6 ms·

I thinks this guy is missing the point. Google did uix research and come up with a more usable design philosophy, which makes all apps more consistent. They are

by TeeWEE 12y ago

I thinks this guy is missing the point. Google did uix research and come up with a more usable design philosophy, which makes all apps more consistent. They are now executing those grand-design rules. In the end, apps should be more familiar, and easier to use. The change itself is always frustrating, people who are used to an uix (by learning it), hate change, even if the new uix is simpler.

zecg 12y ago
Well, they can go back to the drawing board and do some more research. This was an example posted here a few weeks ago, by a heavy Calendar user. Look at the old and new app and see if you can answer a common question for a calendar user, like when do I have some free time in the next month: http://imgur.com/a/Qo91p http://imgur.com/a/Qo91p Also, not that it matters, but the old app is 2 MB and works flawlessly, the new one is more than 20 and chugs a bit when scrolling on a quad core processor.
- c0brac0bra 12y ago
  It's also become incredibly difficult to scroll properly in the new calendar. I constantly find myself scrolling horizontally when I want to scroll vertically, or vice-versa; it is maddening.
- c22 12y ago
  If they put colored sections indicating appointments around the circles in the latter example, as if they were 24h clock faces, it would be even more useful than the first example.
Al-Khwarizmi 12y ago
How does eliminating the limits between keys improve the keyboard? How does eliminating the small symbols overlayed on the keys (for example I can type "!" by holding the A key) improve the keyboard? I think the guy has valid points, and your post is just an appeal to authority. Sadly it's not only google, it's also Microsoft (Windows 8), Gnome (3), Ubuntu (Unity), etc. This UI minimalism consisting in removing features with no good reason is killing me.
- therealmarv 12y ago
  There will be Windows 10 (Windows 8 is really a big mistake). Use Cinnamon, Mate or XFCE (or KDE even). Use another Keyboard on Android or change the theme on the official Android keyboard to old Holo theme (yes, possible).
- tormeh 12y ago
  I think Unity's brilliant. My new test for desktop environments is to press the super/win key and then type the first three letters of an app I want and press enter. If a DE can't respond by opening the intended app then I don't use that DE. I don't know about OSX, but Windows, Unity and Gnome 3 all work that way. KDE Plasma and Gnome 2 don't.
exelius 12y ago
Google sucks at UI. Period. They had one good UI: the original Google home page. Everything since then has not been about making their products more usable, it's been about finding ways to cram more advertising into their products. This is yet another case of where if you're not paying for it, you're not the customer. So they're not designing it for you.
- untog 12y ago
  Google sucks at UI. Period. They had one good UI: the original Google home page. That was a textbox. You can't build an OS around that. Everything since then has not been about making their products more usable, it's been about finding ways to cram more advertising into their products. Err, no. How does the left version cram more advertising in than the right version here? http://indonetworksecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Android-Lollipop-vs-Android-KitKat-11.jpg http://indonetworksecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/An...
  - wtbob 12y ago
    >> Google sucks at UI. Period. They had one good UI: the original Google home page. > That was a textbox. You can't build an OS around that. That sounds like Unix to me. Seems to work just fine …
    - untog 12y ago
      Yeah, try putting the average smartphone user in front of a Unix terminal and see how that works out.
- privong 12y ago
  > This is yet another case of where if you're not paying for it, you're not the customer. So they're not designing it for you. I do not think that necessarily follows. Even if you are not the customer, they likely (think they) are designing it for you. Because they need you to keep giving them your data, they need you to find the UI easy to use and easy to hand over data.
xienze 12y ago
> Google did uix research and come up with a more usable design philosophy, which makes all apps more consistent. They are now executing those grand-design rules. That's all well and good, but they seem to do this every two years or so.
- TeeWEE 12y ago
  Thats indeed a good point. The question remains. How often should you redesign your app? Sometimes an innovation (such as touch screens) forces you to rethink the uix.
- general_failure 12y ago
  Maybe survey results are changing every two years
jbb555 12y ago
> Google did uix research and come up with a more usable design philosophy, which makes all apps more consistent. It will be like everywhere else. Someone wanted to change stuff to make their mark and found a way to get survey results that confirmed their decision.

