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What a good smartphone alarm app looked like over 10 years ago: https://nition.momentstudio.co.nz/2014/08/the-nokia-n9-alarm-clock/ https://nition.momentstudio.

What a good smartphone alarm app looked like over 10 years ago: https://nition.momentstudio.co.nz/2014/08/the-nokia-n9-alarm-clock/ https://nition.momentstudio.co.nz/2014/08/the-nokia-n9-alarm... Discussion on it: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19597253 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19597253

Kwpolska 1y ago
Google’s Clock app seems to do most of the things: sliders on main screen, circular time picker (though I’m not exactly a fan), and a toast notification with the time until the alarm fires. The only thing missing are the every day/never options.
- kevincox 1y ago
  One of the best features is that when you save the alarm you get a little toast (not a fully notification) "Alarm set for 9 hours and 22 minutes from now." It seems pretty silly, and can be a bit depressing when the number is less than 8h, but is the most obvious indicator when you set the time wrong.
  - NewJazz 1y ago
    can be a bit depressing when the number is less than 8h Lol get out of my head
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - Doxin 1y ago
    As someone who's really bad at time, I cannot tell you how often that toast has saved me from missing an important appointment. Easily the best feature any alarm clock can have if you ask me.
anotherhue 1y ago
If we perfect the design we'll be out of the job!
ahartmetz 1y ago
A good smartphone, really. Crying shame that Nokia gave up just when they had the best product in a long time.
losvedir 1y ago
The Android clock app is pretty solid and looks something like that. As a switcher to iPhone earlier this year, so many UI quirks drive me utterly bonkers. Can't stand these slow rotating dials, and for alarms specifically, I miss the confirmation that Android shows you "going off in 12 hours" or whatever, to make sure you didn't get the AM/PM or day of the week wrong. But mostly, these numeric spinners are just terrible. In the Hilton app I have to put my kids ages all the time and it drives me crazy spinning the stupid little things to set their ages. Sigh. I don't know how iOS got this reputation as magical and delightful and intuitive. I'm ready to go back to my Pixel, I think.
- frizlab 1y ago
  I think you can just tap the rotating thingies now and just enter the number on a keyboard. EDIT: Just tested, yes it works.
  - fauigerzigerk 1y ago
    This works in some places but not in others - doesn't work in Timers for instance.
- cosmic_cheese 1y ago
  > I don't know how iOS got this reputation as magical and delightful and intuitive. I'm ready to go back to my Pixel, I think. Most of that reputation comes from the days when iOS was simpler, more opinionated, and wasn’t shy about how it wasn’t trying to make everybody happy. As more and more functionality has been tacked on in attempt to appeal to a broader audience, it’s been chipped away at. There’s still some ways it’s nicer than Android in my personal opinion, but often it’s just as bad with a different set of papercuts. There’s probably a hole in the market for a mobile OS that intentionally does less in a very polished way. A lot of people don’t need their phones to do even half the things they’ve become capable of.
BiteCode_dev 1y ago
Many people nowaday can't read clocks with hands, so if you want to sell to the mass, you need to take that into consideration.
- jeroenhd 1y ago
  While that's true, the numbers are still clearly readable and their position alongside a circle still makes a lot of sense. The alarm itself is also listed in digital time.
- sieabahlpark 1y ago
  [dead]
- riffraff 1y ago
  really? I admit I don't deal with many youngsters, but I never met anyone who can't read clocks with hands, I think they may teach it in primary school here. This is deeply surprising to me.
  - sokoloff 1y ago
    My kids are teens. We have an analog clock on the wall in the dining room. It's shocking to me how many of their friends over for dinner (who are all on the "definitely not dumb" part of the distribution) either cannot read it at all or can read it only with obvious/significant difficulty.
    - hopelite 1y ago
      That distribution seems to have slid off the edge quite a bit
  - jama211 1y ago
    Even if technically know how if you rarely see them it wouldn’t come naturally to you
  - Biganon 1y ago
    I'm 33 and I need an embarrassingly long time to tell the time from an analog clock
jeremyloy_wt 1y ago
Funnily enough, the Sleep Schedule settings screen on iOS (accessed through the Health app) looks very similar to this.
- godelski 1y ago
  I found switching to iPhone weird given there's different UX for setting alarm through health app, which is different from the alarm in the clock app, which is functionally different but nearly visually identical to the timer in the clock app. I guess it "just works" and I'm holding it wrong
huflungdung 1y ago
[dead]

