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iOS 7 UI ruined from overuse of white (but black mockup is beautiful)

D

dxyovak

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 13, 2013
25
1
My paramount complaint with iOS 7 is the overuse of White. There is way too much and even now (after weeks of familiarity) it's a blinding experience to look at the user-interface (UI). It's hard on the eyes, disorienting when trying to discover what elements are clickable, and aesthetically displeasing. I sure hope Apple fixes this or allows users to adopt a black theme when iOS 7 is finally released.

I came across this black themed mockup, man it looks good.
poMzGoa.jpg


here's link: http://www.flatuitutorials.com/tag/ios-7-flat-ui/
 
I agree, it's especially noticeable in the Photos and Music apps. I prefer the black:

v3eSdut.png
kSAa34H.png
 
Last edited:
I have a white iPhone 5 so I like how iOS 7 is mainly white. But I have seen it on black iPhone 5s and think they should've made a black/dark version for black phones. But I'm sure there will be jailbreak themes to make iOS 7 more suitable for black iPhones.
 
This is probably one of the bigger unfortunate changes. Perhaps this and button borders mentioned in another recent thread. Even somewhat odd and/or inconsistent icons can be sort or overlooked most of the time, but the overuse if white and empty space and essentially just text with some colored text for actionable items is not something you can constantly keep on overlooking as it's always there throughout the OS.
 
I would love an option to switch from black and white theme in iOS 7. Like WP7 does. Not saying WP7 is good...its sucks but its a good idea imo
 
The one thing I hate is going from the white to black in the photos app, and the navigation and tool bars use to go away after a a short time, then you would just touch the screen and they come back...I liked that, now it kinda sucks.

Yeah, not a huge fan of using so much white, together with that blue color for the words, I'll tell you this UI is going to get tired faster than others before it.
 
Maybe Ive is really overuse the white but, outside (on the sun etc..) it looks really nice and clean , much more visible than iOS 6.

Altough i still love the iOS6 UI.
 
dxyovak said:
. . . complaint with iOS 7 is the overuse of White . . . It's hard on the eyes . . . I sure hope Apple . . . allows users to adopt a black theme when iOS 7 is finally released.
Click to expand...

Completely agree with the above, especially early in the morning, or late at night.

I doubt Apple will "fix" it as such, the absolute best we can hope for is a switchable dark theme.

Fresh Pie said:
I agree, it's especially noticeable in the Photos and Music apps. I prefer the ones on the right:

L0tA2EY.jpg


Z5HSnho.png
Click to expand...

Definitely prefer the black background option.


WhackyNinja said:
I would love an option to switch from black and white theme in iOS 7 . . .
Click to expand...

Hopefully this will appear in one of the Betas (and make it to release).
 
Black is terrible on glossy touch screens. Mockups don't show the extreme visibility of fingerprint streaks compared to white interfaces.
 
I actually hate the 'white' look too. I don't have an iPhone but I do have an iPad which I use all the time. I hate apps and even web pages that use too much white. Back before I retired I worked in IT designing software (right at 30 years). Even then we tried to stay away from too much white on a page because it led to eye fatigue. We always may a concerted effort to break up the page with a bit of color and never used white, always an off-white/light beige or even light gray for the background.

I have a Nokia 920 running Win8 and believe me, the black background most certainly is easier on the eyes and easier to differentiate between page elements. When iOS 7 comes out I guess I'll resort to jail breaking my iPad. First time I've ever considered it but I suspect that a theme to relieve us of so much white will come out pretty quickly. At least I hope so. If not, well then I'll probably move platforms for my tablet use. I certainly don't want to because I have a lot invested in the Apple tablet ecosystem. But I know the new iOS will bother me if I try to use it for long periods.

However I must say that I'm disappointed in Apple. There's a huge difference between sleek, streamlined, and just stark. In my opinion, iOS 7 is just...stark.

Edit: for instance look at this site. It's pretty white. But the white is broken up strategically by the use of light gray panels, different shades of gray, color at the page title and links, etc. It lessens eye strain.
 
I agree, the darker UI looks much better & polished.

The white UI looks washed out. It reminds me of a blank Excel document :p
 
Not digging the black with colored text. White text looks much better.
 
scrmtrey said:
Maybe Ive is really overuse the white but, outside (on the sun etc..) it looks really nice and clean , much more visible than iOS 6.
Click to expand...

Probably a major part of why they did it. They have gotten slammed for being hard to use outside a lot. Amazon has a whole as campaign around it
 
charlituna said:
Probably a major part of why they did it. They have gotten slammed for being hard to use outside a lot. Amazon has a whole as campaign around it
Click to expand...

Apple should provide a setting for two themes (one white and one dark). User can pick which one they prefer. User may even prefer to switch themes depending on context (day/night--indoors/outdoors--theater/office).

My prominent criticism of Apple products is their lack of customizability. But offering two themes would be something that I would commend. Users gain some control over their interface to the device and can select the mode they're most comfortable with, accommodating individual user preferences like eye-health, environmental context, aesthetic preference, etc.
 
dxyovak said:
User may even prefer to switch themes depending on context (day/night--indoors/outdoors--theater/office).
Click to expand...

Really like that idea. My old GPS switches automatically to a black background at night. Matches the luminance of the other dashboard instruments. Much safer.
 
dxyovak said:
Apple should provide a setting for two themes (one white and one dark). User can pick which one they prefer. User may even prefer to switch themes depending on context (day/night--indoors/outdoors--theater/
Click to expand...

Best of both worlds would be if you could select a white mode, or a dark mode, or set it to automatically select one or the other depending on ambient lighting conditions.
 
dxyovak said:
My paramount complaint with iOS 7 is the overuse of White. There is way too much and even now (after weeks of familiarity) it's a blinding experience to look at the user-interface (UI). It's hard on the eyes, disorienting when trying to discover what elements are clickable, and aesthetically displeasing. I sure hope Apple fixes this or allows users to adopt a black theme when iOS 7 is finally released.

I came across this black themed mockup, man it looks good.
Image

here's link: http://www.flatuitutorials.com/tag/ios-7-flat-ui/
Click to expand...

My wife's chief complaint on iOS 6 when reading before bed is all the whiteness is hard on the eyes and makes it hard to fall asleep. Right now she has a concussion and the white is hard on her.

IOS 7 will amp this up.

----------
dxyovak said:
Apple should provide a setting for two themes (one white and one dark). User can pick which one they prefer. User may even prefer to switch themes depending on context (day/night--indoors/outdoors--theater/office).

My prominent criticism of Apple products is their lack of customizability. But offering two themes would be something that I would commend. Users gain some control over their interface to the device and can select the mode they're most comfortable with, accommodating individual user preferences like eye-health, environmental context, aesthetic preference, etc.
Click to expand...

Night mode for iOS, love it.

----------
Gogurt48 said:
Best of both worlds would be if you could select a white mode, or a dark mode, or set it to automatically select one or the other depending on ambient lighting conditions.
Click to expand...

This should be feedback to Apple.
 
I have a black iPhone 5 and I agree, there is to much white.
Would love a black theme for Music, Photos & Messages.
Some apps look great with the White UI (e.g. Settings, Clock, Calendar, Safari)
 
I'm all for different themes. If you noticed when they display iOS 7 on the Apple Website, they never show a black phone. It just doesnt look as sexy as being on a white phone. Hopefully they are working on themes.
 
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