[Thoughts] The Future of Android's UI - General Topics
As an Android nut and graphic/industrial/UI designer I've been thinking a lot about this recently, and just had to get it off my chest. Here goes:
UI styling should be about the content, not the interface. Glossy elements just distract from their actual content. There should be a move away from what Apple does with iOS (emulating analogue elements digitally) towards what Microsoft did with WP7. WP7 showed that you can have an interface without any sort of shininess/gradient or analogue elements and still have it be completely usable and beautiful at the same time.
But what I'm really interested in is the future of Android. Gingerbread was a great step ahead in terms of UI styling. But I wonder what we will see when Sense UI, Motoblur, TouchWiz etc. are updated to 2.3? Sense is notorious for faux glossiness and TouchWiz is notorious for being plain ugly. Will WP7 and Gingerbread help these companies realize that the trend is moving away from iOS-eque styling and towards WP7-esque styling? Or will they continue to blindly copy iOS and ignore Google's attempts to beautify Android? My guess is that they will eventually catch on, but it might take a while. Perhaps if WP7 takes off and commands a decent market share these companies will take notice. We've already seen previews of Sony Ericsson's 2.3 TimeScape skin and LG's 2.3 whatever-it's-called skin and they both appear to have abandoned Gingerbread's gradient-less notifications bar and title bar and replaced them with gradients. Too bad.
Also, what will Honeycomb bring? We've now seen previews of the tablet version, and I can see many 2.3 styling cues in 3.0. One thing I noticed though is that it uses blue as the 'accent color'. Gingerbread strongly reinforced orange as Android's accent color so I wonder why they would change this. What I'm hoping is that the accent color can be changed- it's certainly plausible, as the accent color seems to play a huge part in the Honeycomb previews I've seen. Or perhaps phones will remain orange and tablets will be blue? It seems like a strange differentiation.
Hints at UI change in the phone-version of Honeycomb include new text-entry fields (looks like the Android keyboard spacebar symbol but stretched), a new look and swiping interaction for tabs within apps (seen in the leaked Music 3.0 app, the 2.1 News and Weather app and the new YouTube app), and like I mentioned, color accents everywhere. Videos of Honeycomb show pop-ups, scroll bars, loading rings/bars and menus featuring the glowing blue accent.
What I'm wondering about is this 'UI overhaul' that everyone is talking about. Is it going to be mostly visual like the stuff I mentioned above or is it going to completely change the UI paradigms of Android? I think a huge change in UI akin to the WM6.5 > WP7 transition would alienate a lot of users and break a lot of apps. Therefore I'm thinking 3.0 is going to be a few tweaks to the interaction part of the UI, but a huge change to the visuals. I predict they will update almost all of the core apps to match the graphics we are seeing in 2.3 and 3.0, to finally put to rest those complaints that Android looks 'hacked together'. The changes in 2.3 were probably a catalyst, to get developers thinking in this new design language. Google needs a name for it, just like WP7 'Metro'. After all it's up to the developers to make apps that match this style.
I'm a Nexus fan and would never buy a phone without stock Android so maybe this is just me dreaming of an end to carrier/manufacturer skins, but what do you think?
As long as it have the look and feel of ADW.Launcher. It can have what ever UI.
chrizzled said:
As an Android nut and graphic/industrial/UI designer I've been thinking a lot about this recently, and just had to get it off my chest. Here goes:
UI styling should be about the content, not the interface. Glossy elements just distract from their actual content. There should be a move away from what Apple does with iOS (emulating analogue elements digitally) towards what Microsoft did with WP7. WP7 showed that you can have an interface without any sort of shininess/gradient or analogue elements and still have it be completely usable and beautiful at the same time.
But what I'm really interested in is the future of Android. Gingerbread was a great step ahead in terms of UI styling. But I wonder what we will see when Sense UI, Motoblur, TouchWiz etc. are updated to 2.3? Sense is notorious for faux glossiness and TouchWiz is notorious for being plain ugly. Will WP7 and Gingerbread help these companies realize that the trend is moving away from iOS-eque styling and towards WP7-esque styling? Or will they continue to blindly copy iOS and ignore Google's attempts to beautify Android? My guess is that they will eventually catch on, but it might take a while. Perhaps if WP7 takes off and commands a decent market share these companies will take notice. We've already seen previews of Sony Ericsson's 2.3 TimeScape skin and LG's 2.3 whatever-it's-called skin and they both appear to have abandoned Gingerbread's gradient-less notifications bar and title bar and replaced them with gradients. Too bad.
