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Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

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Re: Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

#501

Post by MBCook »

shinycode wrote: post #456
MBCook wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the idea of a new design of some sort was a good one. We’ve been in the same world since iOS 7, 12 years ago. The glass effects are fancy, but in a HUGE percentage of places the transparency makes things worse. A lot of the animation/liviness, the “liquid” part of “Liquid Glass”, is very nice and welcome. My problems are almost all from: 1. difficulty reading/using things since the background shows through un…

I completely agree with you. And sometimes depending on the content it’s unreadable that’s for sure. But they must have an endgame. Maybe they get us used to the UI, users will complain and in 6 months will get used to it and in a year it’s forgotten & updated. Because if they have a new paradigm then it’s easier for them if people are already used to the UX I guess ?

I guess that’s my problem. At this point I don’t trust that they DO have an endgame. I think this WAS it and they just ignored all the problems.

I’m sure we’ll all get used to it. Just like we got used to a lot of the problems that the iOS 7 redesign brought.

But that doesn’t mean we’re actually moving forward and getting better. We seem to be finding new ways to get worse.

You can look at screenshots of OS X 10.4 or 10.6 and they’re incredibly easy to read. They have good information density. You know what the controls are and things haven’t been hidden like scroll bars.

Yeah there were excesses with iOS 6 and below. And the pixel perfect layout stuff was never going to be viable long-term as phones kept changing size every year or two.

But you could tell what was a button and what wasn’t. You knew if something was just text or a field you could edit. We’ve lost that.

Re: Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

#502

Post by dpark »

int_19h wrote: post #488
dpark wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“No one wants an actual touch screen, but they definitely want a really narrow touchscreen directly above their keyboard. It’s contextual .” I had a MacBook Pro with the touchbar for a little while. I found it to be useless. I do agree if they had left the function keys alone it would have been a much better, or at least less annoying, option.

> No one wants an actual touch screen, but they definitely want a really narrow touchscreen directly above their keyboard. It’s contextual The reason why I don't want an actual touch screen on my laptop (after using two laptops with one) is because it's just not ergonomic. For one thing, operating it strains the arm very quickly. For another, it means covering the screen with fingerprints, although that's less of an…

Just like big screens on phones weren’t ergonomic and a stylus for a tablet meant the tablet interface had failed. It’s a bad idea right until Apple does it. (Which is not to say that Apple might not do it better if/when they decide to do it.)

An upright screen that you need to use for lots of input would indeed result in the arm becoming tired quickly. But no one actually uses their touchscreen laptops like that. It’s an additional form of input. Most of the time you still use the keyboard and mouse/trackpad. But it’s very convenient sometimes to reach forward and touch the thing you want to click instead of mousing over to it (especially if you have multiple monitors). It’s also extremely convenient/comfortable for scrolling through long documents if you have a laptop on or near your lap. You rest your hand on the base/your lap/table and scroll with your thumb.

I don’t use the touchscreen on my Windows laptops a ton, but I still use it daily. And I miss it when I use my MacBook.

Re: Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

#504

Post by archagon »

fiddlerwoaroof wrote: post #214
archagon wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It looks pretty (sometimes) but I have not found a single usability improvement stemming from the new paradigm.

One thing I’ve noticed is that search fields are now generally at the bottom of the screen which makes them a lot easier to activate. (No more flicking the screen down to search). I disliked the update for a week or so at first, but I have to say I find the liquid animations fun now.

True, the search fields are in a better position now, but this really has nothing to do with the liquid glass paradigm. This could have been done in the previous designs just as well, I think.

Re: Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

#505

Post by fiddlerwoaroof »

majewsky wrote: post #486
fiddlerwoaroof wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing I’ve noticed is that search fields are now generally at the bottom of the screen which makes them a lot easier to activate. (No more flicking the screen down to search). I disliked the update for a week or so at first, but I have to say I find the liquid animations fun now.

> I have to say I find the liquid animations fun now. This might be the most harrowing review that you can give without realizing it. UI animations are supposed to get out of the way. If you can recognize them as "fun", the most likely interpretation is that they are forcing you to expend attention, which in this age is one of your most valuable resources.

These aren’t animations that add any time: a lot of the liquid UI elements are just fun to fidget with while bored

Re: Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

#506

Post by EasyMark »

gpm wrote: post #146

One thing I've never understood is why phone companies push these UI updates to existing devices. It seems like it a) Annoys users when their devices change out from under them. b) Reduces the incentive to buy the new thing with the new fashionable update. Anyone have any idea why the business case works out the way it does?

much cheaper to maintain only a version or two across the board and drop support over time as devices get too old to handle the new bells and whistles

Re: Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

#507

Post by Tempest1981 »

thedougd wrote: post #48
captn3m0 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I made the mistake of upgrading (13 Mini) and it is very clear that the new UI was not tested at all on smaller screens. The rounded buttons take up so much extra margin that actual usable space is greatly diminished.

Replied at the same time as you. I agree. In Safari there’s ton of space on each side of the URL bubble yet I only get about 7 chara visible.

There is a Safari setting to improve this, although it adds height. Still preferable, imo.

Re: Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

#509

Post by pityJuke »

willis936 wrote: post #422
ge96 wrote: post #25

Cracked as in good or bad

Cracked as in they cooked[1] hard. 1. http://cooked.urbanup.com/14439505

no, that's using it wrong.

- "they cooked [hard]" is positive

- "they're [hard] cooked" is negative.

- "let them cook" means let them work, they'll do something positive.

- "someone cooked here" [0] has become a TikTok meme for positive things

[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOpadGhGtuA

Re: Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

#510

Post by shinycode »

MBCook wrote: post #501
shinycode wrote: post #456

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely agree with you. And sometimes depending on the content it’s unreadable that’s for sure. But they must have an endgame. Maybe they get us used to the UI, users will complain and in 6 months will get used to it and in a year it’s forgotten & updated. Because if they have a new paradigm then it’s easier for them if people are already used to the UX I guess ?

I guess that’s my problem. At this point I don’t trust that they DO have an endgame. I think this WAS it and they just ignored all the problems. I’m sure we’ll all get used to it. Just like we got used to a lot of the problems that the iOS 7 redesign brought. But that doesn’t mean we’re actually moving forward and getting better. We seem to be finding new ways to get worse. You can look at screenshots of OS X 10.4 or…

I agree, from all the directions to make their UX foundation evolve that’s the weirdest one. If they don’t have anything else that make sense for it all then it’s the start of the decline for them I guess. I hate android UX, I tried and I hate it, Samsung is the worst for me.
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