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I have read many comments here and in other places saying that Apple makes the green SMS bubbles annoying and hard to read. But from looking at this screenshot,

by iqanq 5y ago

I have read many comments here and in other places saying that Apple makes the green SMS bubbles annoying and hard to read. But from looking at this screenshot, I don't get that vibe at all. They don't look more annoying than the blue ones. In fact, I'd say in the top part of both screenshots, the blue ones look like they have less contrast than the green ones. https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/screen-shot-2015-02-23-at-7-46-25-am.png https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/scree...

notreallyserio 5y ago
The color isn't the problem, never was. The color simply indicates that the person is using basic SMS, and that has an effect on all members of the conversation.
- MBCook 5y ago
  There was an article making the rounds the other day that argued that Apple had changed the green bubbles to have less contrast and thus be harder to read that they were in previous releases.
  - notreallyserio 5y ago
    Ah, I missed that. I haven't found it in my searches, just articles about accessibility settings that can be used to adjust the colors.
    - MBCook 5y ago
      Honestly I’m not sure if it made it to HN. I saw it somehow (don’t remember how I came across it) and the title was kind of generic about the blue vs green bubble thing. It was only if you actually went in and read it you saw it was making a pointer other than “shunning and network effects”.
    - enragedcacti 5y ago
      Here is what the bubbles used to look like https://imgur.com/gallery/xPib8 https://imgur.com/gallery/xPib8
webmaven 5y ago
It will look different depending on your settings[0] and the type of screen, affecting the gamma and gamut. On mine, that screenshot looks like the green has an unpleasantly high saturation compared to the blue. The higher saturation increases the perceived value/lightness, lowering contrast. [0] On my phone (a Pixel5a running Android 12), Display > Colors is set to Adaptive, rather than Natural or Boosted.
artursapek 5y ago
The blue ones have more contrast than the green ones, making them easier to read. Convert that screenshot to grayscale in Photoshop to see https://i.imgur.com/U8mEB93.png https://i.imgur.com/U8mEB93.png This has always bothered me. Apple definitely knows this and is doing it on purpose. The color green they chose is just hard on the eyes. They don't think it's a good color.
- collegeburner 5y ago
  That color was used for all messages before imessage was a thing. Blue was added later.
  - enragedcacti 5y ago
    It was black on green (and had a bubble effect) https://imgur.com/gallery/xPib8 https://imgur.com/gallery/xPib8
    - artursapek 5y ago
      Yeah, I remember the blue bubbles appeared back in this aesthetic
  - Rebelgecko 5y ago
    No, the original color was black text on a different shade of green. The contrast was much higher, and unlike the current situation it was compliant with Apple's UI rules

by iqanq 5y ago

notreallyserio 5y ago

The color isn't the problem, never was. The color simply indicates that the person is using basic SMS, and that has an effect on all members of the conversation.

MBCook 5y ago
There was an article making the rounds the other day that argued that Apple had changed the green bubbles to have less contrast and thus be harder to read that they were in previous releases.
- notreallyserio 5y ago
  Ah, I missed that. I haven't found it in my searches, just articles about accessibility settings that can be used to adjust the colors.
  - MBCook 5y ago
    Honestly I’m not sure if it made it to HN. I saw it somehow (don’t remember how I came across it) and the title was kind of generic about the blue vs green bubble thing. It was only if you actually went in and read it you saw it was making a pointer other than “shunning and network effects”.
  - enragedcacti 5y ago
    Here is what the bubbles used to look like https://imgur.com/gallery/xPib8 https://imgur.com/gallery/xPib8

webmaven 5y ago

It will look different depending on your settings[0] and the type of screen, affecting the gamma and gamut. On mine, that screenshot looks like the green has an unpleasantly high saturation compared to the blue. The higher saturation increases the perceived value/lightness, lowering contrast. [0] On my phone (a Pixel5a running Android 12), Display > Colors is set to Adaptive, rather than Natural or Boosted.

artursapek 5y ago

The blue ones have more contrast than the green ones, making them easier to read. Convert that screenshot to grayscale in Photoshop to see https://i.imgur.com/U8mEB93.png https://i.imgur.com/U8mEB93.png This has always bothered me. Apple definitely knows this and is doing it on purpose. The color green they chose is just hard on the eyes. They don't think it's a good color.

collegeburner 5y ago
That color was used for all messages before imessage was a thing. Blue was added later.
- enragedcacti 5y ago
  It was black on green (and had a bubble effect) https://imgur.com/gallery/xPib8 https://imgur.com/gallery/xPib8
  - artursapek 5y ago
    Yeah, I remember the blue bubbles appeared back in this aesthetic
- Rebelgecko 5y ago
  No, the original color was black text on a different shade of green. The contrast was much higher, and unlike the current situation it was compliant with Apple's UI rules