4 ms·

I doubt Apple began removing color years ago for a display technology they never used.

dredmorbius 3y ago
That wasn't my argument ... ... though Apple has had monochrome devices (the original Mac, the handheld Newton) ... ... and often makes preparations years on advance for long-term strategic moves. I'm putting very low emphasis on that last, as e-ink really doesn't seem to fit particularly well with the Apple ethos, except, perhaps, for watches. But if Apple were planning, or even contemplating, an e-ink device, ordering a flat white UI/UX might be precisely the first step in getting there.
- pseudalopex 3y ago
  What was your argument? Apple's historic monochrome devices are irrelevant. And Apple used color on color displays in those times.
  - dredmorbius 3y ago
    My argument here (<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37869476 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37869476>) is that across all OSes, and for the Web generally, being mindful of monochrome, low-refresh-rate displays is something that should be front-of-mind for UI/UX teams and design. Many of these issues already exist, e.g., for documents which are likely to be printed on monochrome devices. Colour is useful where available, but it is not universally available. (And that's before addressing issues such as colourblindness or other disability / accessibility considerations.) My original comment was not at all specific to Apple (you'd introduced them to the discussion), other vendors, or any specific OS or application. Simply that monochrome and e-ink are increasingly concerns. But since you raised the topic of Apple, and since, contrary to your initial statement that, broadly speaking, monochrome was "a display technology they never used", I'm both correcting the record, and noting that should there be a monochrome or e-ink prospect on Apple's roadmap, and further noting that Apple rather famously does not announce such roadmaps in advance, that flat/white would in fact fit with e-ink remarkably well. What that has to say about whether or not Apple is contemplating any such move I am, of course, entirely ignorant.
    - pseudalopex 3y ago
      Since decades being mindful of monochrome displays and color blindness meant selecting appropriate colors and using different shapes along with different colors. Removing color where available is not useful. Any explanation of the anti color trend must explain Apple's participation. Especially because Microsoft and GNOME appeared to imitate Apple. I did not say monochrome was a display technology Apple never used. You named e ink. And monochrome is not a display technology. Other trends included more transparency in content areas, links almost unidentifiable without color, and other reliance on small shade differences. And Apple made all app icons the same shape. All worse for e ink.
    - CRConrad 3y ago
      > Colour OK, that does it. You're a Hong Kong viking, not a Seattle baker.

That wasn't my argument ... ... though Apple has had monochrome devices (the original Mac, the handheld Newton) ... ... and often makes preparations years on advance for long-term strategic moves. I'm putting very low emphasis on that last, as e-ink really doesn't seem to fit particularly well with the Apple ethos, except, perhaps, for watches. But if Apple were planning, or even contemplating, an e-ink device, ordering a flat white UI/UX might be precisely the first step in getting there.

pseudalopex 3y ago
What was your argument? Apple's historic monochrome devices are irrelevant. And Apple used color on color displays in those times.
- dredmorbius 3y ago
  My argument here (<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37869476 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37869476>) is that across all OSes, and for the Web generally, being mindful of monochrome, low-refresh-rate displays is something that should be front-of-mind for UI/UX teams and design. Many of these issues already exist, e.g., for documents which are likely to be printed on monochrome devices. Colour is useful where available, but it is not universally available. (And that's before addressing issues such as colourblindness or other disability / accessibility considerations.) My original comment was not at all specific to Apple (you'd introduced them to the discussion), other vendors, or any specific OS or application. Simply that monochrome and e-ink are increasingly concerns. But since you raised the topic of Apple, and since, contrary to your initial statement that, broadly speaking, monochrome was "a display technology they never used", I'm both correcting the record, and noting that should there be a monochrome or e-ink prospect on Apple's roadmap, and further noting that Apple rather famously does not announce such roadmaps in advance, that flat/white would in fact fit with e-ink remarkably well. What that has to say about whether or not Apple is contemplating any such move I am, of course, entirely ignorant.
  - pseudalopex 3y ago
    Since decades being mindful of monochrome displays and color blindness meant selecting appropriate colors and using different shapes along with different colors. Removing color where available is not useful. Any explanation of the anti color trend must explain Apple's participation. Especially because Microsoft and GNOME appeared to imitate Apple. I did not say monochrome was a display technology Apple never used. You named e ink. And monochrome is not a display technology. Other trends included more transparency in content areas, links almost unidentifiable without color, and other reliance on small shade differences. And Apple made all app icons the same shape. All worse for e ink.
  - CRConrad 3y ago
    > Colour OK, that does it. You're a Hong Kong viking, not a Seattle baker.