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Can you please provide examples? After uninstalling Facebook, every single third-party app on my phone is built of stock widgets. Some skin them, but that retai

Can you please provide examples? After uninstalling Facebook, every single third-party app on my phone is built of stock widgets. Some skin them, but that retains both behavior and dimensions. I would even say that the "snob masterclass" of iOS apps is all about using stock widgets in style, like Instapaper and Carcassonne do it. Or only in select places, like Paper, but still seamlessly. The only example of well-received custom widgets on my iPad is eBay.

gurkendoktor 14y ago
Oh, I guess Flipboard is also mostly customized. There's probably a stronger incentive to come up with your own stuff on a tablet where UIKit is not as helpful for the overall navigation. For example, the eBay phone app still looks like Apple could've built it.
cageface 14y ago
Just look through the top apps and marvel at how few use the stock UI, even excluding games. Some examples from the top 100: http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/itranslate-voice/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/itranslate-voice/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/camera/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/camera/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/instaframe-pro-photo-frame/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/instaframe-pro-photo-frame/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/djay-for-iphone-ipod-touch-scratch-mix-dj/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/djay-for-iphone-ipod-touch-s... http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/motionx-gps-drive/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/motionx-gps-drive/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/nick-jr-draw-play/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/nick-jr-draw-play/
- gurkendoktor 14y ago
  I'm looking through the top free iPhone apps in Germany and I can't see a clear trend. Also, I'm not sure how to prove or disprove my point - because being a top app is orthogonal to looking like an amateur effort. WhatsApp has long been #1 here, and while I welcome its stock navigation UI for usability reasons, I think their tacked-on timestamps are as "amateur" as their name.
  - cageface 14y ago
    In the top paid apps in the U.S. the trend is overwhelming. Think what you like about the aesthetics of those apps but they're the ones making money.
    - gurkendoktor 14y ago
      Well you said amateur, I thought that was about aesthetics. :) I took the time to analyze Top Grossing US without games. I've gotten a lot of inquiries about HTML5 based apps recently, so this was interesting. #3 MLB, stock; #5 Pandora, stock; #12 MotionX GPS, custom; #17 and #26 comics, slightly customized navigation bar & stock tab bar; #27 Zoosk, faux stock UI; #30 eHarmony, stock; #38 TeleNav, stock; #46 WhatsApp, stock; #52 iTranslate, custom; #68 Nike+ GPS, stock; #72 Camera+, rather custom; #74 MyCalendar, stock; #81 Pages, stock; #83 DC Comics, slightly customized navigation & stock tab bar; #85 Grindr, sotck; #86 Instaframe, custom; #88 Badoo, stockish; #90 Free Music Download, stock; #93, Palm Reader, custom; #96 TurboScan, stock; #97 iMovie, stock where applicable. Some of the UIs are badly imitating UIKit, like Zoosk. They still often replicate the navigation concepts, UIKit shadows (skeuomorphism), widget sizes … - I don't think the stock look & feel is dead yet.
      - cageface 14y ago
        By "amateur" I mean that I think the typical app consumer is getting pretty good at spotting stock UI and tends to equate that with a slapdash app, justified or not. This is more pronounced on the iPad I think.
- nirvana 14y ago
  I think you're misunderstanding. Of your examples, all of them use stock widgets, except for the last two. In the last two they replaced stock controls with custom ones, even where they didn't have to, and that supports your hypothesis. But all of the others, however, are using stock controls for all the controls where there is a stock control, and only using custom controls where there is no stock control. The ability to customize the stock controls has increased a fair bit and gotten more popular as its gotten easier. But these developers (at least, I can't speak for the whole appstore) are using the standard controls. What is true is that they aren't using the blue-pinstripe look of the original iPhone anymore. The reason this distinction is important is that its a whole lot harder to do a custom control (like a turntable) than it is to use a standard control, and its also very easy to take that standard control and make it just the right shade of grey, or make it look like wood, etc. Thus customizing how these standard controls look has gone up dramatically, yes.
  - cageface 14y ago
    What is true is that they aren't using the blue-pinstripe look of the original iPhone anymore. That's what I mean and that's why I don't think people should waste so much time trying to emulate that look down to the last pixel in Phonegap apps. Users don't care anyway as long as your app looks good.
jaxn 14y ago
The left side drawer in Twitter and Sparrow is amazing. Like it should have always been there.
- gurkendoktor 14y ago
  I totally agree with this example. Both eBay for iPad and Facebook use that concept too, so to most users it will probably feel like a stock widget already. I hope it will eventually become one :)

gurkendoktor 14y ago

Oh, I guess Flipboard is also mostly customized. There's probably a stronger incentive to come up with your own stuff on a tablet where UIKit is not as helpful for the overall navigation. For example, the eBay phone app still looks like Apple could've built it.

