Something about the entire approach Google is taking with Lollipop (and Material Design) just seems off to me. I can see their philosophy but I don't agree with large parts of it (I don't need or want animations to guide me along the path thank you).
Overall I'm left with a feeling of a lack of 'grace'. It's just not graceful, which I guess is where the art of UI comes into play. Maybe they will get there eventually, but right now it's still clunky as hell. Even worse, they are dropping functionality along the way.
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.
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 featu…
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).
This happens every time something changes. Wait for the next release and the same guy is probably going to be complaining about changes to the current UI. One phrase I hear a lot is “The future is longer than the past”. It's relevant here as well – spending all of your time worrying about existing users have to spend a couple minutes getting used to a new keyboard design isn't a good reason not to make improvements w…
> jbb555 10 minutes ago
>Yeah and too many times when you complain about this kind of thing you get accused of "hating change" or some such thing. No, I hate THIS change because THIS change is bad!
> acdha 4 minutes ago
> This happens every time something changes. Wait for the next release and the same guy is probably going to be complaining about changes to the current UI.
How appropriate that these two comments were at the top of the page. That's it, there is the whole discussion in a nutshell.
I stopped updating all my Google apps ~2 years ago because there were so many asinine, unintuitive UI changes with each new version. A lot of their changes didn't even conform to the standards recommended by Google (e.g. menu button locations). It's almost as if the UI team gets bored and decides to make changes just because they need to occupy themselves. And then instead of testing them with actual users, they just…
I just updated my Nexus 5 to KitKat. The update forced me to use GMail instead of the Email app, and almost 24h later GMail is still "Getting your messages". None of my email accounts work. Never mind changing the UI, they should start by not completely breaking the key functionality of their applications in their effort to force everyone to use their services.
Yeah and too many times when you complain about this kind of thing you get accused of "hating change" or some such thing. No, I hate THIS change because THIS change is bad!
Depends on the changes. Facebook's UI revamps have usually been good ones (excluding their "hide the privacy settings" dark patterns), but a certain subset of users complain each time. I've got one friend who's been a member of each redesign's "bring back the old Facebook!" movement.
I stopped updating all my Google apps ~2 years ago because there were so many asinine, unintuitive UI changes with each new version. A lot of their changes didn't even conform to the standards recommended by Google (e.g. menu button locations). It's almost as if the UI team gets bored and decides to make changes just because they need to occupy themselves. And then instead of testing them with actual users, they just…
At the very least, now it seems Google is making all their applications fairly standardized in their UI/UX. I think that's Material Design at work, but I'm far from a UI/UX person.
Are you serious? Every Operating System manufacturer these days "standardizes" their UI across their whole offering every few years (Microsoft, Google, Ubuntu and Apple are all on board). Just a moment ago, Holographic Design was the thing on Android. Let me guarantee you that Material Design will be, too, a thing of the past in a couple of years. What the designers don't seem to realise is that this is frustrating to the users.
I find the new Google Maps UI to be frustrating. The number of taps to just find directions to something after you search for it seems to be increased, for no good reason.
I think it's mainly because there are multiple paths through the app to do the same thing, and some of them are optimized flows and others are not. So tapping the search bar is not the most efficient way to get directions anymore... you should tap the blue directions icon instead.
I was anxiously expecting the update, but man that keyword is a deal breaker. Can it be configured as dark themed? The keyboard is a central point for UX, I've already moved away from Samsung for the same reason, and will hold the update if I'm forced to use that keyword
I agree, the new keyboard sucks a lot, there is no visual distinction between the letters and it is very easy to make a lot of typos, it is very painful. Went back to Swiftkey immediately.
Try using old GMail after using InBox. Or hand someone an Android 4.4. phone after they've bought a new Nexus. You will see immediately that the new UI is a big improvement.
Articles like this show a lock of imagination. If you can't imagine the shock of looking back at an older design, you can't perceive the benefits.