We need new UI for next iPhone

[DoubleM]

I've had an iPhone since the original, and I agree it is stale, and I agree with others that the perfect solution is a theme store. Developers make more money, Apple is the first with a theme store which puts them ahead, people that like the current theme can stay, those that want a change can pay for it in the App store. Everybody wins. I really hope Apple has already thought of this and we see it in iOS 6 this June.

 

[hoosieriphone]

It would be nice to be able to change themes. That is the ONLY thing I miss about the Blackberry.

 

[tack]

I miss the Android UI customization for sure, and trying new ROM's. But I think the simple UI is what works for Apple. People pick up an iOS device and instantly know how to navigate it. Android took much longer for me to get, and forget my wife even trying. I would like more customization and to see the UI enhanced, but they will have to be careful with any changes. It still has to be intuitive out of the box.

 

[anon(631531)]

I miss the Android UI customization for sure, and trying new ROM's. But I think the simple UI is what works for Apple. People pick up an iOS device and instantly know how to navigate it. Android took much longer for me to get, and forget my wife even trying. I would like more customization and to see the UI enhanced, but they will have to be careful with any changes. It still has to be intuitive out of the box.

This may not make me very popular, but i believe that jail breaking should be made redundant. Everything that you need or want to do to your phone, should be made available to you, right out of the box. Customize it your own way, or not, it should be your choice. App Store, Cydia or whatever, should either come on the phone, or be an easy download, without the risk of screwing up your phone with a jailbreak or root. Just my opinion, folks.

 

[Bias X]

This may not make me very popular, but i believe that jail breaking should be made redundant. Everything that you need or want to do to your phone, should be made available to you, right out of the box. Customize it your own way, or not, it should be your choice. App Store, Cydia or whatever, should either come on the phone, or be an easy download, without the risk of screwing up your phone with a jailbreak or root. Just my opinion, folks.

I understand your reasoning for wanting that.
But coming from a companies standpoint that would be a no no.
Android doesn't produce its own hardware. So as far as messing with the phones goes, its usually in the manufacturers hands to replace and fix phones. Android might say, hey mess around, explore! I'm sure the manufacturers have a different standpoint.
Apple on the other hand produces both, they have to make sure that their hardware and software works. Adding jailbreaking right off the bat would produce a lot of problems that Apple would have to deal with and fix.

 

[Totalimmortal363]

This may not make me very popular, but i believe that jail breaking should be made redundant. Everything that you need or want to do to your phone, should be made available to you, right out of the box. Customize it your own way, or not, it should be your choice. App Store, Cydia or whatever, should either come on the phone, or be an easy download, without the risk of screwing up your phone with a jailbreak or root. Just my opinion, folks.

The reason the iPhone is so popular is because all the crap that can crash your phone is removed, settings that can screw things up, gone.

Wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[ThePinkChameleon]

It would be nice to be able to change themes. That is the ONLY thing I miss about the Blackberry.

i disagree with this. when i had my bb, i literally had over 100 themes (stored on bbsak) and even changing from one to another couldnt make me happy. Just in one day, i would change my theme 3,4, sometimes even 5 times. i just couldnt settle for what ever reason being. when i got my iphone, the theme is what it is and no changing it without a jb, which i'm not even interested in doing. I like the iphone's theme just the way it is and i'm glad i dont have to wrestle with myself deciding on what theme i want to use, lol.

I miss the Android UI customization for sure, and trying new ROM's. But I think the simple UI is what works for Apple. People pick up an iOS device and instantly know how to navigate it. Android took much longer for me to get, and forget my wife even trying. I would like more customization and to see the UI enhanced, but they will have to be careful with any changes. It still has to be intuitive out of the box.

i checked out the htc rhyme before 100% deciding on the iphone in Nov. I have to say, i'm not an !diot when it comes to navigating around a phone menu, but i can honestly say in the hour i spent at the VzW store that particular day, i was completely frustrated beyond belief trying to use it !!

I like the way the iOS is and how it functions. it just works

 

[ThePinkChameleon]

This may not make me very popular, but i believe that jail breaking should be made redundant. Everything that you need or want to do to your phone, should be made available to you, right out of the box. Customize it your own way, or not, it should be your choice. App Store, Cydia or whatever, should either come on the phone, or be an easy download, without the risk of screwing up your phone with a jailbreak or root. Just my opinion, folks.

i see your point here grunt, and i'm sure there are many people that would enjoy this function/feature right out of the box too. BUT, what this would also bring is opening a new 'can of worms' so to speak with more/new problems that would lay on Apples responsibility even more so than the stable iOS they now have, where some issues do arise here and there, because not every phone/OS is perfect.

