4 ms·

I'd say it is stagnant because when you look at the design, it just feels old. I'm not much of a designer, I can't tell you why, but it just seems dated. Perh

I'd say it is stagnant because when you look at the design, it just feels old. I'm not much of a designer, I can't tell you why, but it just seems dated. Perhaps it is the skeuomorphism, maybe something else, but something is off about it now.

qq66 14y ago
It feels old because it hasn't changed in 5 years, but I personally appreciate that. All of the original mechanics make perfect sense, and the new mechanics (such as app folders and multitasking) have been introduced in a way that minimizes interference with the existing look and feel. As someone who uses a lot of music production apps that can't talk to each other, I do wish there was something like a filesystem, but I also want it to be introduced in a way that does not change the basic look and feel of the device. What's amazing is that an original iPhone and iPhone 5 look and feel largely identical for basic uses, even though the latter is a far more capable device. That's a testament to the strength of the original design.
- angryasian 14y ago
  >All of the original mechanics make perfect sense this is the same thing thats spouted by fans of the iphone. We don't need a smaller ipad 10" is the perfect size. We don't need a bigger phone screen, this fits the perfect size for all hands. All this is said till Apple actually does it.
  - qq66 14y ago
    I'm not saying that there's no room for improvement. Frankly, I want a smaller iPhone, a pressure-sensitive display, and a physical button to take a picture that's always active. What I don't want is for any of these improvements to fundamentally change the way the phone UX works (i.e. moving to a menu system or something). The only "bad" design elements, in my opinion, were notifications and Siri. They fixed notifications but I had to turn Siri off.
- gurkendoktor 14y ago
  > It feels old because it hasn't changed in 5 years, but I personally appreciate that. And I think Apple is betting on a "conservative" majority that does not want change for the sake of change (I'm certainly part of it) - just observe how similar all the iPhones look, or all the laptops, displays... The only exception I can think of are the cheaper iPods.
  - bluesaunders 14y ago
    And that's because they are cheap enough to buy on impulse, and/or to make an affordable gift for the holiday season that is clearly the hottest and newest available.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
brudgers 14y ago
It's more or less Symbian or Palm Pilot with touch. What was groundbreaking in terms of interface was the method of input not the way the OS was designed. It's still just icons and a pointer.
Steko 14y ago
I don't see much stagnation: (1) Maps is probably the biggest thing they've done since the original phone's launch; (2) they are moving more and more of the interaction to voice every year; (3) they are moving more and more of the users' data to the cloud every year.
- chc 14y ago
  It was pretty clear that he was talking about visual design and interaction. None of the things you list here are in that domain. One is a new app, one is a voice UI and one is an Internet-based storage service.
  - Steko 14y ago
    "None of the things you list here are in that domain. One is a new app ..." Since the very sentence I was responding too was about apps ("iOS is stagnant, reviews of recent Apple designed skeuo-heavy apps bemone the lack of functionality") I fail to see how talking about app functionality is some huge leap of logic on my part. "he was talking about visual design and interaction. None of the things you list here are in that domain" How is voice control not about interaction?
    - killahpriest 14y ago
      Perhaps it should be read as "visual design and [visual] interaction."
  - bennyg 14y ago
    You think voice integration isn't interaction? That's literally a form of interaction with the device that was not there in iOS 1.
    - chc 14y ago
      I feel pretty sure there was a "visual" in there you're ignoring.
snowwrestler 14y ago
I see a lot of this type of sentiment here on HN, and I think it is because we are people who build technology and therefore study technology obsessively. Anything that stays the same for 5 years will feel ancient. Most people, though, just want to use technology to accomplish other things. For them, radical interface changes reduce rather than improve value.

qq66 14y ago

It feels old because it hasn't changed in 5 years, but I personally appreciate that. All of the original mechanics make perfect sense, and the new mechanics (such as app folders and multitasking) have been introduced in a way that minimizes interference with the existing look and feel. As someone who uses a lot of music production apps that can't talk to each other, I do wish there was something like a filesystem, but I also want it to be introduced in a way that does not change the basic look and feel of the device. What's amazing is that an original iPhone and iPhone 5 look and feel largely identical for basic uses, even though the latter is a far more capable device. That's a testament to the strength of the original design.

angryasian 14y ago
>All of the original mechanics make perfect sense this is the same thing thats spouted by fans of the iphone. We don't need a smaller ipad 10" is the perfect size. We don't need a bigger phone screen, this fits the perfect size for all hands. All this is said till Apple actually does it.
- qq66 14y ago
  I'm not saying that there's no room for improvement. Frankly, I want a smaller iPhone, a pressure-sensitive display, and a physical button to take a picture that's always active. What I don't want is for any of these improvements to fundamentally change the way the phone UX works (i.e. moving to a menu system or something). The only "bad" design elements, in my opinion, were notifications and Siri. They fixed notifications but I had to turn Siri off.
gurkendoktor 14y ago
> It feels old because it hasn't changed in 5 years, but I personally appreciate that. And I think Apple is betting on a "conservative" majority that does not want change for the sake of change (I'm certainly part of it) - just observe how similar all the iPhones look, or all the laptops, displays... The only exception I can think of are the cheaper iPods.
- bluesaunders 14y ago
  And that's because they are cheap enough to buy on impulse, and/or to make an affordable gift for the holiday season that is clearly the hottest and newest available.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]

brudgers 14y ago

It's more or less Symbian or Palm Pilot with touch. What was groundbreaking in terms of interface was the method of input not the way the OS was designed. It's still just icons and a pointer.

Steko 14y ago

I don't see much stagnation: (1) Maps is probably the biggest thing they've done since the original phone's launch; (2) they are moving more and more of the interaction to voice every year; (3) they are moving more and more of the users' data to the cloud every year.

chc 14y ago
It was pretty clear that he was talking about visual design and interaction. None of the things you list here are in that domain. One is a new app, one is a voice UI and one is an Internet-based storage service.
- Steko 14y ago
  "None of the things you list here are in that domain. One is a new app ..." Since the very sentence I was responding too was about apps ("iOS is stagnant, reviews of recent Apple designed skeuo-heavy apps bemone the lack of functionality") I fail to see how talking about app functionality is some huge leap of logic on my part. "he was talking about visual design and interaction. None of the things you list here are in that domain" How is voice control not about interaction?
  - killahpriest 14y ago
    Perhaps it should be read as "visual design and [visual] interaction."
- bennyg 14y ago
  You think voice integration isn't interaction? That's literally a form of interaction with the device that was not there in iOS 1.
  - chc 14y ago
    I feel pretty sure there was a "visual" in there you're ignoring.

snowwrestler 14y ago

I see a lot of this type of sentiment here on HN, and I think it is because we are people who build technology and therefore study technology obsessively. Anything that stays the same for 5 years will feel ancient. Most people, though, just want to use technology to accomplish other things. For them, radical interface changes reduce rather than improve value.