Also, what will Honeycomb bring? We've now seen previews of the tablet version, and I can see many 2.3 styling cues in 3.0. One thing I noticed though is that it uses blue as the 'accent color'. Gingerbread strongly reinforced orange as Android's accent color so I wonder why they would change this. What I'm hoping is that the accent color can be changed- it's certainly plausible, as the accent color seems to play a huge part in the Honeycomb previews I've seen. Or perhaps phones will remain orange and tablets will be blue? It seems like a strange differentiation.
Hints at UI change in the phone-version of Honeycomb include new text-entry fields (looks like the Android keyboard spacebar symbol but stretched), a new look and swiping interaction for tabs within apps (seen in the leaked Music 3.0 app, the 2.1 News and Weather app and the new YouTube app), and like I mentioned, color accents everywhere. Videos of Honeycomb show pop-ups, scroll bars, loading rings/bars and menus featuring the glowing blue accent.
What I'm wondering about is this 'UI overhaul' that everyone is talking about. Is it going to be mostly visual like the stuff I mentioned above or is it going to completely change the UI paradigms of Android? I think a huge change in UI akin to the WM6.5 > WP7 transition would alienate a lot of users and break a lot of apps. Therefore I'm thinking 3.0 is going to be a few tweaks to the interaction part of the UI, but a huge change to the visuals. I predict they will update almost all of the core apps to match the graphics we are seeing in 2.3 and 3.0, to finally put to rest those complaints that Android looks 'hacked together'. The changes in 2.3 were probably a catalyst, to get developers thinking in this new design language. Google needs a name for it, just like WP7 'Metro'. After all it's up to the developers to make apps that match this style.
I'm a Nexus fan and would never buy a phone without stock Android so maybe this is just me dreaming of an end to carrier/manufacturer skins, but what do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just my two cents here but.... I don't get everyone saying android has no polish. I love my Nexus One, I love stock (vanilla) android. I think Touchwiz is an abomination and said as much when that thread came out to put touchwiz on the N1. Sense is pretty but too bloated in my opinion. Don't get me started on Motoblur... I agree earlier versions of android needed work. >2.2 {in my opinion} Personally I think android is fine. (iOS IS pretty, but so what it's also got an evil ecosystem...) The tweaks done to
2.3 are nice but unnecessary (IMHO). I love the way Android looks.... Oh, and I heartily agree with your statement that "UI styling should be about content...."
Sent from my Llama powered N1 courtesy of the xda app! Llama Power!!
If android could come up with a functional UI I might jump back aboard. Til they do WP7 is the only way to go.
Love the look of stock Android on my Nexus One. Love the new Gingerbread visual tweaks and look forward to the OTA.
HATE 3rd party U.I.
z33dev33l said:
If android could come up with a functional UI I might jump back aboard. Til they do WP7 is the only way to go.
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Click to collapse
Android HAS a perfectly functional UI. Thank you.
Sent from my Llama powered N1 courtesy of the xda app! Llama Power!!
Babydoll25 said:
Android HAS a perfectly functional UI. Thank you.
Sent from my Llama powered N1 courtesy of the xda app! Llama Power!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to think so too... now it just seems laggy regardless of launcher...
z33dev33l said:
I used to think so too... now it just seems laggy regardless of launcher...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What lag? {unless ur using a SGS} I have never experienced this lag u speak of sir. My N1 flies I tell you, flies!!! (I have seen in Samsung's phones however...)
(That is why I don't buy them...)
Sent from my Llama powered N1 courtesy of the xda app! Llama Power!!
Babydoll25 said:
What lag? {unless ur using a SGS} I have never experienced this lag u speak of sir. My N1 flies I tell you, flies!!! (I have seen in Samsung's phones however...)
(That is why I don't buy them...)
Sent from my Llama powered N1 courtesy of the xda app! Llama Power!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didnt notice it on my Nexus one til I got WP7, now I just gave the nexus to my brother... just seems slow and jumbled by comparison
im glad the orange accents are gone in honeycomb, the blue looks way better, also im glad the green icons didnt made the cut, i really hope this look becomes the standard for both the tablet and the smartphone versions of the os
Android is ok but can be boring....
Personally I love the idea to have more than 1 OS on your device, so you can easily change whenever you want
With Matias Duarte on board we should see some drastic changes in the UI in the upcoming versions.