cageface 14y ago

Just look through the top apps and marvel at how few use the stock UI, even excluding games. Some examples from the top 100: http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/itranslate-voice/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/itranslate-voice/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/camera/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/camera/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/instaframe-pro-photo-frame/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/instaframe-pro-photo-frame/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/djay-for-iphone-ipod-touch-scratch-mix-dj/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/djay-for-iphone-ipod-touch-s... http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/motionx-gps-drive/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/motionx-gps-drive/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/nick-jr-draw-play/ http://www.appannie.com/app/ios/nick-jr-draw-play/

gurkendoktor 14y ago
I'm looking through the top free iPhone apps in Germany and I can't see a clear trend. Also, I'm not sure how to prove or disprove my point - because being a top app is orthogonal to looking like an amateur effort. WhatsApp has long been #1 here, and while I welcome its stock navigation UI for usability reasons, I think their tacked-on timestamps are as "amateur" as their name.
- cageface 14y ago
  In the top paid apps in the U.S. the trend is overwhelming. Think what you like about the aesthetics of those apps but they're the ones making money.
  - gurkendoktor 14y ago
    Well you said amateur, I thought that was about aesthetics. :) I took the time to analyze Top Grossing US without games. I've gotten a lot of inquiries about HTML5 based apps recently, so this was interesting. #3 MLB, stock; #5 Pandora, stock; #12 MotionX GPS, custom; #17 and #26 comics, slightly customized navigation bar & stock tab bar; #27 Zoosk, faux stock UI; #30 eHarmony, stock; #38 TeleNav, stock; #46 WhatsApp, stock; #52 iTranslate, custom; #68 Nike+ GPS, stock; #72 Camera+, rather custom; #74 MyCalendar, stock; #81 Pages, stock; #83 DC Comics, slightly customized navigation & stock tab bar; #85 Grindr, sotck; #86 Instaframe, custom; #88 Badoo, stockish; #90 Free Music Download, stock; #93, Palm Reader, custom; #96 TurboScan, stock; #97 iMovie, stock where applicable. Some of the UIs are badly imitating UIKit, like Zoosk. They still often replicate the navigation concepts, UIKit shadows (skeuomorphism), widget sizes … - I don't think the stock look & feel is dead yet.
    - cageface 14y ago
      By "amateur" I mean that I think the typical app consumer is getting pretty good at spotting stock UI and tends to equate that with a slapdash app, justified or not. This is more pronounced on the iPad I think.
nirvana 14y ago
I think you're misunderstanding. Of your examples, all of them use stock widgets, except for the last two. In the last two they replaced stock controls with custom ones, even where they didn't have to, and that supports your hypothesis. But all of the others, however, are using stock controls for all the controls where there is a stock control, and only using custom controls where there is no stock control. The ability to customize the stock controls has increased a fair bit and gotten more popular as its gotten easier. But these developers (at least, I can't speak for the whole appstore) are using the standard controls. What is true is that they aren't using the blue-pinstripe look of the original iPhone anymore. The reason this distinction is important is that its a whole lot harder to do a custom control (like a turntable) than it is to use a standard control, and its also very easy to take that standard control and make it just the right shade of grey, or make it look like wood, etc. Thus customizing how these standard controls look has gone up dramatically, yes.
- cageface 14y ago
  What is true is that they aren't using the blue-pinstripe look of the original iPhone anymore. That's what I mean and that's why I don't think people should waste so much time trying to emulate that look down to the last pixel in Phonegap apps. Users don't care anyway as long as your app looks good.

jaxn 14y ago

The left side drawer in Twitter and Sparrow is amazing. Like it should have always been there.

gurkendoktor 14y ago
I totally agree with this example. Both eBay for iPad and Facebook use that concept too, so to most users it will probably feel like a stock widget already. I hope it will eventually become one :)