I'm one of the people that do not want a jb, and i'm really happy with the iOS the way it is now

 

[redbeard]

i see your point here grunt, and i'm sure there are many people that would enjoy this function/feature right out of the box too. BUT, what this would also bring is opening a new 'can of worms' so to speak with more/new problems that would lay on Apples responsibility even more so than the stable iOS they now have, where some issues do arise here and there, because not every phone/OS is perfect.

I'm one of the people that do not want a jb, and i'm really happy with the iOS the way it is now

My phone has virtually everything themed, and has dozens of tweaks, and you have to remember these are running on top of Apple's stock OS, and my phone works just as good as a stocker. So I don't see why or how themes, which are nothing more than the same UI elements but with different colors or patterns would cause any problems, especially if they were built into the OS by Apple. A theme store would rake in the dough as well.

Choice is good, After 4 years I'm bored of it, it looks exactly the same as it did on my old 3G! Time for a change, they don't have to completely re-do everything, just a re-fresh would do, some new colors (the dull faded grey and baby blues everywhere look dated and stale) a more modern look.

And of course there are still glaring holes in iOS, like the fact you still cannot reply to a text message without interrupting what you're doing and going into the SMS app. Widgets would be nice, and for all that is holy, that stupid weather icon that is stuck on 73 degrees and sunny is a joke.

So there is plenty they can do without hurting anything, it seems the people bored with iOS are those of us that have been using it for years now, Apple needs to do something to keep us around, there are only tens of millions of us!

 

[tack]

My phone has virtually everything themed, and has dozens of tweaks, and you have to remember these are running on top of Apple's stock OS, and my phone works just as good as a stocker. So I don't see why or how themes, which are nothing more than the same UI elements but with different colors or patterns would cause any problems, especially if they were built into the OS by Apple. A theme store would rake in the dough as well.

Choice is good, After 4 years I'm bored of it, it looks exactly the same as it did on my old 3G! Time for a change, they don't have to completely re-do everything, just a re-fresh would do, some new colors (the dull faded grey and baby blues everywhere look dated and stale) a more modern look.

And of course there are still glaring holes in iOS, like the fact you still cannot reply to a text message without interrupting what you're doing and going into the SMS app. Widgets would be nice, and for all that is holy, that stupid weather icon that is stuck on 73 degrees and sunny is a joke.

So there is plenty they can do without hurting anything, it seems the people bored with iOS are those of us that have been using it for years now, Apple needs to do something to keep us around, there are only tens of millions of us!

I agree with your viewpoint and feel the same. Once you use Handcent or something similar on Android, iOS handling of messaging seems behind. You can reply inline with your current task and then move on.

However, I still think whatever customization Apple adds has to be paired with ease of use and understanding. It has to be intuitive so more people who don't know or want to know much about their phone can still use them without issues. I guess a more controlled customization system is what they need compared to Android's everything is open approach.

 

[ThePinkChameleon]

My phone has virtually everything themed, and has dozens of tweaks, and you have to remember these are running on top of Apple's stock OS, and my phone works just as good as a stocker. So I don't see why or how themes, which are nothing more than the same UI elements but with different colors or patterns would cause any problems, especially if they were built into the OS by Apple. A theme store would rake in the dough as well.

Choice is good, After 4 years I'm bored of it, it looks exactly the same as it did on my old 3G! Time for a change, they don't have to completely re-do everything, just a re-fresh would do, some new colors (the dull faded grey and baby blues everywhere look dated and stale) a more modern look.

And of course there are still glaring holes in iOS, like the fact you still cannot reply to a text message without interrupting what you're doing and going into the SMS app. Widgets would be nice, and for all that is holy, that stupid weather icon that is stuck on 73 degrees and sunny is a joke.

