New UI, Could It Be Any Worse?

[DollaTwentyFive]

It could be worse. It could be android.

 

[CausticPuppy]

Prior to iOS7, iOS was, across the board, more or less liked, even loved. There were some opinions that the design was getting a bit stale, but it was never really the source of large scale vehement hatred.

The hell it wasn't! I guess you don't remember all the iOS hate threads when they first came out with multitasking... and game center.... and folders (people didnt' get exactly what they wanted, so hate hate hate).

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You are WRONG! iOS 1-6 was visually appealing and looked quite good. 7 just looks like a toddler designed it. PERIOD.

Hello there, Mr. Forstall!

 

[gentlefury]

New User Interface is like using VisiCalc on a vt100 before graphics were invented.

No more buttons, texture, depth, color, gradients, etc. I do not want what is essentially a text mode UI.

For example, calc app no longer has distinct buttons, but lines between numbers. Looks like an interface designed in 1978 on pdp-11.

i just got a VM. It is a giant screen of white. No longer do they use color, boxes, etc to mark areas of the screen.

I cannot find a single thing about the new UI I like. I cannot believe anyone thinks this UI is better.

I was a pretty big fan of Windows OS since they went with more of a unique and basic approach. I think iOS7 does it even better.

 

[YeahBuddy]

For example, calc app no longer has distinct buttons, but lines between numbers. Looks like an interface designed in 1978 on pdp-11.

I find the image on the left, ugly. The image on the right a lot easier on the eyes. However, anyone picking up either of these applications will know how it works.

 

[GoodtobetheKing]

About the only definitive statement that can be made about iOS7 is that it's polarizing.

I see this as a problem for Apple. Prior to iOS7, iOS was, across the board, more or less liked, even loved. There were some opinions that the design was getting a bit stale, but it was never really the source of large scale vehement hatred. That's largely due to the incremental design tweaks it saw over the years...the changes were not radical, but they were changes nonetheless.

In fact, iOS before 7 was the epitome of great design. Great design is design you barely notice. It stays out of your way. iOS7 requires considerable thought in many places. It requires squinting. It requires forgetting old habits from prior versions and relearning.

iOS7 feels completely off message. Some love the new message, some hate it, but it's an undeniably new animal, and as with anything radically new, there will be haters. Some haters will get used to the new beast, but some may very well may drop iOS and Apple altogether, since many people's entire relationship with Apple is based solely on iDevices.

Had Apple stayed the course and merely continued streamlining and tweaking things instead of rocking the boat so hard, they may not have lost as many followers. They definitely would not have lost iOS7 haters if the changes were not so radical. But they did rock, hard, and people will be vocal about why they left, and those vocalizations will spread. IOS7 haters that formerly recommended iDevices to friends and family and coworkers will rescind those recommendations, and stop making new ones.

And the very qualities that made iDevices so immensely popular....simplicity and intuitive ease of use, have been compromised. This means older people and small kids won't get it immediately. That means less impulse purchases in stores for newcomers.

Where iOS inspired near universal love before 7, iOS7 elicits "cool". It is cool in many ways. But it's a detached cool, bordering on cold and lifeless. For some, this is a minty fresh breath of air. For others, it's alienating and will mean a migration away from iOS.

^This. I couldn't have put it better myself. Bravo, sir.

 

[panzer06]

Not sure I feel it's that bad. The cartoony look and over emphasis on white along with very slim characters makes it much harder to read text, especially in mail, notes and calendar. If it wasn't for the BOLD option in accessibility settings it would be nigh unusable.

However, what I don't understand is why they felt the need to make such drastic UI changes at all. The great underlying features could have been added without such drastic UI changes.

It's like there was this underground movement within Apple that was just waiting for Job's boot to get lifted off of their throats and now they've run amuck. If they're allowing this group free reign, why not unleash the group that wants to offer more options and wider product sets to the market. Bigger phones displays, simple upgradable laptops and iMacs, all while retaining the Apple signature style and design. Choice is not profane and with a bit of hard work and creative energy it can look beautiful too.

I'll be very interested to see what the adoption rate looks like in 6 months.

