Lighter typeface or heavier typeface in iOS 7?

[betabeta]

I love the new thicker font, it's still thinner than ios6 font. I even have bold turned on...LOL makes the labels under the icons much better...Love it now.

Each app already has a settings section, how hard would it be to add font settings in each app, like font selection & size/bold... you could even have a slider in settings that shows the font...slide to select "exactly what you want to see" it wouldn't effect the systems battery, or cpu, memory.. it's just a setting.

But yeah a single setting under accessibility, even a slider showing exactly what you will see, (they already have a text size slider) why not a font style slider too?

Seeing the poll so split, it's obvious each person likes or needs a certain style or size font depending on many factors, like age, eye sight etc, even with a setting, the majority would go with default.

Choice makes Everyone happy and makes Apple happy since customers are happy and buy more Apple products.

 

[C DM]

I honestly preferred the ultra light more. Now it just looks too bold...especially in the messages app. In the setting it's okay because the type has some space in between it, but it's too close to be that weight in messages. Maybe increase the leading? Or use the "light" weight? It's in between ultralight and regular. Maybe that'll be a nice balance of readability and aesthetics.

If you change the dynamic text size in settings to one notch smaller it will affect the Messages app (among others) and will look slimmer--might be worth experimenting a bit with that.

 

[Parise]

If you change the dynamic text size in settings to one notch smaller it will affect the Messages app (among others) and will look slimmer--might be worth experimenting a bit with that.

Yeah this actually does help a bit.

 

[Jakimo]

Thanks for the idea! I actually turned my dynamic typeface all the way down, nice to have more info...

 

[coldjeanzzz]

Why are people asking for a choice, you do realize this is Apple right

 

[C DM]

Why are people asking for a choice, you do realize this is Apple right

They do provide choices for things here and there, it's not like they don't it at all.

 

[Ottoman1]

Why are people asking for a choice, you do realize this is Apple right

It's time for Apple to think different. Apple could still control the font choices.

Did allowing users the ability to select their own wallpaper and ringtones hurt the Apple brand?

 

[gingerbloke]

Damn that's an annoying animation. Lol.

If this were Android, that would be a "feature"

 

[DDustiNN]

I just want the same look that's shown on Apple's website.

http://www.apple.com/ios/ios7/

That is Helvetica Light. According to this poll, apparently 50% of iPhone users can't read that website.

 

[fullauto]

Somewhere between the two would be ideal..

 

[Sh4wN]

The heavier font looks old and outright stupid to me now and it's too large as well in beta 3 , e.g. in Messages.

I've adjusted the dynamic text setting two notches down. They should offer a slider for font thickness, too.

 

[tymaster50]

For some reason, I highly doubt people can't read the font. It's not like one of those random microsoft word fonts with cursive that shouldn't really belong there.

 

[mirzank]

Proof positive that the only people that speak up on the internet are complainers. When the thin font came out all you read here was how the ultra thin font sucks, how it cant be read, threats of leaving apple,etcetc. Now that theres a new bolder font, people are complaining how the old font was better.

No wonder apple doesnt rely on focus groups or opinions of its users. Im now convinced apple knows best.

Personally i loved the ultra thin font. Clean and modern. I have good vision and i had no problems. My poor old parents who wear glasses also had no problem with it when i showed them. So i really think forums are full of people that are just resistant to change. They dont like something and they manufacture reasons to justify their dislike for the change.

 

[KenAFSPC]

Personally i loved the ultra thin font. Clean and modern. I have good vision and i had no problems. My poor old parents who wear glasses also had no problem with it when i showed them. So i really think forums are full of people that are just resistant to change. They dont like something and they manufacture reasons to justify their dislike for the change.

This is an Internet technology bulletin board, so the average poster is probably around 16 years of age. Younger members probably outnumber older members by 5 to 1. However, the age of the average iPhone user is probably around 40 years of age -- they are the ones with the money.

Why is this relevant? Once you hit 40, it is all downhill as far as eye sight is concerned. The older you get, the worse your uncorrected (w/o glasses) and correctable (w/ glasses) vision becomes. Glasses fix many vision problems, but one thing you can't get back as you age is the perceived contrast -- the difference between light (white) and dark (black) -- of your teens and twenties. Thin lines and fonts blend in more with the surrounding colors; they are still discernible, but require more straining / squinting to read. Any competent UI designer should know these things.

When you depend on your phone to help you do your job (I.e, reading and responding to mass work emails, managing calendars and scheduling meetings, reviewing spreadsheets), having a font that is easy to read at small sizes is very important -- far more important than how pretty it looks. The wrong font can easily affect one's ability to do their job.

For some reason, I highly doubt people can't read the font. It's not like one of those random microsoft word fonts with cursive that shouldn't really belong there.

Comic sans is unprofessional and tacky, and I would not want it on my phone, but it is thick enough that I can read it without the same amount of eye strain (which leads to headaches)

 

[gomoq13]

I much prefer the lighter font.

 

[tymaster50]

Comic sans is unprofessional and tacky, and I would not want it on my phone, but it is thick enough that I can read it without the same amount of eye strain (which leads to headaches)



This is an Internet technology bulletin board, so the average poster is probably around 16 years of age. Younger members probably outnumber older members by 5 to 1. However, the age of the average iPhone user is probably around 40 years of age -- they are the ones with the money.