So there is plenty they can do without hurting anything, it seems the people bored with iOS are those of us that have been using it for years now, Apple needs to do something to keep us around, there are only tens of millions of us!

ok, as far as themes go--heres my take on it. I've used them on my bb, and yes different OS behaves differently, but i think even if Apple were to make themes avail, then you open up a new door of possible issues. ie. the possibility of creating memory leaks. On my bb, my mem leaks were god awful-i'd lose 20-45mbs daily--reboot everyday or every other. If i didn't shrink my OS, my bb wouldve been toast probably everyday !! Also out of all the themes i had on my bb(100+ ?), there were about 4 that definately did NOT play well with my bb(luckily none ever bricked or nuked my bb). This could also become probmatic on the iPhone as well. I understand Apple has to approve and go thru each app with a fine tooth comb, BUT each device is different even tho it has the same iOS. Again, ie-my bb myself & a couple of the other girls i "knew" had the same OS, but the few bugs i had they didnt & vise versa. So this is why i'm not jumping up and down to have extras on my iPhone-it functions great just as is for me

Another example of how the same iOS varies on each device is to just take a look at the battery stas that people get. All on the same iOS, some get really bad standby/usage & others get great stats. i am fortunate to get great stats....TG !!

i understand you and quite a few others want that option to tinker further and have those extra benefits and by all means i don't fault anyone of you. i say if your into it go for it and enjoy

I can understand that after 4yrs of iOS you could be bored with it--heck, i dont even know how i'll feel about it after 4 yrs either. I was using bb's for 4+yrs and became bored of it, as well as tired of the mem leaks on OS6. So who knows what device i'll be using in 4yrs myself. right now, i'd say i would stick with the iPhone.

A re-fresh of the icons i would agree would be nice. the weather icon i totally agree with--cheesy that it constantly shows "sunny 73" all the time !! too bad that couldnt really be the weather LOL. With that icon, i honestly would love to see Apple transform into a badge where it updates the temp (hourly perhaps) and is visible without opening up the app--instead of having to -pay/or get a free- for a weather app with this option (currently i have fahrenheit pd versh) Even if they would add condition icons to display on the icon itself according to its weather. so if its cloudy and 65--have the icon display clouds and the temp.

as for the millions of users on an iPhone, i agree--there are ALOT of us !! everywhere i go i see a bunch of iphones indeed

 

[hardcoreplur]

No not at all. Buy a garbage win7 phone or DROID and have fun with the phone force closing every other minute.

The UI is the way it is for a reason, it's simple and powerful. Customizing and changing things leads to problems and compatibility issues, the things that plague android phones. Period.

YES! Come to the dark side, we have cupcakes!
But seriously, I am a Windows Phone 7 user and an ex-Apple store employee. And the iOS UI is boring. The metro UI on the windows phone is simple and powerful with LiveTiles, a useful app list and hub interface makes it easy to use. On my iPad, I can't even find alot of my apps and have to use spotlight search to locate them, and a lack of intergration between the OS and apps makes it annoying to use. On windows phone, i have facebook, twitter, live and linkedin intergrated through the whole OS, and unlike mobileme and icloud, my windows live syncing have never screw me up, and skydrive and mobile office 2010 are basic parts of ownership of a windows phone.
OH and BY THE WAY... my windows phone has a lot less issues then your iphone. and if it does have and issue, it restarts in 21.200 seconds show me any iphone that can do that. And before i restarted my phone to give you that exact number, my phone had been on for 23 days straight, and if i remember correctly it turned off because it ran out of battery. If i had known i was going to be out of the house for 18 hours, I could have used battery saver and had 2 days of life vs 16 hours with 4 email accounts being pushed, having a consist connect to facebook chat, and 10 apps pulling live tile feeds.

thanks for hearing me out, but unless you know your enemy, you won't be able to defeat them. I have a feeling the Apple will once again be saying "5 down, 95 to go"

 

[emirozmen]

Totally. We need widgets integrated. And so much more...

 

[JRDroid]

Let me preface this by saying I didn't read all six pages, so if this is repeat opinion, sorry.

I agree that the UI is a bit stale. It has been virtually unchanged since 2007. Here are a few things I think Apple could change to change up the experience a bit.

Steal the Live Tile idea from Windows Phone. For example, the weather icon could change to have the ACTUAL weather and temperature conditions on it instead of the standard 73 and sunny. Maybe add a little animation for clouds, rain, or sunshine right there on the icon. Notification numbers could appear in the icon its self instead of as a badge of the top.

Add widgets. You could see a 3 day weather forecast at a glance, get a preview of your text without opening messages. Turn things like Wifi or Bluetooth on or off with a single tap. Cycle through several brightness settings (say auto, 1/3, 2/3, and full) without opening a single menu. The possibilities are endless.