Look at the Honeycomb on tablets, we're now not required to have physical buttons, virtual controls are there, the switch tasking panel now actually shows us the current snapshot of the appss in the background - awesome idea from WebOS if you ask me.
z33dev33l said:
Didnt notice it on my Nexus one til I got WP7, now I just gave the nexus to my brother... just seems slow and jumbled by comparison
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Click to collapse
I'm a phone addict and I try out almost every phone and OS that comes out. I still don't see what you are talking about, WP7 didn't feel any faster or more polished. It's got a new look and has some ooomph too it, but nothing that noticeable.
Sent from my Llama powered N1 courtesy of the xda app! Llama Power!!
Babydoll25 said:
I'm a phone addict and I try out almost every phone and OS that comes out. I still don't see what you are talking about, WP7 didn't feel any faster or more polished. It's got a new look and has some ooomph too it, but nothing that noticeable.
Sent from my Llama powered N1 courtesy of the xda app! Llama Power!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As am I and I will still admit that the nexus one was the smoothest experience I recieved from an android phone. In all honesty I never thought I'd jump ship and I thought live tiles looked completely retarded. I didnt really think a GPU accelerated UI would mean anything but it did... its just smoother... virtually lag free and though I'm not trying to insult I dont see how you cant see the difference....
z33dev33l said:
As am I and I will still admit that the nexus one was the smoothest experience I recieved from an android phone. In all honesty I never thought I'd jump ship and I thought live tiles looked completely retarded. I didnt really think a GPU accelerated UI would mean anything but it did... its just smoother... virtually lag free and though I'm not trying to insult I dont see how you cant see the difference....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean don't get me wrong, live tiles rock (and roll) but maybe it's just my N1 {and Sparky's but I set his up so...}, but I didn't see an overwhelming difference even with the hardware acceleration. I guess it all boils down to (after a certain point) how you have your individual phone configured... I have not yet seen anything worthy of N1 abandonment...t least not yet.
Sent from my Llama powered N1 courtesy of the xda app! Llama Power!!
I thought my N1 was smooth until I tried a Nexus S... now I can't go back.
The Gingerbread stock launcher is silky smooth. WP7 smooth. The scrolling and 3D app drawer is much smoother than LauncherPro or ADW Launcher. Live Wallpapers do not affect performance at all. The new UI elements make android look much more refined. The screen-off animation and the scrolling overshoot glow are amazing. And that's just the UI...
Long live stock Android and Nexus devices!
UI of Android
- The current browser UI is driving me crazy! Especially the back operation could jump to another app is un-acceptable.
- We need to have a mechanism for something like a pop up app. For example, when reading, a quick pop-up to look up a word or access wikipedia. It just need to : select, open with selection. Since Android let all apps open, the user just go back to the last app to continue
- I agree that data is important. The contact is the central of a phone. It can be mail, phone, sms, im, photo, calendar, ... The owner is of-cause need to be part of the contact. And there should be able to browse, jump, classify contacts quickly. I would like to suggest allow tags. An extendable contact db will be very nice.
- Moreover, for tabalet, there should be multi-users, switching profiles, encrypt data, etc. the lock screen should allow change of user
- Please consider the actual usage of a phone or tabalet together with other devices. Android should be part of a bigger system instead of a single computer. Cross interaction with desktop, other tabalets, is a must: ssh should be a standard on every device. There should be neighbour or friends nodes (not people, but devices) that can registers long term or short. There should be a easy way to find the new ip or connection method(bt) for the device. a bluetooth message send to allow register the device and provide a instant connection is good. Porting synergy allow share keyboard, (mouse) and clipboard is good, but need to address the situation where mouse is missing. Send screen shot is useful too. exchange pic, contacts, calendar events, ....
- Make index a ready service, update of index can be done when charging. It can be a mode call sleep, which will do house keeping like : update indexing, clean up space, calculate statistics, exchange data with cloud. The phone would work but will be slow. User can understand that the phone go sleep a while to keep healthy. The index is very valuable : provide fast browsing for things, faster search, and support a multi-dimension browsing experiende.
- clipboard : with multi-history
- Please check lePhone : use of gesture instead of soft key.
- Fast switch between opened apps
- notice : allow user to block call, sms, ... to interrupt. There can be a priority and the user can set the current lock level, priority lower the lock level would not sound, visual or virbaton
- I am not very sure about this : there should be scene : like meeting, driving, atHome, atOffice, etc. which can be auto-detect by various sensers. But too smart a phone can also be troublesome.
allow two phones to compare the app list, find common contacts, temporary play a game with connection (like NDS download play), peer chat (group of devices), share camera, audio, borrow book
current desktop background is not good. Make it easier for user to dress up their phone.
