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Wow, the new Galaxy Gear has awesome icons.
- Thread starter Kendo
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I usually don't respond to people's personal likes/dislikes, but this strikes me as a really odd comment...
You seriously think that round icons on a round watch are jarring to look at? What shape icon would you think looks good on a round display?
Or did you mean something else?
Thanks!
It's one solution. Not a new one, but usable. Some people don't love it because it can be hard for them to pick out a tiny app with no labels.
Of course we have no choice in the matter. If Apple allowed third party launchers, we'd have all sorts of opinions, like people do on jailbroken phones.
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I usually don't respond to people's personal likes/dislikes, but this strikes me as a really odd comment...
You seriously think that round icons on a round watch are jarring to look at? What shape icon would you think looks good on a round display?
Or did you mean something else?
Thanks!
It's one solution. Not a new one, but usable. Some people don't love it because it can be hard for them to pick out a tiny app with no labels.
Of course we have no choice in the matter. If Apple allowed third party launchers, we'd have all sorts of opinions, like people do on jailbroken phones.
I do indeed. Intuitively, aesthetically it doesn't feel right. I'm not sure what shape would look good on a round display—probably because I'm not used to seeing and using round displays. I don't think user interfaces look great on a round display to begin with, which is probably why Apple chose not to use one.
I think the app constellation will be more problematic as users install more third party apps. I understand why Apple won't allow stock apps to be removed or hidden in iOS but on watchOS space is at a premium for so many reasons.
I don't mean just the look of the icon but rather using small circular icons as the interface.Probably not a coincidence; Apple probably mimicked the Gear S icons. (All the other smart watches preceded Apple, some by years, so it is more likely that Apple copied others than the others copied Apple.)
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I wish Apple would copy that icon display from Samsung. The current icon cluster is a cluttered mess. The Gear S and the new prototype have neatly arranged and in the case of the Gear S, labeled icons. I suppose the downside is you have to scroll through different screens of icons. But I'll take that over wildly stabbing my finger over the display trying to hit the right bubble.Did someone forget about the Samsung Gear S, which also predates the Apple Watch?
Compare this, or the icons from Gear 2 to this mess (let's be honest if Samsung came up with this, they would have been ridiculed):
I know this is an Apple forum and all and people love to show how Apple innovates and is always copied, but Apple did not invent circular icons. Samsung Gear and Gear S watches were square in nature, and square icons works work. Samsung Gear S is circular, as such circular icons are more suitable.
If we are going to be nitpicking icons, that green phone icon from Apple Watch is a direct copy of the Samsung Gear S one.
Hmm, I've had no problems using Watch app constellation. Of course right now I'm only using a few apps and I know exactly where they are. I wonder how Samsung's circular approach will work if you have a lot of apps on your device. It seems like you would be scrolling or rotating the bedel for a long time.
Honestly, if were really fast... I would just take an alphebatized list of Apps I could scroll through with the Crown.
I'm personally not a fan of the App "constellation" as it currently is on the Watch. I've done what I can to make it usable by creating "branches" and "bundles" of Apps that are similar... but I still find that I hit the wrong damn icon more often than I would like.
It's not terrible or anything... I just feel like it could be better.
I REALLY, REALLY wish I could remove some of the stock App icons. Like others, this doesn't bother me on my iPhone. But I have large branch/cluster on my AppleWatch dedicated to Apps I don't use. Yuck.
I'm personally not a fan of the App "constellation" as it currently is on the Watch. I've done what I can to make it usable by creating "branches" and "bundles" of Apps that are similar... but I still find that I hit the wrong damn icon more often than I would like.
It's not terrible or anything... I just feel like it could be better.
I REALLY, REALLY wish I could remove some of the stock App icons. Like others, this doesn't bother me on my iPhone. But I have large branch/cluster on my AppleWatch dedicated to Apps I don't use. Yuck.
I'm 49 now and so it's a bit of a dance around the lenses of my progressive lenses (for myopia) to see which bubble I'm tapping. It's not so much of a bother when my glasses are off. Then I see close up as well as I did at 20. I also forget what programs some of the icons represent. That's why that Gear display with the small titles for the apps appealed to me. I mostly get the one with similar symbols mixed up.
