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Apple has a private CSS property to add Liquid Glass effects to web content

alastair.is

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Re: Apple has a private CSS property to add Liquid Glass effects to web content

#51

Post by sho_hn »

actionfromafar wrote: post #15
skrebbel wrote: post #9

I like "Alastair's Grand Theory of In-App Webviews": the main reason webviews in apps have such a bad reputation is because you don't notice the webviews that are integrated seamlessly

There's also, in there somewhere, a corollary about how you don't notice the webviews which don't stick out but just don't feel right. Like, someone mentioned Settings app in MacOS might use them because the icons don't load fast enough. I can't help but lament just a little bit. Apple used to be about insane polish. Just think about the mentality that created the rounded screen corners on the original Mac. That's ju…

> Apple used to be about insane polish.

I think that's mostly a brand narrative/myth. MacOS has always had warts at any given time.

Re: Apple has a private CSS property to add Liquid Glass effects to web content

#52

Post by kuschku »

brookst wrote: post #40
snackbroken wrote: post #3

Providing an OS feature only to first-party programs is a plainly anticompetitive practice. Using your privileged position in one market (cell phones/cell phone operating systems) to gain an advantage in another market (smart phone applications) that you withhold from your competitors is a textbook case.

Wait so are all non-standard CSS attributes "anticompetitive"? This seems like wild hyperbole. Is Google's "-webkit-tap-highlight-color" also anticompetitive? Should we ban the current practice of shipping proprietary CSS attributes while sometimes also proposing them for standardization? It's just really hard for me to read that as a legit complaint.

If you use this CSS liquid glass effect in your app, Apple will reject it from the App Store.

If Apple uses this CSS liquid glass effect in their apps, it'll pass App Store review just fine.

Do you see the issue now?

Re: Apple has a private CSS property to add Liquid Glass effects to web content

#53

Post by elaus »

brookst wrote: post #40
snackbroken wrote: post #3

Providing an OS feature only to first-party programs is a plainly anticompetitive practice. Using your privileged position in one market (cell phones/cell phone operating systems) to gain an advantage in another market (smart phone applications) that you withhold from your competitors is a textbook case.

Wait so are all non-standard CSS attributes "anticompetitive"? This seems like wild hyperbole. Is Google's "-webkit-tap-highlight-color" also anticompetitive? Should we ban the current practice of shipping proprietary CSS attributes while sometimes also proposing them for standardization? It's just really hard for me to read that as a legit complaint.

You can use `-webkit-tap-highlight-color` on your website or PWA and distribute it any way you want. It will just not work in non-webkit browsers like Firefox.

What apple does and what the article talks about: They have a CSS property that ONLY they can use, you can't put that in your PWA, it won't work (no matter the browser).

Re: Apple has a private CSS property to add Liquid Glass effects to web content

#54

Post by sho_hn »

tshaddox wrote: post #48
snackbroken wrote: post #3

Providing an OS feature only to first-party programs is a plainly anticompetitive practice. Using your privileged position in one market (cell phones/cell phone operating systems) to gain an advantage in another market (smart phone applications) that you withhold from your competitors is a textbook case.

What are your thoughts on computer hardware which is much more restrictive? Video game consoles, for example, require all code to be cryptographically signed, meaning that third parties can't publish any software whatsoever without the blessing of the console manufacturer.

I'm assuming they don't like that either.

Apple does plenty of bad things, and many are worse than this, but it doesn't mean it's not fair to point out this one is bad, too.

It all comes down to "the vendor can do things with your computer you can't do yourself" in the end.

Re: Apple has a private CSS property to add Liquid Glass effects to web content

#55

Post by rs186 »

brookst wrote: post #40
snackbroken wrote: post #3

Providing an OS feature only to first-party programs is a plainly anticompetitive practice. Using your privileged position in one market (cell phones/cell phone operating systems) to gain an advantage in another market (smart phone applications) that you withhold from your competitors is a textbook case.

Wait so are all non-standard CSS attributes "anticompetitive"? This seems like wild hyperbole. Is Google's "-webkit-tap-highlight-color" also anticompetitive? Should we ban the current practice of shipping proprietary CSS attributes while sometimes also proposing them for standardization? It's just really hard for me to read that as a legit complaint.

I can install chrome on Windows, Linux and Mac, so I give them a pass. Not to mention that was ancient history.

Re: Apple has a private CSS property to add Liquid Glass effects to web content

#57

Post by jacobgkau »

pdntspa wrote: post #44
chmod775 wrote: post #22

For those who don't know what the fuck "Liquid Glass effect" is: it's a sort of frosted glass look that apple uses for their UI. It's being sold as the best thing since sliced bread. Googling it felt like I entered a parallel universe.

Windows 7 did it like 15 years ago

Windows 7's had more character.

Re: Apple has a private CSS property to add Liquid Glass effects to web content

#58

Post by rudedogg »

skrebbel wrote: post #9

I like "Alastair's Grand Theory of In-App Webviews": the main reason webviews in apps have such a bad reputation is because you don't notice the webviews that are integrated seamlessly

I think another split is between:

- people who have gone down the webview path, and know how difficult it is to do well

- people who have been told they can simply package their webapp into a native application

You can probably guess which group has more people

Re: Apple has a private CSS property to add Liquid Glass effects to web content

#59

Post by hu3 »

brookst wrote: post #42
seydor wrote: post #6

Let's pray this liquid jelly doesnt become a trend

Love or hate liquid glass, the paradigm shift from "UI chrome is a wrapper around app content" to "UI is overlayed on top of app content" seems like the future. It's well aligned with AR and better separates UI layout from content for different screen sizes. I'm neutral on this first implementation (some good, some bad). But I think the approach will be picked up by essentially everyone. Good news for you, there's no…

I don't buy it.

First, AR is currently aspirational at best. After decades of failures.

Second, overlaying translucid UI over content makes separation of UI from content worse, not better.

Windows Aero tried that 2 decades ago and, while it looked cool, they reverted.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Aero

Re: Apple has a private CSS property to add Liquid Glass effects to web content

#60

Post by nashashmi »

snackbroken wrote: post #3

Providing an OS feature only to first-party programs is a plainly anticompetitive practice. Using your privileged position in one market (cell phones/cell phone operating systems) to gain an advantage in another market (smart phone applications) that you withhold from your competitors is a textbook case.

I think there is line that a company can cross: using a locked-down appearance setting to make an app look like it is from the company.

For example, if there was a glowing light on the edge of the phone that only lights up with stock apps and company apps, and that signfies for security that an app belongs to a company, that is ok.

I don't consider design/appearance to be a feature. YMD.

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