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This is a fantastic refutation of the idea that text is best. You have to read the whole thing to figure out where to tap. Nicely done!

by zellyn 9y ago

dkersten 9y ago
I disagree. I mean, yes, the icons look much, much nicer, but the text I can understand much easier. For example, desprite owning an iPhone myself, after looking at that comparison, I just realised that I had actually never used (nor really knew what they meant) what the "do not disturb", "timer" or "calculator" icons were. I've always navigated to calculator and timer from the apps on the home screen (and have never used do not disturb). I'm not saying that Apple should change the icons, not at all. Just that I don't think this is a refutation of the idea that text is best at all. If anything, it shows that text is much more descoverable and understandable, if a good bit uglier (and less compact). I do think that icons are the right choice for the iPhone, and once you learn the icons there's no problem (as long as they don't get changed!), but its not as clear cut as you seem to be saying. I'm forever confused by non-standard various unlabelled icons all over the place. I also have no idea what most of the articles in the linked article mean (eg the washing machine/clothes icons -- I still don't know what they mean when I see them on clothes!)
- socialentp 9y ago
  I think Apple Mail actually strikes the right balance here. There are icons, but they have text below them by default. If you want a cleaner interface once you are able to easily identify the feature by the icons, you can right-click and turn off the text. It's like training wheels for the UI. I used the text labels until I no longer needed them, and now I only use the icons.
pasquinelli 9y ago
it also shows that an icon has to be iconic to work. play, fast forward and rewind, the camera and the calculator, i knew. airplane mode, wifi and bluetooth, i knew but could easily imagine people confused by. the crescent moon, the lock with the arrow around it, the flashlight and the dial i honestly didn't know, and would've had to tap them to try to figure out what they did. you can't just make any picture iconic, it's not something an app can force.

This is a fantastic refutation of the idea that text is best. You have to read the whole thing to figure out where to tap. Nicely done!

by zellyn 9y ago

This is a fantastic refutation of the idea that text is best. You have to read the whole thing to figure out where to tap. Nicely done!

dkersten 9y ago

I disagree. I mean, yes, the icons look much, much nicer, but the text I can understand much easier. For example, desprite owning an iPhone myself, after looking at that comparison, I just realised that I had actually never used (nor really knew what they meant) what the "do not disturb", "timer" or "calculator" icons were. I've always navigated to calculator and timer from the apps on the home screen (and have never used do not disturb). I'm not saying that Apple should change the icons, not at all. Just that I don't think this is a refutation of the idea that text is best at all. If anything, it shows that text is much more descoverable and understandable, if a good bit uglier (and less compact). I do think that icons are the right choice for the iPhone, and once you learn the icons there's no problem (as long as they don't get changed!), but its not as clear cut as you seem to be saying. I'm forever confused by non-standard various unlabelled icons all over the place. I also have no idea what most of the articles in the linked article mean (eg the washing machine/clothes icons -- I still don't know what they mean when I see them on clothes!)

socialentp 9y ago
I think Apple Mail actually strikes the right balance here. There are icons, but they have text below them by default. If you want a cleaner interface once you are able to easily identify the feature by the icons, you can right-click and turn off the text. It's like training wheels for the UI. I used the text labels until I no longer needed them, and now I only use the icons.

pasquinelli 9y ago

it also shows that an icon has to be iconic to work. play, fast forward and rewind, the camera and the calculator, i knew. airplane mode, wifi and bluetooth, i knew but could easily imagine people confused by. the crescent moon, the lock with the arrow around it, the flashlight and the dial i honestly didn't know, and would've had to tap them to try to figure out what they did. you can't just make any picture iconic, it's not something an app can force.