Just sayin'

 

[Umbrarian]

I just don't understand why there is thread after thread of people being surprised by the aesthetic changes and then complaining about it.

Because it is bad and we express our opinions.

Few of us spend our lives trying to find out what a UI for a phone will be months in advance of it's release. Shocking I know.

 

[darngooddesign]

About the only definitive statement that can be made about iOS7 is that it's polarizing.

I see this as a problem for Apple. Prior to iOS7, iOS was, across the board, more or less liked, even loved. There were some opinions that the design was getting a bit stale, but it was never really the source of large scale vehement hatred. That's largely due to the incremental design tweaks it saw over the years...the changes were not radical, but they were changes nonetheless.

In fact, iOS before 7 was the epitome of great design. Great design is design you barely notice. It stays out of your way. iOS7 requires considerable thought in many places. It requires squinting. It requires forgetting old habits from prior versions and relearning.

iOS7 feels completely off message. Some love the new message, some hate it, but it's an undeniably new animal, and as with anything radically new, there will be haters. Some haters will get used to the new beast, but some may very well may drop iOS and Apple altogether, since many people's entire relationship with Apple is based solely on iDevices.

Had Apple stayed the course and merely continued streamlining and tweaking things instead of rocking the boat so hard, they may not have lost as many followers. They definitely would not have lost iOS7 haters if the changes were not so radical. But they did rock, hard, and people will be vocal about why they left, and those vocalizations will spread. IOS7 haters that formerly recommended iDevices to friends and family and coworkers will rescind those recommendations, and stop making new ones.

And the very qualities that made iDevices so immensely popular....simplicity and intuitive ease of use, have been compromised. This means older people and small kids won't get it immediately. That means less impulse purchases in stores for newcomers.

Where iOS inspired near universal love before 7, iOS7 elicits "cool". It is cool in many ways. But it's a detached cool, bordering on cold and lifeless. For some, this is a minty fresh breath of air. For others, it's alienating and will mean a migration away from iOS.

A balanced statement, but you forget that iOS will also gain new users because it doesn't look like an OS designed for older people.

 

[gentlefury]

About the only definitive statement that can be made about iOS7 is that it's polarizing.

I see this as a problem for Apple. Prior to iOS7, iOS was, across the board, more or less liked, even loved. There were some opinions that the design was getting a bit stale, but it was never really the source of large scale vehement hatred. That's largely due to the incremental design tweaks it saw over the years...the changes were not radical, but they were changes nonetheless.

In fact, iOS before 7 was the epitome of great design. Great design is design you barely notice. It stays out of your way. iOS7 requires considerable thought in many places. It requires squinting. It requires forgetting old habits from prior versions and relearning.

iOS7 feels completely off message. Some love the new message, some hate it, but it's an undeniably new animal, and as with anything radically new, there will be haters. Some haters will get used to the new beast, but some may very well may drop iOS and Apple altogether, since many people's entire relationship with Apple is based solely on iDevices.

Had Apple stayed the course and merely continued streamlining and tweaking things instead of rocking the boat so hard, they may not have lost as many followers. They definitely would not have lost iOS7 haters if the changes were not so radical. But they did rock, hard, and people will be vocal about why they left, and those vocalizations will spread. IOS7 haters that formerly recommended iDevices to friends and family and coworkers will rescind those recommendations, and stop making new ones.

And the very qualities that made iDevices so immensely popular....simplicity and intuitive ease of use, have been compromised. This means older people and small kids won't get it immediately. That means less impulse purchases in stores for newcomers.

Where iOS inspired near universal love before 7, iOS7 elicits "cool". It is cool in many ways. But it's a detached cool, bordering on cold and lifeless. For some, this is a minty fresh breath of air. For others, it's alienating and will mean a migration away from iOS.

I have to disagree 100%. The one thing I hated about iOS was how dated and stale it both looked and operated. I personally love iOS 7. The design is great and modern. The new usability features were extremely needed. I think, had Apple not decided to take such a dramatic turn they would have actually lost more people to the stale and outdated approach to the people that fear and hate change. Don't worry, in a couple years when they change it again, you will be making the same argument in favor of this current design..that is how it has always been and always will be.