Related
Great useful apps with hideous UIs or Icons...
Hi... I love Android...however, one thing I do hate, is that a LOT of Devs seem to lack any sense of style and design in the market...(also if u look at the Post ur Screens thread you see this horrible sense of design permeates throughout the user-base as well) Anyways, I figured I'd ask you guys...what apps on the Market, that you thoroughly use do you feel have hideous and/or tacky, UIs or Icons? Me I'll list 5: OI File Manager....SERIOUSLY? Still using 1.1 Folder Icons? I don't think it'd take too much to sexify the app...it's useful, and is called by a lot of other apps on the market, it'd be nice if it looked good...which it does not, I know people will defend it, but no, just like Android pre 2.0, OI File Manager is absolutely hideously designed..sad for such a useful and widely called app. DroCap2....WOW...super useful, and the in app UI is great and simple and will work with any theme...however that ugly ass icon...and the notification icon...I emailed the Dev asking to design him a new Icon with no answer...but seriously, I can't imagine someone making that and being like "Yes, THIS Icon is the business...upload it" Hopefully he eventually gets back to my email but being that it's been a month, I'mma call that unlikely... NYC Subway Map....this one is just an icon (and I wish they'd implement the pinch to zoom API in the map simply for WOW factor) but yea...the Icon looks like a 2 second rush job to create an Android 2.0+ icon and failing miserably...it's horribly rendered, tragically mis-sized, and that sucks as that is one of my most used apps especially when I am in NYC... APP UPDATED IN MARKET, LOOKS GREAT. Look for NYCMate brought to you by DenseBrain in collaboration with Episode 6 Root Explorer...Come ON man...From the old purple Android pre 2.0+ Folder Icon with the root on it to the hideous file cabinet with the root on it to every single icon inside the app, this is one of the UGLIEST Android Apps out there...and like the others I've listed, it is absolutely useful and simple...I bought Su File Explorer and I don't even use it because Root Explorer does everything I need, without the bloat. (I'm sure this "bloat" is needed by others but in my opinion for my needs it is bloat) But seriously, the entire design is hideous. I actually went and replaced EVERY Icon in this apk as I just couldn't bring myself to use it as it was, especially the way it clashes with both stock android 2.0, and ANY theme. Bettercut - THIS ICON AND UI WERE HIDEOUS FROM THE GET GO...update people...seriously. honorable mentions (Decent UIs/Icons, but eh) Astro File Manager...I just don't like the iconset...I figured at least the most widely used file manager on Android (citation needed) would follow the Android tenets of design in a post 2.0 world...It does not...the 3/4 view Icons with the faux gloss, too much "eye candy" not enough design...love the app however (my first download before Android started auto restoring apps) but I feel the design needs to mature along with Android itself. A LOT OF GAMES...seriously...a lot of games have the worst icons...and not even by far...simply a slight resize and maybe a border with a faux bevel and matte finish...wouldn't take a lot but I figured at least game icons can be consistent with the design tenets of the UI....they are not. usually 100% square too...sucks cause a lot of great games on Android. Engadget for Android - HORRIBLE Icon...nuff said. Speedtest - just change the angle on the icon...front facing would work fine. that slight 3/4 angle is just slightly pet peevish to me... K-9 Mail...horrible Icon as well, especially for such an amazing app and great UI (well since I last used it) Please add to this list, and don't let your love of Android stop you from being subjective. ______________________________ Rant: Android is a great UI, and is maturing nicely, and hopefully with the UI/UX refresh planned for 3.0 it becomes attractive beyond attractive...however I noticed a lot of the best devs don't seem to have any sense of design, and having been to a developers lab in NYC I can assure you that design is the last thing on their minds (or was) judging from the business cards I saw. Post I/O 2010 I saw a fireside chat (or whatever) where they were discussing UI standards and Icon standards...and it was a good lab subtly suggesting (and REAL subtly begging) that developers start unifying the experience across apps which unfortunately is an Apple tenet (not just iPhone) and one that works...I only hope Android gets such a consistency amongst itself...with the freedom to change and theme and etc that we've come to know and love. Sadly the iPhone is the defacto standard, and despite their systems shortcomings to me (I hate the general UI for one, sea of icons? no bueno) however I love their developers commitments to staying consistent (probably because apple has a proverbial gun to their heads) and providing a cleaner UX for the general consumer...if Android devs got this consistency...imagine our UX...It