by TeeWEE 12y ago

zecg 12y ago

Well, they can go back to the drawing board and do some more research. This was an example posted here a few weeks ago, by a heavy Calendar user. Look at the old and new app and see if you can answer a common question for a calendar user, like when do I have some free time in the next month: http://imgur.com/a/Qo91p http://imgur.com/a/Qo91p Also, not that it matters, but the old app is 2 MB and works flawlessly, the new one is more than 20 and chugs a bit when scrolling on a quad core processor.

c0brac0bra 12y ago
It's also become incredibly difficult to scroll properly in the new calendar. I constantly find myself scrolling horizontally when I want to scroll vertically, or vice-versa; it is maddening.
c22 12y ago
If they put colored sections indicating appointments around the circles in the latter example, as if they were 24h clock faces, it would be even more useful than the first example.

Al-Khwarizmi 12y ago

How does eliminating the limits between keys improve the keyboard? How does eliminating the small symbols overlayed on the keys (for example I can type "!" by holding the A key) improve the keyboard? I think the guy has valid points, and your post is just an appeal to authority. Sadly it's not only google, it's also Microsoft (Windows 8), Gnome (3), Ubuntu (Unity), etc. This UI minimalism consisting in removing features with no good reason is killing me.

therealmarv 12y ago
There will be Windows 10 (Windows 8 is really a big mistake). Use Cinnamon, Mate or XFCE (or KDE even). Use another Keyboard on Android or change the theme on the official Android keyboard to old Holo theme (yes, possible).
tormeh 12y ago
I think Unity's brilliant. My new test for desktop environments is to press the super/win key and then type the first three letters of an app I want and press enter. If a DE can't respond by opening the intended app then I don't use that DE. I don't know about OSX, but Windows, Unity and Gnome 3 all work that way. KDE Plasma and Gnome 2 don't.

exelius 12y ago

Google sucks at UI. Period. They had one good UI: the original Google home page. Everything since then has not been about making their products more usable, it's been about finding ways to cram more advertising into their products. This is yet another case of where if you're not paying for it, you're not the customer. So they're not designing it for you.

untog 12y ago
Google sucks at UI. Period. They had one good UI: the original Google home page. That was a textbox. You can't build an OS around that. Everything since then has not been about making their products more usable, it's been about finding ways to cram more advertising into their products. Err, no. How does the left version cram more advertising in than the right version here? http://indonetworksecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Android-Lollipop-vs-Android-KitKat-11.jpg http://indonetworksecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/An...
- wtbob 12y ago
  >> Google sucks at UI. Period. They had one good UI: the original Google home page. > That was a textbox. You can't build an OS around that. That sounds like Unix to me. Seems to work just fine …
  - untog 12y ago
    Yeah, try putting the average smartphone user in front of a Unix terminal and see how that works out.
privong 12y ago
> This is yet another case of where if you're not paying for it, you're not the customer. So they're not designing it for you. I do not think that necessarily follows. Even if you are not the customer, they likely (think they) are designing it for you. Because they need you to keep giving them your data, they need you to find the UI easy to use and easy to hand over data.

xienze 12y ago

> Google did uix research and come up with a more usable design philosophy, which makes all apps more consistent. They are now executing those grand-design rules. That's all well and good, but they seem to do this every two years or so.

TeeWEE 12y ago
Thats indeed a good point. The question remains. How often should you redesign your app? Sometimes an innovation (such as touch screens) forces you to rethink the uix.
general_failure 12y ago
Maybe survey results are changing every two years

jbb555 12y ago

> Google did uix research and come up with a more usable design philosophy, which makes all apps more consistent. It will be like everywhere else. Someone wanted to change stuff to make their mark and found a way to get survey results that confirmed their decision.