One of Apple's strengths is in opposing common thought and doing what they feel is right...since they are usually correct. Computers being their longest running platform that they have demonstrated this on. They removed the Floppy drive and people FLIPPED, saying, how can you use a computer without a floppy drive!?!?!?! See any computers with floppies? They removed the optical drive and people went nuts, saying they need their optical drive. Everything is media free now. Again, they knew it was a piece of hardware that was holding them back and keeping them from creating the slim line laptops they really wanted to create....so deal with the temporary blowback for the long term advancement. People lost it when they stopped supporting G5s in favor of Intel...better systems resulted. When rosetta was killed people claimed they were done with apple for good...what was the result? Old developers that refused to upgrade were forced to, or die. Progress at the expense of nay-sayers. Good for them.

Here's hoping they continue to innovate and not listen to everyone that wants things to never change and still use Windows XP because they are still supported!

 

[matttye]

I love it.

To each their own, I guess.

 

[paradox11]

Because it is bad and we express our opinions.

Few of us spend our lives trying to find out what a UI for a phone will be months in advance of it's release. Shocking I know.

And yet here you are, on Mac Rumors, complaining about very much a first world problem.

Do you people not remember any of the previous launches? iOS 6 was much more hated than this one is. In fact, I didn't upgrade for quite a while because I didn't want to lose google maps.

I jumped at the opportunity to get iOS 7, and, honestly, it's their best functioning and best designed iOS so far. iOS 6 looks ancient in comparison.

 

[Macalway]

About the only definitive statement that can be made about iOS7 is that it's polarizing.

I see this as a problem for Apple. Prior to iOS7, iOS was, across the board, more or less liked, even loved. There were some opinions that the design was getting a bit stale, but it was never really the source of large scale vehement hatred. That's largely due to the incremental design tweaks it saw over the years...the changes were not radical, but they were changes nonetheless.

In fact, iOS before 7 was the epitome of great design. Great design is design you barely notice. It stays out of your way. iOS7 requires considerable thought in many places. It requires squinting. It requires forgetting old habits from prior versions and relearning.

iOS7 feels completely off message. Some love the new message, some hate it, but it's an undeniably new animal, and as with anything radically new, there will be haters. Some haters will get used to the new beast, but some may very well may drop iOS and Apple altogether, since many people's entire relationship with Apple is based solely on iDevices.

Had Apple stayed the course and merely continued streamlining and tweaking things instead of rocking the boat so hard, they may not have lost as many followers. They definitely would not have lost iOS7 haters if the changes were not so radical. But they did rock, hard, and people will be vocal about why they left, and those vocalizations will spread. IOS7 haters that formerly recommended iDevices to friends and family and coworkers will rescind those recommendations, and stop making new ones.

And the very qualities that made iDevices so immensely popular....simplicity and intuitive ease of use, have been compromised. This means older people and small kids won't get it immediately. That means less impulse purchases in stores for newcomers.

Where iOS inspired near universal love before 7, iOS7 elicits "cool". It is cool in many ways. But it's a detached cool, bordering on cold and lifeless. For some, this is a minty fresh breath of air. For others, it's alienating and will mean a migration away from iOS.

My God you write well. Makes me feel like a schmuck

Wait, I AM a schmuck

 

[wolsoncpa]

Gosh, it's so awesome to have another one of these threads! I know, I know, it takes effort to find one the 3.4 million other "I hate the UI" threads so why bother, just create a new one.

 

[borostef]

go get an android. done.

That would have been a good argument against someone complaining about iOS 6 or earlier... But after yesterday, anyone complaining about iOS 7 will not be helped by buying an Android phone... They already own one...

 

[MonstaMash]

Could it be any worse? Yeah, it could have looked like this:

 

[jmimac351]

New User Interface is like using VisiCalc on a vt100 before graphics were invented.

No more buttons, texture, depth, color, gradients, etc. I do not want what is essentially a text mode UI.

For example, calc app no longer has distinct buttons, but lines between numbers. Looks like an interface designed in 1978 on pdp-11.

i just got a VM. It is a giant screen of white. No longer do they use color, boxes, etc to mark areas of the screen.

I cannot find a single thing about the new UI I like. I cannot believe anyone thinks this UI is better.