I keep telling myself I'll get around to organizing my icon bubbles one of these days.
Anyway, it's all moot as to what Samsung ends up doing. They could make the most perfect looking watch ever and I won't touch it after reading reviews on various sites, mostly Amazon, about the lack of customer service and support when something goes wrong.
I get frustrated with Apple sometimes but I've had very good service from them.
Yeah I had to contact Apple this morning (playlists wouldn't sync). They ended up just having me unpair my watch and repair it (which fixed the problem). Was on the phone with them for about an hour. The people I dealt with were very nice and helpful. That is one reason I stick with Apple. I've always had good customer service with them.
If Apple or Samsung allowed folders on their watches, I think it would help a lot of people.
Most heavy app users have by now figured out a folder category system that works for them.
(Personally, I rarely use more than one home screen now, on tablet or phone. The apps I use constantly are all neatly put away in the folders that fit on a single screen. I can get to any primary app with at most two taps. Other rarely-used apps simply get put in the dreaded purgatory of the Misc folder
)PS. Android Wear's stock "solution" is that you're supposed to use your voice to call up any app. That way, icons and menus don't matter. Your memory of the app name does, though!
Probably not a coincidence; Apple probably mimicked the Gear S icons. (All the other smart watches preceded Apple, some by years, so it is more likely that Apple copied others than the others copied Apple.)
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I have been reading some of the preview articles of the new Samsung watch because I'm interested to see what other manufacturers bring to the market. Competition is good, but I'm not yet seeing anything to envy over my Apple Watch. While the look of the app icons on the new Samsung clearly imitates Apple, the round approach by Samsung and Motorola offers some interesting possibilities. However the more I look at them, the more the rectangular design makes sense to me.
On the Samsung - complications for things like activity monitoring and upcoming appointments wrap around the bottom of the circular face. I find this difficult to read compared to information displayed straight across from left to right... or in the corners. Round makes sense for watches that display only the time. We are used to round clocks and watches, and we think of time (at least minutes and hours and months) as being circular. In the watch world you can easily read a clock face whether it is round, square, rectangular, or even other shapes. The actual shape of the watch is more about style and what is fashionable at that moment. Smart watches display much more than time. In fact displaying time is only a small part of the information and services provided by a smart watch or a smart phone. The many other features involve text and lists that are better viewed on a rectangular display in my opinion. Maybe I'm just old fashioned and too used to rectangular media ranging from post-it notes to books, smart phones, computer displays, televisions, photographs, etc. I could be convinced to buy a round smart watch if it was designed well enough, but please do not make me read curved text. For some reason that just bugs me.
I'm not sure about rotating bezels instead of a crown. Of course a round face begs for a rotating bezel that does something, but it seems like I might rotate it by accident more than the Apple crown. Maybe not. It's a cool design, but I do like the Apple digital crown and I don't think it looks like the wart some people describe it as being. In fact I think it is beautifully finished and looks as good as it works, even on my Sport.
Sean
On the Samsung - complications for things like activity monitoring and upcoming appointments wrap around the bottom of the circular face. I find this difficult to read compared to information displayed straight across from left to right... or in the corners. Round makes sense for watches that display only the time. We are used to round clocks and watches, and we think of time (at least minutes and hours and months) as being circular. In the watch world you can easily read a clock face whether it is round, square, rectangular, or even other shapes. The actual shape of the watch is more about style and what is fashionable at that moment. Smart watches display much more than time. In fact displaying time is only a small part of the information and services provided by a smart watch or a smart phone. The many other features involve text and lists that are better viewed on a rectangular display in my opinion. Maybe I'm just old fashioned and too used to rectangular media ranging from post-it notes to books, smart phones, computer displays, televisions, photographs, etc. I could be convinced to buy a round smart watch if it was designed well enough, but please do not make me read curved text. For some reason that just bugs me.
I'm not sure about rotating bezels instead of a crown. Of course a round face begs for a rotating bezel that does something, but it seems like I might rotate it by accident more than the Apple crown. Maybe not. It's a cool design, but I do like the Apple digital crown and I don't think it looks like the wart some people describe it as being. In fact I think it is beautifully finished and looks as good as it works, even on my Sport.
Sean
