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>On a related note, why is Netflix's interface so locked down? Partly this the fault of Apple. They championed the idea that UI is an artistic expression and t

>On a related note, why is Netflix's interface so locked down? Partly this the fault of Apple. They championed the idea that UI is an artistic expression and therefore 'configurability' and 'customizability' is akin to heresy. This view has now infected many existing products. Part of the reason why many companies jumped on this bandwagon is also because 'customizability' is hard(er) to build in, and certainly more expensive to maintain.

toddmorey 4y ago
Ironically, Apple customization has become really good. Not in terms of tweaking the look, but the functionality tweaks like mentioned above? iPhone is super customizable.
- greenhorn360 4y ago
  Can I put all the app icons in the bottom right corner where I can reach them with one hand yet? Or does it still force them to float at the top?
  - Godel_unicode 4y ago
    What about “make this arbitrary wav file a ringtone”. No?
    - fredoralive 4y ago
      It has to be an AAC file with the magic extension .m4r, but yep, custom ringtones are possible, have been for years.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
di456 4y ago
> Part of the reason why many companies jumped on this bandwagon is also because 'customizability' is hard(er) to build in, and certainly more expensive to maintain. It's also harder to A-B test with so many variables. If tests aren't statistics significant, the value of user analytics and UX experimentation decreases from a "% lift" perspective. It's harder to know if a feature change or a user defined config had a causal relationship to some other metric. It may be the A-B testing tail wagging the dog.
- nvarsj 4y ago
  That's a good insight. A bit like unit tests, A-B tests drive the design of the website to make them testable. Not sure that is ultimately the best choice for UX, but here we are. I suppose it makes it a lot easier to justify one's perf rating.
  - di456 4y ago
    Maybe on the perf rating, but on a bigger scale it could make it way more complex for analytics departments to function. Complexity adds real costs when that department exists to increase revenue and retention, and iterate quickly. Those types of tests serve two very different purposes. UI is also unit testable. Unit tests are more of a binary pass/fail. A-B tests are looking for cause-and-effect relationships by comparing some metric between a control group and a variant group.
esprehn 4y ago
Neither of those is likely the reason. This is about A/B testing your way to success, growth and engagement. Allowing too much disabling of engagement driving features or too much customizations hurts metrics. It's the same reason FB forces you from the date sorted timeline back to "magic" sorting every few days.

toddmorey 4y ago

Ironically, Apple customization has become really good. Not in terms of tweaking the look, but the functionality tweaks like mentioned above? iPhone is super customizable.

greenhorn360 4y ago
Can I put all the app icons in the bottom right corner where I can reach them with one hand yet? Or does it still force them to float at the top?
- Godel_unicode 4y ago
  What about “make this arbitrary wav file a ringtone”. No?
  - fredoralive 4y ago
    It has to be an AAC file with the magic extension .m4r, but yep, custom ringtones are possible, have been for years.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]

di456 4y ago

> Part of the reason why many companies jumped on this bandwagon is also because 'customizability' is hard(er) to build in, and certainly more expensive to maintain. It's also harder to A-B test with so many variables. If tests aren't statistics significant, the value of user analytics and UX experimentation decreases from a "% lift" perspective. It's harder to know if a feature change or a user defined config had a causal relationship to some other metric. It may be the A-B testing tail wagging the dog.

nvarsj 4y ago
That's a good insight. A bit like unit tests, A-B tests drive the design of the website to make them testable. Not sure that is ultimately the best choice for UX, but here we are. I suppose it makes it a lot easier to justify one's perf rating.
- di456 4y ago
  Maybe on the perf rating, but on a bigger scale it could make it way more complex for analytics departments to function. Complexity adds real costs when that department exists to increase revenue and retention, and iterate quickly. Those types of tests serve two very different purposes. UI is also unit testable. Unit tests are more of a binary pass/fail. A-B tests are looking for cause-and-effect relationships by comparing some metric between a control group and a variant group.

esprehn 4y ago

Neither of those is likely the reason. This is about A/B testing your way to success, growth and engagement. Allowing too much disabling of engagement driving features or too much customizations hurts metrics. It's the same reason FB forces you from the date sorted timeline back to "magic" sorting every few days.