I bought an iphone a few weeks ago - my first. Was an Android user. I completely agree with you. What I was liking about the iPhone was made cold and stark. I just "downgraded" from iOS 7 back to 6.1.4 and I will be staying put.

 

[Umbrarian]

Could it be any worse? Yeah, it could have looked like this:

Image

Yes, because being blinded by a white screen is so much better. Hey at least Notes now doubles as a Flashlight App!



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Look!

Another flashlight App!!




And here is another! Wow this is so creative!!

 

[nefan65]

Could it be any worse? Yeah, it could have looked like this:

Image

I know. It's comical when you read posts about how childish the iOS 7 icons look, etc. but green felt, shining buttons, and torn paper are professional...?

There are some legitimate posts about some folks experiences; battery, lag on older devices, etc. But most of the posts are personal, opinionated rants. The same thing happened with iOS 5 & 6. I recall that the Maps debacle of 2011 was the end for Apple. Yet here we are in 2013, the earth is still rotating, and Apple is still in business.

 

[Macalway]

I give up. I can't fight progress.

Well I guess its inevitable. Time for the home. The things I love now have outgrown me and I'm left with bad eyesight and my walker.

At least I have a new flashlight

 

[iCarabma]

About the only definitive statement that can be made about iOS7 is that it's polarizing.

I see this as a problem for Apple. Prior to iOS7, iOS was, across the board, more or less liked, even loved. There were some opinions that the design was getting a bit stale, but it was never really the source of large scale vehement hatred. That's largely due to the incremental design tweaks it saw over the years...the changes were not radical, but they were changes nonetheless.

In fact, iOS before 7 was the epitome of great design. Great design is design you barely notice. It stays out of your way. iOS7 requires considerable thought in many places. It requires squinting. It requires forgetting old habits from prior versions and relearning.

iOS7 feels completely off message. Some love the new message, some hate it, but it's an undeniably new animal, and as with anything radically new, there will be haters. Some haters will get used to the new beast, but some may very well may drop iOS and Apple altogether, since many people's entire relationship with Apple is based solely on iDevices.

Had Apple stayed the course and merely continued streamlining and tweaking things instead of rocking the boat so hard, they may not have lost as many followers. They definitely would not have lost iOS7 haters if the changes were not so radical. But they did rock, hard, and people will be vocal about why they left, and those vocalizations will spread. IOS7 haters that formerly recommended iDevices to friends and family and coworkers will rescind those recommendations, and stop making new ones.

And the very qualities that made iDevices so immensely popular....simplicity and intuitive ease of use, have been compromised. This means older people and small kids won't get it immediately. That means less impulse purchases in stores for newcomers.

Where iOS inspired near universal love before 7, iOS7 elicits "cool". It is cool in many ways. But it's a detached cool, bordering on cold and lifeless. For some, this is a minty fresh breath of air. For others, it's alienating and will mean a migration away from iOS.

Well put.

I also think you are completely wrong. You are engaging in a bit of revisionist history. First off the idea that the old iOS was universally loved. Go back and read some of the commentary from '07. Was notepad with comic sans font universally loved? Gamecenter? Ask in jailbreak forums if the design was universally loved.

The iPhone was (more or less) universally loved. And the iOS came along for the ride. People are still going to like their iPhones. And they get used to the parts of the OS that they don't like. And then in another 5-7 years when it changes again they will post how terrible iOS 12 is.

The entire iOS up to this point was geared towards teaching people how use a touchscreen. Now people don't need a picture of a button to know that there is an actionable item there.

And for the record my daughter ,who is 4, loves playing with my iPad. She always notices when I put a new app in her folder, but didn't say a word about the new OS. Just unlocked it and sat down to play.

The thing is though we don't all have to argue about it. Time will tell.

 

[Rizzm]

Why would you upgrade then? Just to complain about it?

I went back to iOS 6.

 

[panzer06]

That would have been a good argument against someone complaining about iOS 6 or earlier... But after yesterday, anyone complaining about iOS 7 will not be helped by buying an Android phone... They already own one...

