Comment by makecheck | Hacker News Reader

Comment by makecheck | Hacker News Reader

Recently I opened an old app that hadn't released a new version for any modern iOS. (Apparently for apps like these, the entire UI stays mostly as it was in iOS 6 days: not updating anything except global elements like the keyboard and alert messages.)

And you know what? I realized just how much I missed iOS 6. Everything seemed upgraded over my "modern" iOS 8+ phone: the original iPhone style had clear fonts, well-separated elements, and a certain beauty to things like on/off switches and scrolling lists. Even the animations seemed somehow better.

On some level I see how newer design elements fix things but they are dull. On every modern OS. On every piece of hardware. And desktop web sites are following suit.

Maybe I'm the only one who doesn't want apps with a single solid color, barely-inspired graphics and squint-please fonts. To me, iOS 6 is an upgrade that is practically worth paying for.

I think I understand where is this coming from. You are used to "aesthetically pleasing" GUI elements. The thing is, people want their task done -- mail being delivered, route being found, notes recorded. Anything extra is a cognitive load for the user. The UIs I like the most have minimal amount of visual elements.

I'd like to compare the shift in style of the GUI from http://www.knifepurveyor.com/images/content/larry%20fuegen%2... to http://www.bestchefknifereviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/.... A typical housewive would prefer to buy the second knife because it's easier to use and wash. It's also cheaper.

I really doubt that the modern 'flat' designs are more functional and intuitive than what we had before. I don't mean the extreme skeuomorphism crap that Apple dumped on us in some iOS applications.

Before 'flat' design, interactive elements were clearly distinguishable from passive elements that only show information. A button was clearly different than a text label. A 'pressed' button looked clearly different from a 'raised' button. You didn't have to find out what UI elements are interactable by fumbling around on the entire display touching everything like a monkey. Examples for this are the contacts in iOS (the phone number can be pressed to make a call, but it looks like passive text), and the infamous shift button on the iOS keyboard.

I really wish people would keep 'design' out of UIs ;)

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