matters guys...and as much as any of you want to dislike apple overall (and I'm with you) there is still a LOT they do right...so we should do better...period Please add to the list and feel free to share your thoughts...I already know at least one popular themer and a few others members here feel the same way...so I know it can't be just me. OH and any "WELL JUST DON'T DOWNLOAD THE APP, ANDROID HAS OPTIONS DOWNLOAD A DIFFERENT APP" will not be responded to. At all... _____________________ Youtube discussion of this via Google Developers: http://www.youtube.com/user/googledevelopers?blend=1&ob=4#p/c/316B437F0CB82A68/3/M1ZBjlCRfz0 the Icon discussion begins at 30:24 but the rest of it is pretty interesting...so if you have the time (and skimming through it is easy to do, each relevant section is highlighted. _____________________________________ DESIGNERS WILLING TO HELP 1: absolutedesignz - PM or [email protected] (add to gtalk or email) 2: commodoor - PM or [email protected] 3: JCopernicus - PM or Twitter @JCopernicus 4: OrganizedFellow - PM or [email protected] 5: x986123 - PM or [email protected] / [email protected] _________________ Devs, if you are creating an app, and come across this thread, and feel you need a designer, do not hesitate to hit up any of the people listed
I like the engadget icon. =-D
I agree to some extent - programmers tend to be not great at ICON & UI design (me included). Perhaps you should post alternatives here (Before & After icons) to show them/us how it should be done. Also, include tips, a quick reference to googles recommendations & maybe even some templates (GIMP / PSP / Photoshop / Paint.NET) to encourage devs! I look forward to some samples. Steve.
here's the Android UI Design portion of the Google I/O 2010. http://www.youtube.com/user/googledevelopers?blend=1&ob=4#p/c/316B437F0CB82A68/3/M1ZBjlCRfz0 It gives you insight into the desired unified UX patterns of Android OS It's an hour long, I'm going to find the important sections and time stamp them here. And I'm going to do both DroCap and NYC Subway Map app Icons for examples. I'm going to append the OP as well, the Icon discussion begins at 30:24 but the rest of it is pretty interesting...so if you have the time (and skimming through it is easy to do, each relevant section is highlighted.
My first App used to look like this:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Now it looks like this:
Thanks to Richard Szabo (http://rks.oblivioncreations.se/) who offered to do a graphical redesign for me.
[email protected] said: My first App used to look like this: Now it looks like this: Thanks to Richard Szabo (http://rks.oblivioncreations.se/) who offered to do a graphical redesign for me. Click to expand... Click to collapse good job sir
Dialer One's icon is terrible, it looks like the WebOS dialer and is completely out of place with the rest of my stock icons (thanks FolderOrganizer!)
AbsoluteDesignz said: Hi... I love Android...however, one thing I do hate, is that a LOT of Devs seem to lack any sense of style and design in the market... Click to expand... Click to collapse Thanx for the hread !!** ..................... Beautiful Widgets: Beautiful (Smaller) Home is great. All the others don´t fit to eclair & froyo style, too big & oldfashioned. -> Beautiful Vibrate, Silent,.....
NOTE: This app has been updated in Market and this problem does not exist anymore, I am keeping this post up though to see what a little thought can do for an app Icon. here are 4 quick NYC Subway Map Icons I just made (basically one icon, I just added the MAP text to the other and some alterations in shadowing) Borrowing the theme of the subway icons (FRACKING DUH!!!) and using a similar font to the subway signs on the icon (Helvetica 65 Medium - Bold) They can use some work obviously, but this is what 5 minutes with a moderate sense of design gives you. I'm reaching out to all devs with ugly icons...if your app is for free, I will do my best to make you an icon...FOR FREE. However UI design is not my forte, but do not be afraid to ask people...we are a community more than willing to help and we have some VERY talented designers here.
Dialer One: I don't know why they didn't just mimic the new icon for Android considering it is meant to be a replacement for the Android Dialer...so taht's exactly what I did...except a color change. Negating extract, PS load, save and upload time, about 20 seconds of work.. Fits perfectly with the stock theme, is distinctive, and simple... you don't really have to be too fancy, just go with the flow of Android...it almost seems like Devs are fighting with the OS...work with it...seriously. (same goes for some of the icons in say, ChompSMS and Dialer One and other apps that use contact icons...why use a new custom icon for the contacts with no pictures when you can simply use the one Android uses...it'll create a great degree of continuity and flow.) ALSO, there are a LOT of royalty free icons out there that fit, or can be slightly modified to fit the Android UI...don't be afraid to use them.
