4 ms·

This was a great write up! But the gut-wrenching moment was seeing the old iOS interface in all its skeuomorphic glory. Jesus, how much I hate John Ive!

wannacboatmovie 3y ago
You mean back when buttons looked like clickable buttons instead of this "flat" design so terrible they had to add accessibility features to work around its shittiness? Yes, maybe Jony should have stuck to designing razor-sharp aluminium wrist rests instead of tackling software.
- xattt 3y ago
  iPhone 4 and 4s were designed with Jobs still around to reign in Ives and others. It was after Jobs passing but before Forstall’s and Ive’s departures that things went to shit. Forstall pushed skeuomorphism to the extreme where Apple might as well be handing you the things they’re trying to emulate and call it a day. Ives, given total freedom, took a steamroller to the UI. The beauty of the early designs (iOS 1 - 5) was the contrast between materials in the UI. Things you could press were shiny and made to look like they had the feel of the glass screen. This was not the usual way to interact with any device at the time, as most digitizers were plastic sheets laid over the glass that had some give. In contrast, things you could not touch were made to look matte. Between Forstall and Ives, this all got blown up.
  - HeckFeck 3y ago
    > The beauty of the early designs (iOS 1 - 5) was the contrast between materials in the UI. Things you could press were shiny and made to look like they had the feel of the glass screen. This was not the usual way to interact with any device at the time, as most digitizers were plastic sheets laid over the glass that had some give. In contrast, things you could not touch were made to look matte. That's why we found those UIs so clear! It all registered without thinking (i.e. frustrated fumbling and frantic guesswork). Progress isn't always improvement, but the two concepts are now dangerously muddled.
  - elzbardico 3y ago
    It was incredible how the icons looked far more recognizable and easily scannable in a quick glance.
mathieuh 3y ago
The iPhone peaked at the iPhone 4 and iOS 4. Of course, there have been incremental upgrades since, but that was the last time I remember feeling like the new iPhone was a really big upgrade. The design of both the hardware and software Just Worked (antenna-gate notwithstanding).
- HeckFeck 3y ago
  iPhone 4 with iOS 4/5 and Snow Leopard on my MacBook in 2010-2011 was the most seamless and enjoyable computing has been for me. Nothing has surpassed those days since.
- philipwhiuk 3y ago
  You need to learn more words because that's not what peak means.

wannacboatmovie 3y ago

You mean back when buttons looked like clickable buttons instead of this "flat" design so terrible they had to add accessibility features to work around its shittiness? Yes, maybe Jony should have stuck to designing razor-sharp aluminium wrist rests instead of tackling software.

xattt 3y ago
iPhone 4 and 4s were designed with Jobs still around to reign in Ives and others. It was after Jobs passing but before Forstall’s and Ive’s departures that things went to shit. Forstall pushed skeuomorphism to the extreme where Apple might as well be handing you the things they’re trying to emulate and call it a day. Ives, given total freedom, took a steamroller to the UI. The beauty of the early designs (iOS 1 - 5) was the contrast between materials in the UI. Things you could press were shiny and made to look like they had the feel of the glass screen. This was not the usual way to interact with any device at the time, as most digitizers were plastic sheets laid over the glass that had some give. In contrast, things you could not touch were made to look matte. Between Forstall and Ives, this all got blown up.
- HeckFeck 3y ago
  > The beauty of the early designs (iOS 1 - 5) was the contrast between materials in the UI. Things you could press were shiny and made to look like they had the feel of the glass screen. This was not the usual way to interact with any device at the time, as most digitizers were plastic sheets laid over the glass that had some give. In contrast, things you could not touch were made to look matte. That's why we found those UIs so clear! It all registered without thinking (i.e. frustrated fumbling and frantic guesswork). Progress isn't always improvement, but the two concepts are now dangerously muddled.
- elzbardico 3y ago
  It was incredible how the icons looked far more recognizable and easily scannable in a quick glance.

mathieuh 3y ago

The iPhone peaked at the iPhone 4 and iOS 4. Of course, there have been incremental upgrades since, but that was the last time I remember feeling like the new iPhone was a really big upgrade. The design of both the hardware and software Just Worked (antenna-gate notwithstanding).

HeckFeck 3y ago
iPhone 4 with iOS 4/5 and Snow Leopard on my MacBook in 2010-2011 was the most seamless and enjoyable computing has been for me. Nothing has surpassed those days since.
philipwhiuk 3y ago
You need to learn more words because that's not what peak means.