4 ms·

One more checked off my list! Just gave it a try and it works as smoothly and plesantly as on my iPhone. I have to wonder why they still don't have pull to re

One more checked off my list! Just gave it a try and it works as smoothly and plesantly as on my iPhone. I have to wonder why they still don't have pull to refresh though.

SoftwarePatent 15y ago
Possibly because Twitter has a patent on "pull to refresh" http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/27/pull-to-refresh-the-patent/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/27/pull-to-refresh-the-patent/
- drewblaisdell 15y ago
  That is merely a patent application, not a patent. Also, an example of misleading tech journalism that dcurtis didn't change on his website even after multiple people pointed this out. I guess the hypothetical reality is more interesting than real life.
  - fpgeek 15y ago
    Does the distinction matter to most software developers? From my perspective, the legal risk is almost identical. Something will most likely make its way through the patent office. At that point you can be sued and (unless you're independently wealthy and have plenty of free time or you have an employer who will take care of your legal defense) the quality of the patent doesn't matter.
Mavrik 15y ago
Android Design guidelines actively discurage this pattern - it supposedly too "iOSish" and protected by patterns.
- fudged 15y ago
  *patents
  - Mavrik 15y ago
    Indeed. :)
- justjimmy 15y ago
  Ditto. However, it doesn't explain why it isn't on the iOS version as well. The reason that I can think of is because Instagram refreshes (or rather pulls in) an entire new batch of photos. The expected UX for pull to refresh is that usually builds new data on top of the previous data, ie: Twitter, instead of loading entire new batch.
- justindocanto 15y ago
  you mean it's too intuitive? would actually work? offers a sense of familiarity? wouldn't want that on android... nooo sir.
  - SCdF 15y ago
    Your first point is subjective, your second point is confusing (pull to refresh is the only way refreshing works?) and your third point implies that people are already familiar with it (on Android you're mostly not, I've only ever seen it on lazy iOS ports). http://android.cyrilmottier.com/?p=598 http://android.cyrilmottier.com/?p=598 is a really nice blog about why it's an anti pattern on android (and no, it's not to be different from iOS).
    - canthonytucci 15y ago
      iOSey or not, it's quite easy to discover, and is accessible from anywhere within the thing that you're pulling. On a phone as big as my Galaxy Nexus, it would be nice not to have to reach all the way to the top of the screen, as this requires me to adjust how I am holding the phone when I was previously in a "casual scrolling through items" position.

One more checked off my list! Just gave it a try and it works as smoothly and plesantly as on my iPhone. I have to wonder why they still don't have pull to refresh though.

SoftwarePatent 15y ago

Possibly because Twitter has a patent on "pull to refresh" http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/27/pull-to-refresh-the-patent/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/27/pull-to-refresh-the-patent/

drewblaisdell 15y ago
That is merely a patent application, not a patent. Also, an example of misleading tech journalism that dcurtis didn't change on his website even after multiple people pointed this out. I guess the hypothetical reality is more interesting than real life.
- fpgeek 15y ago
  Does the distinction matter to most software developers? From my perspective, the legal risk is almost identical. Something will most likely make its way through the patent office. At that point you can be sued and (unless you're independently wealthy and have plenty of free time or you have an employer who will take care of your legal defense) the quality of the patent doesn't matter.

Mavrik 15y ago

Android Design guidelines actively discurage this pattern - it supposedly too "iOSish" and protected by patterns.

fudged 15y ago
*patents
- Mavrik 15y ago
  Indeed. :)
justjimmy 15y ago
Ditto. However, it doesn't explain why it isn't on the iOS version as well. The reason that I can think of is because Instagram refreshes (or rather pulls in) an entire new batch of photos. The expected UX for pull to refresh is that usually builds new data on top of the previous data, ie: Twitter, instead of loading entire new batch.
justindocanto 15y ago
you mean it's too intuitive? would actually work? offers a sense of familiarity? wouldn't want that on android... nooo sir.
- SCdF 15y ago
  Your first point is subjective, your second point is confusing (pull to refresh is the only way refreshing works?) and your third point implies that people are already familiar with it (on Android you're mostly not, I've only ever seen it on lazy iOS ports). http://android.cyrilmottier.com/?p=598 http://android.cyrilmottier.com/?p=598 is a really nice blog about why it's an anti pattern on android (and no, it's not to be different from iOS).
  - canthonytucci 15y ago
    iOSey or not, it's quite easy to discover, and is accessible from anywhere within the thing that you're pulling. On a phone as big as my Galaxy Nexus, it would be nice not to have to reach all the way to the top of the screen, as this requires me to adjust how I am holding the phone when I was previously in a "casual scrolling through items" position.