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I'm a bit skeptic about the direction of Windows (Phone) 10. It's not that its bad, it's just that it isn't great and they've missed the opportunity to but in s

by mhomde 11y ago

I'm a bit skeptic about the direction of Windows (Phone) 10. It's not that its bad, it's just that it isn't great and they've missed the opportunity to but in substantial UX improvements. Also having the same interface for Phone/tablet/desktop is a dangerous idea if pushed to far, jack of all trades, master of none. Of course they should share some common ground but they risk sacrificing an tailored experience for each on the altar of standardization. They haven't made any greater strides in addressing thumb ergonomics on larger screens. Sure at least the buttons are at the bottom again but to make it truly next generational they should have utilized more gestures. My guess is they don't dare make Win 10 "too different" for risk alienating developers from other platforms and "mainstream users". That might be the safe choice but it doesn't make for greatness. It feels more like design by committee. There was certainly room for improvement, the old interface was a little too stark, but they're changing course instead of refining. I also call bullshit on "people are circles" argument. The "old" metro was more about full bleed pictures which IMO is more timeles, the circles thing is just being influenced by a current design trend and makes WP less unique. Each to their own I guess.

freehunter 11y ago
I hate gestures, especially on larger screens. It 100% ensures I will need to be using two hands, at which point I might as well just have a button. Occasionally I'll try to swipe and find there is a smudge on the screen or maybe the humidity has gone up and my hands are a bit more grippy and whoops, there goes the entire phone out of my hand. On something the size of an iPhone 5, it's fine. On an iPhone 6+ (where you have less of a hold on the phone one-handed anyway), that's a big deal.
- mhomde 11y ago
  That depends on what kind of gestures you use and where. The closest edges for instance are more easily accessible. Also gestures doesn't necessarily mean swiping.
lotso 11y ago
> They haven't made any greater strides in addressing thumb ergonomics on larger screens. Sure at least the buttons are at the bottom again but to make it truly next generational they should have utilized more gestures. Imo gesture based UIs are UIs that are hard to use for average users.
- mhomde 11y ago
  and "hamburger menus" are immediately intuitive? :) Don't people swipe to get to the notification center in most mobile UI's? I think saying gesture based UI's are harder to use is an overstatement. What do would you rather use, an UI that's super easy to learn but cumbersome to use, or an UI that required learniing a few basic gestures and then being much more efficient and ergonomic to use?

by mhomde 11y ago

freehunter 11y ago

I hate gestures, especially on larger screens. It 100% ensures I will need to be using two hands, at which point I might as well just have a button. Occasionally I'll try to swipe and find there is a smudge on the screen or maybe the humidity has gone up and my hands are a bit more grippy and whoops, there goes the entire phone out of my hand. On something the size of an iPhone 5, it's fine. On an iPhone 6+ (where you have less of a hold on the phone one-handed anyway), that's a big deal.

mhomde 11y ago
That depends on what kind of gestures you use and where. The closest edges for instance are more easily accessible. Also gestures doesn't necessarily mean swiping.

lotso 11y ago

> They haven't made any greater strides in addressing thumb ergonomics on larger screens. Sure at least the buttons are at the bottom again but to make it truly next generational they should have utilized more gestures. Imo gesture based UIs are UIs that are hard to use for average users.

mhomde 11y ago
and "hamburger menus" are immediately intuitive? :) Don't people swipe to get to the notification center in most mobile UI's? I think saying gesture based UI's are harder to use is an overstatement. What do would you rather use, an UI that's super easy to learn but cumbersome to use, or an UI that required learniing a few basic gestures and then being much more efficient and ergonomic to use?