Kwpolska 1y ago

Google’s Clock app seems to do most of the things: sliders on main screen, circular time picker (though I’m not exactly a fan), and a toast notification with the time until the alarm fires. The only thing missing are the every day/never options.

kevincox 1y ago
One of the best features is that when you save the alarm you get a little toast (not a fully notification) "Alarm set for 9 hours and 22 minutes from now." It seems pretty silly, and can be a bit depressing when the number is less than 8h, but is the most obvious indicator when you set the time wrong.
- NewJazz 1y ago
  can be a bit depressing when the number is less than 8h Lol get out of my head
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- Doxin 1y ago
  As someone who's really bad at time, I cannot tell you how often that toast has saved me from missing an important appointment. Easily the best feature any alarm clock can have if you ask me.

anotherhue 1y ago

If we perfect the design we'll be out of the job!

ahartmetz 1y ago

A good smartphone, really. Crying shame that Nokia gave up just when they had the best product in a long time.

losvedir 1y ago

The Android clock app is pretty solid and looks something like that. As a switcher to iPhone earlier this year, so many UI quirks drive me utterly bonkers. Can't stand these slow rotating dials, and for alarms specifically, I miss the confirmation that Android shows you "going off in 12 hours" or whatever, to make sure you didn't get the AM/PM or day of the week wrong. But mostly, these numeric spinners are just terrible. In the Hilton app I have to put my kids ages all the time and it drives me crazy spinning the stupid little things to set their ages. Sigh. I don't know how iOS got this reputation as magical and delightful and intuitive. I'm ready to go back to my Pixel, I think.

frizlab 1y ago
I think you can just tap the rotating thingies now and just enter the number on a keyboard. EDIT: Just tested, yes it works.
- fauigerzigerk 1y ago
  This works in some places but not in others - doesn't work in Timers for instance.
cosmic_cheese 1y ago
> I don't know how iOS got this reputation as magical and delightful and intuitive. I'm ready to go back to my Pixel, I think. Most of that reputation comes from the days when iOS was simpler, more opinionated, and wasn’t shy about how it wasn’t trying to make everybody happy. As more and more functionality has been tacked on in attempt to appeal to a broader audience, it’s been chipped away at. There’s still some ways it’s nicer than Android in my personal opinion, but often it’s just as bad with a different set of papercuts. There’s probably a hole in the market for a mobile OS that intentionally does less in a very polished way. A lot of people don’t need their phones to do even half the things they’ve become capable of.

BiteCode_dev 1y ago

Many people nowaday can't read clocks with hands, so if you want to sell to the mass, you need to take that into consideration.

jeroenhd 1y ago
While that's true, the numbers are still clearly readable and their position alongside a circle still makes a lot of sense. The alarm itself is also listed in digital time.
sieabahlpark 1y ago
[dead]
riffraff 1y ago
really? I admit I don't deal with many youngsters, but I never met anyone who can't read clocks with hands, I think they may teach it in primary school here. This is deeply surprising to me.
- sokoloff 1y ago
  My kids are teens. We have an analog clock on the wall in the dining room. It's shocking to me how many of their friends over for dinner (who are all on the "definitely not dumb" part of the distribution) either cannot read it at all or can read it only with obvious/significant difficulty.
  - hopelite 1y ago
    That distribution seems to have slid off the edge quite a bit
- jama211 1y ago
  Even if technically know how if you rarely see them it wouldn’t come naturally to you
- Biganon 1y ago
  I'm 33 and I need an embarrassingly long time to tell the time from an analog clock

jeremyloy_wt 1y ago

Funnily enough, the Sleep Schedule settings screen on iOS (accessed through the Health app) looks very similar to this.

godelski 1y ago
I found switching to iPhone weird given there's different UX for setting alarm through health app, which is different from the alarm in the clock app, which is functionally different but nearly visually identical to the timer in the clock app. I guess it "just works" and I'm holding it wrong

huflungdung 1y ago

[dead]