Nice. Not quite true. iOS is still easier to learn for most folks (I have a HTC One) but the flat look of iOS 7 is closer to Android than what I felt was the more stylish Apple devices. Still I liked the sentiment.

I have to disagree 100%. The one thing I hated about iOS was how dated and stale it both looked and operated. I personally love iOS 7. The design is great and modern. The new usability features were extremely needed. I think, had Apple not decided to take such a dramatic turn they would have actually lost more people to the stale and outdated approach to the people that fear and hate change. Don't worry, in a couple years when they change it again, you will be making the same argument in favor of this current design..that is how it has always been and always will be.

One of Apple's strengths is in opposing common thought and doing what they feel is right...since they are usually correct. Computers being their longest running platform that they have demonstrated this on. They removed the Floppy drive and people FLIPPED, saying, how can you use a computer without a floppy drive!?!?!?! See any computers with floppies? They removed the optical drive and people went nuts, saying they need their optical drive. Everything is media free now. Again, they knew it was a piece of hardware that was holding them back and keeping them from creating the slim line laptops they really wanted to create....so deal with the temporary blowback for the long term advancement. People lost it when they stopped supporting G5s in favor of Intel...better systems resulted. When rosetta was killed people claimed they were done with apple for good...what was the result? Old developers that refused to upgrade were forced to, or die. Progress at the expense of nay-sayers. Good for them.

Here's hoping they continue to innovate and not listen to everyone that wants things to never change and still use Windows XP because they are still supported!

Not sure you can lump in the luddites who won't change unless they absolutely have to with people who have expensive Apple devices and tend to try the latest tech. The look and feel of iOS 7 feels cheap and childish to many people; of course many of those users might not ever want modern stark furniture or artwork in their homes either. I don't think anyone is saying the underpinnings of iOS 7 are bad so you can stop trying to compare rosetta, hardware choices and Windows versions (unless you want to talk about Windows 7 to Windows 8).

The fact is many, many people dislike this iteration of iOS. You may be correct in that it will be successful, (most likely because eventually no one will have a choice to stay on 6) but that doesn't mean those who dislike this direction shouldn't express their dissatisfaction.

Gosh, it's so awesome to have another one of these threads! I know, I know, it takes effort to find one the 3.4 million other "I hate the UI" threads so why bother, just create a new one.

As fast as this conversation is moving and with threads scrolling off the main screen many people aren't going to search for "other threads with similar sentiment" when they can just create a new one. I chuckle every time I see a comment like this. Just take a look at the sticky. Who's reading anything more than the last few pages of that beast.

Cheers,

 

[Macalway]

Well put.

I also think you are completely wrong. You are engaging in a bit of revisionist history. First off the idea that the old iOS was universally loved. Go back and read some of the commentary from '07. Was notepad with comic sans font universally loved? Gamecenter? Ask in jailbreak forums if the design was universally loved.

The iPhone was (more or less) universally loved. And the iOS came along for the ride. People are still going to like their iPhones. And they get used to the parts of the OS that they don't like. And then in another 5-7 years when it changes again they will post how terrible iOS 12 is.

The entire iOS up to this point was geared towards teaching people how use a touchscreen. Now people don't need a picture of a button to know that there is an actionable item there.

And for the record my daughter ,who is 4, loves playing with my iPad. She always notices when I put a new app in her folder, but didn't say a word about the new OS. Just unlocked it and sat down to play.

The thing is though we don't all have to argue about it. Time will tell.

True, it's a time will tell thing, as always

Fun to fight though eh?

 

[portishead]

About the only definitive statement that can be made about iOS7 is that it's polarizing.

You're wrong. It's a solid iOS (well some bugs that will get worked out over time). Only a few people are complaining about the bright colors. Once you actually use the phone for a few days, you won't even notice the colors. But that's cool... I'll sit in amusement as these posts slowly die over the next few days.

 

[gentlefury]

You're wrong. It's a solid iOS (well some bugs that will get worked out over time). Only a few people are complaining about the bright colors. Once you actually use the phone for a few days, you won't even notice the colors. But that's cool... I'll sit in amusement as these posts slowly die over the next few days.

Actually that is the one thing he got 100% correct. Opinions seem to be love it or hate it. That is the definition of polarizing....LOL