Themes. It would let you give your phone a bit more personality without really changing the UI. Themes that were darker (blacks, reds, blues, dark greens) may help attract some people put off by a UI that may feel a bit "cutesy" at times.

None of those would really change the UI dramatically but would allow more customization for those who want it and those who don't wouldn't have to use them.

 

[baseballbert]

I use a 4S and WP, and the latter's UI is better. Yes, better. The keyboard, email, skydrive and MS Office are all smoother. Plus, the WP apps are lot more stable. Especially the Facebook app which seems to crash daily on the 4S.

The social networking integration is also a lot better and it is a lot faster to get I touch with friends on my WP than it is on the 4S (where there are a lot of extra steps to get to where you need to get, not so with WP).

I'm seriously considering getting the Lumia 900 and only using that. It is a solid OS and one that is worthy of at least checking out at an att store.

 

[J4rrod]

No not at all. Buy a garbage win7 phone or DROID and have fun with the phone force closing every other minute.

The UI is the way it is for a reason, it's simple and powerful. Customizing and changing things leads to problems and compatibility issues, the things that plague android phones. Period.

Lol, I'm very excited to hear what kind of iSheep reason why Windows Phone is garbage. Ok. Let's hear it.

 

[ThePinkChameleon]

Let me preface this by saying I didn't read all six pages, so if this is repeat opinion, sorry.

Steal the Live Tile idea from Windows Phone. For example, the weather icon could change to have the ACTUAL weather and temperature conditions on it instead of the standard 73 and sunny. Maybe add a little animation for clouds, rain, or sunshine right there on the icon. Notification numbers could appear in the icon its self instead of as a badge of the top.

.

jdevenberg, i also mentioned this about the weather app on iOS. It would be a really nice feature if Apple considered doing this, but at the same time, they would also have to weigh out how battery life would be affected with something like that kind of app

 

[Jeremy]

Lol, I'm very excited to hear what kind of iSheep reason why Windows Phone is garbage. Ok. Let's hear it.

Really no need for name calling is there? Especially in your very first post here...

 

[JRDroid]

jdevenberg, i also mentioned this about the weather app on iOS. It would be a really nice feature if Apple considered doing this, but at the same time, they would also have to weigh out how battery life would be affected with something like that kind of app

My HTC Titan running Windows Phone (and my HD7 before that) both had multiple icons that updated in this sort of fashion, including weather. I have not noticed a huge difference in battery life from them to my iPhone. In fact I am inclined to think that the Titan had superior battery life to my iPhone. I could go through two days without charging my Titan if I used it lightly. I can get about a day and a half out of the iPhone with similar use. In short, I don't think it would affect battery that much. The weather app would only need to check in to update every 30 minutes or every hour, compared to email that is set to push or update every 15 minutes, that would be nothing.

 

[JRDroid]

Lol, I'm very excited to hear what kind of iSheep reason why Windows Phone is garbage. Ok. Let's hear it.

I am a big Windows Phone fan, and will go back to Windows phone from iOS when Apollo launches (as long as it brings higher screen resolution with it), but there are things the iPhone is better at. As good as Windows Phone is at multi-media compared to Android, it is still 2nd to the iPhone in that regard. App selection on the iPhone blows Windows Phone out of the water. There are apps I use frequently on my iPhone that are not available on Windows Phone (Mint, Hanging with Friends, Instagram, Hulu+, and HGTV to GO come to mind of the top of my head). Plust there are apps that, while available on WP, offer greater functionality on iOS. A great example is Flixter. The iOS version allows you to watch UltraViolet digital copies where WP version does not.

That said SkyDrive is much better (for me) than iCloud. I like being able to acces my photos from any web connected device, not restricted like iCloud. There are no office apps as good as Microsoft Office for iOS. The Facebook integration in Windows Phone blows away iOS's version. It is taking me honestly 10x as long to connect contacts who are listed under a different name in my contact book to their Facebook than it did in Windows Phone. Live Tiles are amazing and I miss them dearly.

For me, once Windows Phone is available on hardware comprable to the iPhone, Windows is the better fit, but I can certainly understand why some would prefer iOS. What I don't understand is how anyone would pick Android over either iOS or Windows Phone. Before iOS 4 and Windows Phone 7.5 it was understandable because of the lack of things like MMS and Multi-Tasking, but now I see no advantage Android has over either platform. [/OT]


Posted from my MacBook using the Interwebz