NOTE: App updated in Market so these issues no longer apply, I am keeping it up though to show what a little UI management can do for the UX of an app. Modified App Design: NYC Subway Map (Sorry if it seems I'm picking on the app, but it just came to me watching that Android video) I haven't made a home page yet, but judging from their one now, it won't be hard to make one like Twitter and Facebook have. Before: After: Links to Home (which may be redundant as the graphic/icon to the left is supposed to default to home as it does on Market, Facebook and Twitter) The Bus Map and a Greyed out Subway Map since we are there already....Simple, Sleek, and just that addition alone would make the UX much better.
Tunewiki is just awful as well.
androidVNC, Gmote I had a friend replace androidVNC's icon and I renamed it "VNC". It was just too useful an app to let it go on like that. I'll upload the edited app if anyone's interested.
I think that there are enough designers out here that love to help dev's to make android apps more UI friendly. They can always ask here on forum (didn't see that much people asking). maybe if some volunteers can step forward and put their names here so developers can contact these people, just a idea.
commodoor said: I think that there are enough designers out here that love to help dev's to make android apps more UI friendly. They can always ask here on forum (didn't see that much people asking). maybe if some volunteers can step forward and put their names here so developers can contact these people, just a idea. Click to expand... Click to collapse Great idea. I'm volunteering. We need this thread to gain more exposure and anyone who feels a certain way about a certain app should email the dev and direct them here. This is important for the future of android overall.
The problems is not developers. it is Google. The whole android scene is so much similar to Win Mo 6.x. The operating system is solid, but it lacks cohesive UI. Also, the OS does not provide with attractive default shell and thus developers, who are very good at programming, decide to do their own UI, only to fail miserably. look back at Win Mo 6.x apps and compare them to apps in market. They both just look out of place on the phone. iPhone OS gives a beautiful cohesive UI shell to programmers and that makes a huge difference. Not all programmers have style of sense..so OS has to lead with an example. Also, the launcher icons look ugly because android does not do anything to make them look cohesive in the launcher. If each icon is using it's style, it looks chaotic. Samsung Touchviz does a good job of putting a square background behind each app icon. Things just look more organized. little touch can go a long way.
arkavat said: The problems is not developers. it is Google. The whole android scene is so much similar to Win Mo 6.x. The operating system is solid, but it lacks cohesive UI. Also, the OS does not provide with attractive default shell and thus developers, who are very good at programming, decide to do their own UI, only to fail miserably. look back at Win Mo 6.x apps and compare them to apps in market. They both just look out of place on the phone. iPhone OS gives a beautiful cohesive UI shell to programmers and that makes a huge difference. Not all programmers have style of sense..so OS has to lead with an example. Also, the launcher icons look ugly because android does not do anything to make them look cohesive in the launcher. If each icon is using it's style, it looks chaotic. Samsung Touchviz does a good job of putting a square background behind each app icon. Things just look more organized. little touch can go a long way. Click to expand... Click to collapse That's true too. Though google did provide a design aesthetic with the latest I/O which I linked in the OP. I like the current icons though pre Android 2.0 was pathetic. I really hope this palm dude works wonders with 3.0. Also. Whoever approved of the orange highlight color should be fired.
AbsoluteDesignz said: Great idea. I'm volunteering. We need this thread to gain more exposure and anyone who feels a certain way about a certain app should email the dev and direct them here. This is important for the future of android overall. Click to expand... Click to collapse I also volunteer, i'm not a designer but know my way around photoshop maybe you can put the names on the first post. I'm sure there are more, look at "themes and apps" forum lots of themes. I only want credit it's enough for me arkavat said: The problems is not developers. it is Google. The whole android scene is so much similar to Win Mo 6.x. The operating system is solid, but it lacks cohesive UI. Also, the OS does not provide with attractive default shell and thus developers, who are very good at programming, decide to do their own UI, only to fail miserably. look back at Win Mo 6.x apps and compare them to apps in market. They both just look out of place on the phone. iPhone OS gives a beautiful cohesive UI shell to programmers and that makes a huge difference. Not all programmers have style of sense..so OS has to lead with an example. Also, the launcher icons look ugly because android does not do anything to make them look cohesive in the launcher. If each icon is using it's style, it looks chaotic. Samsung Touchviz does a good job of putting a square background behind each app icon. Things just look more organized. little touch can go a long way. Click to expand... Click to collapse A shell to work on would be great maybe we will see something great with gingerbread. AbsoluteDesignz said: That's true too. Though google did provide a design aesthetic with the latest I/O which I linked in the OP. I like the current icons though pre Android 2.0 was pathetic. I really hope this palm dude works wonders with 3.0. Also. Whoever approved of the orange highlight color should be fired. Click to expand... Click to collapse I fully agree with the orange, android is green so why orange? look at HTC the green looks solid
My number one is Astrid to do planner. Great app, very good features but childish icon.
