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Challenge: Pixel perfect design

developer.apple.com

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Re: Challenge: Pixel perfect design

#51

Post by arendtio »

cube00 wrote: post #2

I noticed the images looked a little blurred to me for pixel art. Digging further into it, they're oversized high resolution JPEG images scaled down by the browser rather then correctly sized PNGs. Putting quality aside and thinking about the poor internet pipes; each image is around 100kb in size and had it been a two bit black and white PNG would have been around 12kb. I know, I know, it's a probably an off the she…

Didn't notice it until I read your comment... Revenge: https://xkcd.com/1015/

Btw. what display/resolution are you using?

Re: Challenge: Pixel perfect design

#52

Post by solardev »

hutattedonmyarm wrote: post #47
solardev wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, dumb question, but does it let me listen to downloaded music on my earphones even when I don't have a phone with me? (Never had a proper smartwatch). Like can I download music directly to the Watch (what about DRM?) and can it connect to Airpods or other bluetooth without a phone?

You can download music directly to the watch, at least with Apple Music. No idea if it works with a local library. However, other apps have the ability too, so chances are good that there are other apps as well. It can connect to Bluetooth headphones just fine without an iPhone, I only carry the watch when I go for a run

Cool, thanks! I didn't know they could do that. Looks like it supports Spotify Premium too. Music for exercise would be awesome! (I know, I'm way behind the curve)

Re: Challenge: Pixel perfect design

#53

Post by deergomoo »

gabereiser wrote: post #45
grishka wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple gives no shit about being pixel-perfect lately. Try using modern macOS on a non-retina display and your eyes will bleed because every single icon is drawn as if there's no pixel grid whatsoever. Everything is a blurry mess. Steve Jobs would've definitely fired someone over this, yet with Tim Cook it stays unfixed for more than 2 years — I'd guess because pixel-perfect icons don't affect the bottom line.

To be fair, if you are trying it on a non-retina display, you’re out of spec or running hackintosh. Aren’t all mac’s retina? edit I totally forgot about plug-in external displays… in which case, ya need 1440p or better.

> in which case, ya need 1440p or better

You can’t really get 1440p monitors any smaller than 27” though. And I have a (really quite good) 27” 1440p monitor and it looks like dog shit on macOS. Same monitor under Windows looks great. Sure it doesn’t hold a candle to my MacBook’s own 220ppi screen but it handily outclasses whatever the hell macOS is doing at 1x scaling

Re: Challenge: Pixel perfect design

#54

Post by yosito »

stefanv wrote: post #16

Just a thought: what if this some kind of teaser for a new device Apple is preparing? Maybe some e-ink device? Ok, I know we are in 2022, but I would really love to see some “low-tech” device from them. I’ll try to wake up now :)

This was my thought too. Although I don't think resolution is a really big constraint on eink devices.

Re: Challenge: Pixel perfect design

#55

Post by grishka »

gabereiser wrote: post #45
grishka wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple gives no shit about being pixel-perfect lately. Try using modern macOS on a non-retina display and your eyes will bleed because every single icon is drawn as if there's no pixel grid whatsoever. Everything is a blurry mess. Steve Jobs would've definitely fired someone over this, yet with Tim Cook it stays unfixed for more than 2 years — I'd guess because pixel-perfect icons don't affect the bottom line.

To be fair, if you are trying it on a non-retina display, you’re out of spec or running hackintosh. Aren’t all mac’s retina? edit I totally forgot about plug-in external displays… in which case, ya need 1440p or better.

Apple still sells Macs that don't come with a screen. If someone buys a Mac Mini, chances are high that they will plug into it the monitor they already own, which most probably won't be retina.

I do use a 1440p monitor. The blurriness is still very much noticeable. It was much better on Mojave when all icons were drawn to the pixel grid.

And yes I'd buy a 5K monitor, which is the retina equivalent of 1440p, but these things aren't exactly easy to come by. Besides the blurriness is still visible even on retina displays, it's just not as pronounced.

Re: Challenge: Pixel perfect design

#56

Post by hnlmorg »

navanchauhan wrote: post #5

Submissions on Twitter: https://twitter.com/search?q=%23WWDC22Challenges

I can’t help feeling that a large number of those submissions are really missing the point of economising on the canvas. Almost all of them seem to have large swathes of empty space around the icon rather than enlarging the logo to use the entire canvas space. This leads to icons that are completely unrecognisable at the smaller scales. Plus the smaller icons are almost all just clones of their larger counterparts (as if they just resized the image in photoshop — though obviously that’s not what they literally did) rather than simplifying the detail.

That all said, there are still some genuinely impressive efforts there.

Yeah me thing that definitely stood out was how a lot of the more iconic logos are already pretty simple (often even monochromatic). Though I do also believe there was a fair amount of selection bias going on too (people picking easy icons to redesign).

Re: Challenge: Pixel perfect design

#57

Post by Macha »

grishka wrote: post #40
dmix wrote: post #20

This is a really good video about how Apple cares about being pixel perfect compared to Windows with something simple and obvious like the mouse cursor icon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YThelfB2fvg The improvements he made are also quite nice, Microsoft should take note...

Apple gives no shit about being pixel-perfect lately. Try using modern macOS on a non-retina display and your eyes will bleed because every single icon is drawn as if there's no pixel grid whatsoever. Everything is a blurry mess. Steve Jobs would've definitely fired someone over this, yet with Tim Cook it stays unfixed for more than 2 years — I'd guess because pixel-perfect icons don't affect the bottom line.

Did some rearranging of my desks to seperate my work and play spaces, so my work from home desk now has a 1080p 21" monitor. It's amazing how not built for that modern macOS is. Even font rendering is a disaster again.

Re: Challenge: Pixel perfect design

#59

Post by Macha »

planarhobbit wrote: post #33

See also: all the commentary around font rendering on MacOS/OS X vs Windows. IMHO Windows has always been far more towards pixel accuracy, but what the hell do I know (the internet will tell me I’m wrong either way!)

Well pixel accuracy is the wrong term for it, as the two options are fitting the pixel grid (aka hinting) and being accurate to the font vectors. Mac OS historically picked the later, Windows the former. It was more of a difference before subpixel rendering and now hi-dpi displays, but Apple have recently dropped their subpixel support (since it's not needed on retina displays) so it's once again an issue using macOS on low PPI displays.

Re: Challenge: Pixel perfect design

#60

Post by vbezhenar »

emkoemko wrote: post #22
saberience wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They looked perfect to me, using an Macbook Air M1 and Chrome.

how do you not see the grey gradient they adding next to each black pixel? making it seem blurry... unless i am missing something

I can clearly see JPEG artifacts on iPhone.
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