Why is this relevant? Once you hit 40, it's all downhill as far as eye sight is concerned. The older you get, the worse your uncorrected (w/o glasses) and correctable (w/ glasses) vision becomes. Glasses fix many vision problems, but one thing you't get back as you age is the perceived contrast -- the difference between light (white) and dark (black) -- of your teens and twenties. Thin lines and fonts blend in more with the surrounding colors; they are still be discernible, but require more straining / squinting to read. Any competent UI designer should know these things.

When you depend on your phone to help you do your job (I.e, reading responding to mass work emails, managing calendars and scheduling meetings, reviewing spreadsheets, etc.), having a font that is easy to read at small sizes is a big deal. The wrong font can easily affect one's ability to do their job.

That's why there is a bold font option and an option to resize the text, for those running on tired eyes. And where did comic sans come from??? This is helvetica or hue or something and it matched the UI well, the new font looks out of place.

 

[petvas]

I think everybody should read this post: http://www.marco.org/2013/07/08/a-thicker-hope

 

[KenAFSPC]

That's why there is a bold font option and an option to resize the text, for those running on tired eyes. And where did comic sans come from??? This is helvetica or hue or something and it matched the UI well, the new font looks out of place.

i have no issue with making another font an option. However, the default font should be the font that works for the vast majority of users. There are basically two camps here:

(Old font camp) Give us back the old font. It looks nicer / prettier / more elegant.
(New font camp) Thank you for giving me a font that I can actually read without eye strain.

IMO, one of the arguments -- at least with respect to the default font -- is rather silly.

 

[tymaster50]

i have no issue with making another font an option. However, the default font should be the font that works for the vast majority of users. There are basically two camps here:

(Old font camp) Give us back the old font. It looks nicer / prettier / more elegant.
(New font camp) Thank you for giving me a font that I can actually read without eye strain.

IMO, one of the arguments -- at least with respect to the default font -- is rather silly.

Old font - people under 40 with ok/good eyes, and some above 40 who can still see

New font, people with bad eyes and above 40


We'll see when iOS 7 comes out which font they'll use, I would prefer the original, the eye strain thing isn't really a complaint when the whole UI is bright now

 

[Rogifan]

I think everybody should read this post: http://www.marco.org/2013/07/08/a-thicker-hope

Haha that's funny. All I can do is laugh at any blogger who thinks they played a part in getting Apple to change the font. According to 9to5Mac some of what we're seeing in beta 3 was already floating around during WWDC. So this font change was very likely an internal change that had nothing to do with complaints on the Internet. It just didn't make it in to the first two betas.

 

[azentropy]

Pretty easy choice for me, I chose the font that I can read! There are still many new GUI aspects of iOS7 I don't like, but the thin font would have been a deal breaker. I would not have upgraded my primary iPhone to iOS7 and my next phone wouldn't have been an iPhone. This is coming from someone who has bought 4 different iPhones and 7 iPads (all 7 are still in use by my extended family).

 

[Ottoman1]

Haha that's funny. All I can do is laugh at any blogger who thinks they played a part in getting Apple to change the font. According to 9to5Mac some of what we're seeing in beta 3 was already floating around during WWDC. So this font change was very likely an internal change that had nothing to do with complaints on the Internet. It just didn't make it in to the first two betas.

I imagine many factors contributed to the change including the large volume of articles summarizing the complaints on the boards.

I think we should keep up our campaign of positive suggestions for Apple. It sounds like I've is open to input:

http://www.businessinsider.com/jony-ive-changes-his-mind-apple-makes-one-of-the-biggest-changes-ever-to-beta-iphone-software-2013-7

 

[TyPod]

I prefer the heavier fonts.

 

[Rogifan]

I imagine many factors contributed to the change including the large volume of articles summarizing the complaints on the boards.

I think we should keep up our campaign of positive suggestions for Apple. It sounds like I've is open to input:

http://www.businessinsider.com/jony...t-changes-ever-to-beta-iphone-software-2013-7

I can't believe you'd actually link to a Business Insider click bait story. There is ZERO evidence the font change in beta 3 is because of online complaints. 9to5Mac (which were pretty much dead on with their iOS 7 rumors) said some of the beta 3 changes were already in the works at the time of WWDC. For all we know Apple was already planning to change the font based on internal testing. Also just look through this forum and you'll see a lot of complaints that the font is too thick now and people liked the thinner font better. So the font change isn't a positive for everybody. If Marco Arment wants to think his blog postings are influencing Apple he can think that but there really isn't evidence to support it.

IMO Apple should be working on fixing bugs and usability issues, not UI design suggestions from random users. A lot of things I'm seeing here are aesthetic design preferences not usability issues or bugs.

 

[petvas]

Haha that's funny. All I can do is laugh at any blogger who thinks they played a part in getting Apple to change the font. According to 9to5Mac some of what we're seeing in beta 3 was already floating around during WWDC. So this font change was very likely an internal change that had nothing to do with complaints on the Internet. It just didn't make it in to the first two betas.

This "blogger" is the creator of Instapaper..Very funny.