There is so much truth in this thread it is all overwhelming!
De-touchwiz the Note 10.1?
Just got mine today, and love the hardware, but man, Touchwiz is a design trainwreck. Are there any decent ways to remove some of the Touchwiz nastiness (Big power choosers in the notification bars, striped patterns everywhere) to go back towards a more stock look? I've already installed NovaLauncher, which helps, but the notifications popup is just tragic and loud. I know that if we get CM9/CM10, I'll be back to delicious AOSP stock, but I'm wondering if there's any solution which will help me restore some design sanity sooner. Replacing image files, etc?
I can't say I disagree here .. I'm not a big fan of the appearance of touchwiz -- especially the notification pop-up. Ugh. I also hate the white menus, too. That said, there are features of touchwiz that I do like (app drawer organization options are nice), but overall, I could do without it. I like your choice of words: a design trainwreck. IMHO, it most certainly is. I kinda wish Samsung would give you the option of a more stock-android experience, but I understand why they don't. Touchwiz is their android "brand". My first android experience was a Samsung, and I have bad memories of slowness & lag that I'd much rather forget, but luckily the Note's hardware seems to be able to smash everything up without any super serious performance hits (for me, thus far -- time will tell that tale, though ). If anyone actually strips touchwiz out and makes a rom that doesn't actually lose functionality or introduce major bugs (so many roms have given me headaches with the market, various non-functioning hardware components etc), I might consider it, but probably closer to the end of my warranty.
What about using nova launcher, can I make it the default instead of every time choosing between them? I find it more faster
Or Apex Launcher... That is pretty customisable too...
Google apps new design
I'm sure many of you have noticed the updates Google has made to the UI design of some of their apps, most notably the Play Store and YouTube and to some extent 4.2 taking on a Phone UI. I'm just curious how many of you actually like these changes. To me it seems Google lately has been dumbing down their UI designs to the point as if they were designed for the elderly. Or maybe its for the sake of consistency? Shouldn't they give us a choice in which design we like better? Take the recent changes to the YouTube app. For tablets they had this cool carousel design with black backgrounds, it looked great and the app was easy to navigate. The new design shifts to the Currents/Google+ (which I love) layouts, and for me isn't as appeasing or easy to navigate. I find the design horrible, but understand that they chose to go that way because of consistency between their apps. When you click on a youtube link in Currents, it opens Youtube and you get a similar UI, so navigation is easy between the apps. Then there's the new Play Store update. Super large icons and just a horrible, horrible design. It looks like a UI made for elderly people with poor vision. I'm still scratching my head as to how anyone at Google thought that was a good design. I get that I may be in the minority and that lots of people may like or not even care about the new design changes. I'm just curious about your thoughts on the design. Am I being unreasonable by wanting to have the functionally of the updated app, with the design that I like?
Annoyances: Awful VIBE UI customizations, not able to switch to Android Stock UI
Posted the below complaints about the customizations, feel free to add you annoyances. Excellent device, however below are a my biggest gripe and annoyances; - No Android UI - I had the impression before buying the device that I could switch between Vibe UI and plain vanilla Android UI, however that feature is not present on this phone. I resorted to using Google Now launcher but still the Notifications drawer and many apps eg Dialer are still not Stock. Google spent a whole lot of brains and money to create Material UI and some of us love it!... please give us the choice. - Awful Awful Notification - Notifications are almost 50% of how we now interact with the OS, and Google has done and excellent job with Android Notifications, they are the gold standard in the mobile space, why replace it with this awful customization? the transparency makes things soo hard to read. What Lenovo has done is impossible to understand. If you are going to replace something, it better be very good, actually it should be better than what is being replaced, and this is not good!.. it actually sucks very much. No apologies there. Please just fix this!.... did I say how awful the Vibe UI notifications are? - Unable to install/sideload Google Dialer and many apk's... why?... even Nexus devices are not this closed. Please remove this restrictions.
