What are small UI and UX things about macOS you like compared to Windows?

[Howl's Castle]

Curious to see what people say.

Me? I love that when you maximize a window, it hides the dock and lets you focus on the app you are using.

 

[Juicy Box]

I use both, and I am always comparing the two.

One thing that I hate about Windows compared to Mac is window dragging, or moving a window around.

The area to click is either smaller than Macs or if the mouse is in motion, it won't allow you to actually click on it. Sometimes I have two or three attempts to move a window on the Windows side.

Another really annoying thing is dragging a window and it automatically making it full screen. Although, this can be disabled.

I hate working in full screen and find it to slow me down when multitasking.

 

[radogado]

Hold Cmd to drag an out-of-focus window without de-focusing the current one.

 

[nudoru]

I can't answer to a "small" thing, the whole experience has to be considered for me ...

(context: I was a windows only user from 1991 - 2012 when I moved to macOS. Have had limited exposure to Windows via Bootcamp since).

I loathe the metro styling and the super flat look of Windows 8 through 10. Microsoft is using a text only web page look for all of the control panels it's just an ugly, uninspired mess. Windows has needed a UI cleanup for decades and it does seem like they're moving that direction very slowly (new font panel!). Even still - Windows is an inconsistent mess. There are over 3 different styles of context menus and various re-implemented UI controls across the OS and Microsoft's own apps. Read over the reddit.com/r/Windows threads - there are tons of posts about the UI.

Even though the skeuomorphism (realistic looking design) has been stripped from macOS, it still maintains a richness with subtle gradients and depth (shadows) that make it nice to look at. And I enjoy looking at pretty things Not to mention app developers also pay attention to this so the whole ecosystem has a nice design. Windows apps are typically driven by developers with no eye towards UI.

The one big difference that is bugging me - Windows "feels" much faster on the same hardware. I'm putting this difference down to the animations Apple has sprinkled around the UI with timings that are twice as long as they should be. I'm exploring hacks (nsdefaults) and tools (TinkerTool) to turn those down and get a faster Finder.

 

[Jyby]

Science Rules!

 

[chabig]

when you maximize a window

Windows users maximize. Mac users go full screen.

 

[KALLT]

I like the overall UI consistency of macOS, both in terms of design and features. I like that most applications are not covered in controls, but have the essential controls on a toolbar (that is often customisable), a bunch more options in the menu bar (just compare Finder to Windows Explorer) and a single place for app settings. I also like that system-wide settings are much better organised in macOS, whereas in Windows they are spread across at least two programs (Control Panel and the Settings app).

I have also come to appreciate the rich scripting and automation support of macOS that works across the system. This would help me so much on my work computer, where the best thing I have is macro support in Microsoft Office.

 

[tarsins]

Mission Control and Spaces (which I think Windows has copied with Task View), App folder flexibility in the dock (I have 3), double-clicking on window borders to make them fill the screen in that direction. Probably a lot more which I'll remember when I have to use Windows.