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Why do apps from the same company look worse on Android than on iPhone?

android-gripes.tumblr.com

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Re: Why do apps from the same company look worse on Android than on iPhone?

#31

Post by redthrowaway »

flyosity wrote: post #14

I think it's the standard that is set by the original creator of the UI widgets available on the platform, in this case, Apple vs. Google. I'm an iPhone UI designer/developer and you can make a really nice looking app without doing any custom design work just by using the widgets that Apple provides. A good example of an app that was nearly all stock is Tweetie 1 for iPhone and it won an Apple Design Award. Apple has…

Android has more market share than iOS, which would seem to suggest it's moved far beyond the "technical, geeky" crowd.

My hunch is that we're starting to see a Windows/Mac differentiation here, with Android emerging as the clear winner of mobile and iOS being reserved for the trendy/artistic/quality crowd. That carries over into the apps themselves, with Android apps (like their windows counterparts) being clean and utilitarian, whereas iOS developers are devoting more time to making sure their app looks good.

Edit: The "quality" comment was not intended to suggest that Android lacks it, but rather that those who buy based upon perceived quality would be more likely to be drawn to the iPhone.

Re: Why do apps from the same company look worse on Android than on iPhone?

#32

Post by austinbirch »

guelo wrote: post #7
stevenwei wrote: post #2

In my experience, the main reason is that you only need to design for one screen resolution on the iPhone (retina artwork doesn't really affect the screen layout). This makes it a lot easier to statically position elements and create pixel perfect effects. On the other hand, when you're dealing with dynamic layouts, you have to jump through a lot more hoops to make sure the app still looks good as the resolution is s…

I don't buy it. As an Android dev you normally just worry about one resolution, Android provides you with the tools (device independent pixels) to make other screens look the same. Just like the iphone, designers are encouraged to provide 2 sets of art assets, for medium and high resolution screens. The real reasons that apps looks worse on Android is that companies don't want to spend the time and money to get the a…

I don't think that's quite true. Android does provide you with a way of dealing with the varying resolutions, but I don't think it solves the problem perfectly.

I think it takes a little longer to create cross-compatible assets than it would on iOS. If it's not an easily repeatable or stretchable asset, you have to think about how it will scale on different resolutions.

I'm not saying it's impossible, just that it costs more in time and money. Some companies won't be willing to accept that cost and will just cut corners.

Re: Why do apps from the same company look worse on Android than on iPhone?

#33

Post by tomkarlo »

trotsky wrote: post #22

Interesting blog, every entry appears to be a substantial jab at the platform itself... not really just "gripes" as I see them. I am impressed with how dedicated he is to the pursuit, not only does he have a blog solely for his android gripes, but he's also made an androidgripes gmail account as well as a twitter account and a facebook page to promote the blog. It doesn't seem to be possible to find the blogger's nam…

"FTC disclosure, Apple?"

Paranoid, much? Even if you believe Apple has any need to do something like this, I think we can agree it would probably be done in a more subtle and effective manner than sponsoring an "Android gripes" blog that essentially nobody reads.

Re: Why do apps from the same company look worse on Android than on iPhone?

#34

Post by burgerbrain »

tomkarlo wrote: post #33
trotsky wrote: post #22

Interesting blog, every entry appears to be a substantial jab at the platform itself... not really just "gripes" as I see them. I am impressed with how dedicated he is to the pursuit, not only does he have a blog solely for his android gripes, but he's also made an androidgripes gmail account as well as a twitter account and a facebook page to promote the blog. It doesn't seem to be possible to find the blogger's nam…

"FTC disclosure, Apple?" Paranoid, much? Even if you believe Apple has any need to do something like this, I think we can agree it would probably be done in a more subtle and effective manner than sponsoring an "Android gripes" blog that essentially nobody reads.

>Implying that AAPL could only operate a single astroturf site, instead of legions.

Re: Why do apps from the same company look worse on Android than on iPhone?