:crying::crying:
Winx Launcher developer is actually showing love for the Surface Duo
I am so pleased to share the launcher I have found that best complements the surface duo for those looking for an amazing launcher for this desktop tier device is Winx Launcher. I actually tried at least 30 launcher apps and of all of them (including the very similar computer launcher and other apps), I found the Winx Launcher to be the most powerful, elegant, compatible launcher for Surface Duo users. What's more is that I am so proud to announce that literally two days after I shared my feedback of the app on Google play, the developer immediately responded with promises for even further Surface Duo specific features coming to add to the rare "foldable" device settings. Literally two days later he has ALREADY demonstrated a new update coming delivering further Surface Duo support! The developer does not even own a Duo but that was so beautiful to see our rare devices get individualized attention and so I encourage you to show support for this app if you are looking for a launcher that literally changes your device into a more professional one rather than a (sloppy highly restricted android experience designed for candy bars launcher like our stock version of the Microsoft Launcher) Seperate your Duo from other devices and give this launcher a try so that hopefully we can all benefit from increased support because literally no other launcher I've seen seems to care about the rare foldable device users. This developer actually cares and is also extremely taleneted! While the launcher is free and add free by default, it is literally 2 dollars to get access to the premium features however I believe he still offers a 1 week trial so you can access the foldable device settings which I believe is extremely worth the money considering it absolutely changes the whole way you may view & approach your Duo... And again, it's SUPERIOR to the other simular desktop like launchers, believe me I tried them!!! I believe if people help showcase their appreciation then based on the urgent attention I received that it will expedite the developer to add the most desired feature I'd presume for us Duo users which is for the entire home screen to slidd to the inactive screen when an app is launch. I believe he can do this no problem, and that it's not a dream just something no other developers have cared to address (despite Microsoft giving them all the tools to develop on for the Surface, other developers haven't batted an eye our way even when trying to bring a Windows like experience to Android) Also he did all this in two days, despite when looking for comments from other reviewers using my device mod, there was only one other person, as if he simply needs solid feedback to give him ideas of ways to further improve this already daily driver ready launcher! Get his Winx Launcher from the play store Win-X Launcher - Apps on Google Play The Launcher inspired by famous OS to provide simplified interface. play.google.com And here is a video he just released today showcasing the new Surface Duo user optimizations and other updates already getting ready to be released! Subscribe to him to see what he's up to like me! If you love the fact someone is helping to fine tune such a core application for our devices you can even donate a coffee to him from within the app (might speed him up even further lol) I'm attaching images of my customizations to hopefully encourage you that your Duo can also be as clean as mine with hard work and effort but if you'd like I could share my general settings which could size icons and stuff the way I have (even tho my display is set at slightly different dpi via developer settings) BTW I'm using this awesome icon pack, but obviously I hand selected and replaced many of the typical ones with other ones, using the custom icons features.. Also I rename some apps. I haven't yet found great widgets but the app has support for widgets too in addition to the many MANY useful abilities you'll find.. Halo Icon Pack - Apps on Google Play Shapeless icon designs with a mellow undertone. play.google.com HALO ICON PACK I have decided it's easy enough to attach my settings if you want to quickly have a tested base layout like mine to start with, you might need to clean up the custom icons but maybe not but hey I have spent time adjusting this so just be happy I knocked out the fundamentals of beautifying it up for you. You should easily be able to use the offline back up restore setting to paste this folder in your documentz and then import in... The quick one drive backup feature btw makes it worth spending time customizing. I'm so pleased with this launchers impact on my Duo's experience, and have found its lighter on resources the the heavily crippled bland stock launcher Also I attached my exact dpi settings... Note it looks even better if you haven't disabled windows level blur in the developer settings like me for benchmarking purposes... however I have it off and am too lazy to redo screenshots. And the system font I'm using (for those who know how to actually customize system fonts [root]) is CoconOrignial but I don't think that will make a huge difference between my screenshots and what you'll get with the base system fonts. I'm just trying to share some drip with you guys. Again (for those expecting the bottom link here) this is the Winx Launcher from the play store Win-X Launcher - Apps on Google Play The Launcher inspired by famous OS to provide simplified interface. play.google.com