic skeuomorphic icons but largely find the reduction of icons to something more basic refreshing.
 
Armen said:
Sorry I'm over that design. I'd rather not have a rolling dial UI to choose my day and time.

Image
Click to expand...

Agreed. In iOS6, having a date selector look like a combination bicycle lock was not a beautiful idea, in my opinion. The new design is more abstract, strongly highlighting the selected date, and fading out alternatives with perspective. The selection is not meant to represent any kind of physical device; it's meant to represent a date selector. And that it does.

If world+dog had become accustomed this more abstract kind of representation, not pretending to be some kind of physical desktop gadget, then adding clunky buttons, shadows, gradients etc. to a future version of iOS would, I imagine, have been met with howls of protest.
 
Triangle Man said:
That is what I said when I first saw screenshots of iOS 7. I hated it and thought it looked childish or girly.

That is until I used it a bit and found a background that I like. Now since iOS 7 reacts to whatever you have set as your background, you can really transform iOS 7's look.

I've been using it for a little while now and I'm really enjoying the flat look and how the interface kind of gets out of your way so the actual content you care about is more prominent.

I think it was a good decision to let Johnny Ive redesign the OS. It works so well in many ways. I hardly miss anything about the old iOS now.

The only thing I can complain about is that there are no drop shadows under the icons on the home screen. Some backgrounds can really make it hard to see the app icons. Also, given the fact that Apple uses the parallax effect where they're trying to make the icons look separate from the background, a drop shadow (even just a slight one) will help make that effect more convincing. The weird thing is, I'm pretty sure the original iOS 7 screenshots that Apple was using for it's marketing had drop shadows under the icons.
Click to expand...

Like a saying in my country: "Don't like it, don't eat it."
 
iMacFarlane said:
Enter iOS 7.0. Buttons are now text. In order to use them, you basically have to read everything on the screen and then "figure out" which text represents actionable UI elements.
Click to expand...

It's not rocket science. There really isn't a lot to "figure out".

I've put iOS 7 through the "parents test". If my parents can use iOS 7 without asking me things then it must be good.
 
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