#35

Post by angusgr »

trotsky wrote: post #22

Interesting blog, every entry appears to be a substantial jab at the platform itself... not really just "gripes" as I see them. I am impressed with how dedicated he is to the pursuit, not only does he have a blog solely for his android gripes, but he's also made an androidgripes gmail account as well as a twitter account and a facebook page to promote the blog. It doesn't seem to be possible to find the blogger's nam…

Although the blog makes legitimate individual points (apart from the flamebait closer), I think you're 100% right that the overall motivation is a thinly disguised fanboi polemic.

* a 99% chance of being corporate sponsored astroturfing*

This is an interesting possibility, but at the same time have you ever read the comments on gizmodo?

Apple doesn't need to astroturf when there are fanbois just -dying- to tell everyone how good their platform is and how poor the competition does. This blog could just easily be the product of such a fanboi, just with a bit more promotion, money, time & writing ability than the average gizmodo commenter.

Re: Why do apps from the same company look worse on Android than on iPhone?

#36

Post by jarek »

brisance wrote: post #15
bkaid wrote: post #6

From the apps I've worked on, iOS is a much more profitable platform and thus gets the majority of the focus and the initial app releases. Then apps get ported to Android (where they get heavily pirated and generate a fraction of the sales - regardless if time is spent making the app as good or better than its iOS counterpart.)

I think it's the App Store review people who have generally done a good job in ensuring that an iOS app looks and behaves the way it's expected to. I'm not saying whether it's "wrong" or "right", just the mere fact that some warm body is running an app through its paces and makes an actual decision whether to reject it or not ensures a pretty consistent user interface.

While many things that can be said about the user interfaces of the three iOS apps shown in the original article, "consistent" definitely isn't one of them.

Re: Why do apps from the same company look worse on Android than on iPhone?

#37

Post by headhuntermdk »

While I can't speak for Android, I think the simple answer is that Apple provides sample code and applications that are examples in great UI design on iOS.

I'm not seeing the same level of detail or commitment from Google or its partners at this time. It is much easier to copy off of a good design than to create a new one from scratch

Re: Why do apps from the same company look worse on Android than on iPhone?

#38

Post by trotsky »

angusgr wrote: post #35
trotsky wrote: post #22

Interesting blog, every entry appears to be a substantial jab at the platform itself... not really just "gripes" as I see them. I am impressed with how dedicated he is to the pursuit, not only does he have a blog solely for his android gripes, but he's also made an androidgripes gmail account as well as a twitter account and a facebook page to promote the blog. It doesn't seem to be possible to find the blogger's nam…

Although the blog makes legitimate individual points (apart from the flamebait closer), I think you're 100% right that the overall motivation is a thinly disguised fanboi polemic. * a 99% chance of being corporate sponsored astroturfing* This is an interesting possibility, but at the same time have you ever read the comments on gizmodo? Apple doesn't need to astroturf when there are fanbois just -dying- to tell every…

While I do agree that many Apple fans are quite eager to score points in favor of their preferred platform (just as many Android fans are as well), I still stand by my theory. Have you read the text of the rest of the articles, gone to the twitter and facebook pages and read the postings? In my opinion both the tone and volume is highly unusual, and to my ears the arguments sound exceedingly carefully framed in a way that is unusual outside of guerilla PR.

Obviously I can't say for sure, readers need to make up their own minds.

Re: Why do apps from the same company look worse on Android than on iPhone?

#40

Post by headhuntermdk »

headhuntermdk wrote: post #37

While I can't speak for Android, I think the simple answer is that Apple provides sample code and applications that are examples in great UI design on iOS. I'm not seeing the same level of detail or commitment from Google or its partners at this time. It is much easier to copy off of a good design than to create a new one from scratch

(Replying to myself here) On the other hand.. maybe it boils down to what the users will put up with. If you come to iOS with a real crappy interface 9 times out of 10 you will be massacred in the user comments and reviews.

Maybe Android users have a lower tolerance for crappy UIs? I ask not trying to pick a fight or start a flamewar, but out of genuine curiosity.

If iOS users are more apt to pay for applications, I suspect for the most part that they have little to no tolerance for substandard UX.

So if it is free no one really cares, but if you are paying for something you now have a vested interest in the product.

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