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[Ignatz Mouse]

I really don't like the apple homescreen. Or most of the defaults for anything. Here's a post about my Android screen. Obviously, the wallpaper can be whatever you want.

Swipe down-- notifications
Swipe up-- phone

Each icon is a drawer of apps that fits on on one page (no scrolling)

Touching the clock brings up my alarm.

I almost never scroll my homepage. One screen left is my agenda, one screen right is my Google Voice calls.


Everything I use it one or two touches away. Highly functional and stylish both.

Lets me see the entirety of my wallpaper and is compatible with whatever I decide to put on it, for the most part.

 

[LyleLanley]

I'd bet money on the next iPhone either being called "iPhone 4G" or just "The New iPhone".

 

[José Mourinho]

A fucking tragedy;

They realized there needed to be more access from a single place without having to scroll, (i.e. iOS's 19 single access points on a single page) and that was their solution. It's even worse in action imo.

Seriously. This is the most daft "issue" somebody could ever take. If you owned a Windows phone and liked how it was, then the new changes do not effect you. You can still have all your tiles the same sizes they were before. So what if somebody else chooses to have 900 small tiles on their screen? That's their choice.

 

[.la1n]

I like Apple's interface do not see any reason why it needs to be changed. Some more consistency throughout their own apps would be nice however.

 

[kehs]

Seriously. This is the most daft "issue" somebody could ever take. If you owned a Windows phone and liked how it was, then the new changes do not effect you. You can still have all your tiles the same sizes they were before. So what if somebody else chooses to have 900 small tiles on their screen? That's their choice.

They got rid of the negative space on the side, and the "normal" size for tiles no longer exists.

That small change in tile size makes it look grotesque.

 

[mescalineeyes]

The logic is obvious. iPhone 4 was the last major new phone. 4S was basically a half hearted upgrade. So calling it the iPhone 5 implies a generational leap. It's not complex.

No, because by that logic, the iPhone 4 is the iPhone 3 sine the 3GS was also a "half-hearted upgrade"

I made this chart:

 

[noah111]

iPhone 4S and iPad 2 Untethered Jailbreak Released



Samsung Galaxy S III rooted already


:|

Are you joking? Because I can't tell. The irony of it..

 

[LevelNth]

No, because by that logic, the iPhone 4 is the iPhone 3 sine the 3GS was also a "half-hearted upgrade"

I made this chart:

I'll save you the trouble. I called it the 5 because that is predominately how it is referred to in the media.

Do I, or anyone, really care what it in fact ends up being called? No. I just want it.

 

[Flo_Evans]

My homescreen looks like this (NSFW). Nice & clean, everything in it's right place. Page 2 has a similar layout but with folders.

look at all that unread mail!

and ass...

 

[lunarworks]

Apple needs to do something. iOS is getting stale, and increasingly inconsistent.

It was originally designed around relatively low-powered chipsets, and a slow EDGE data network, so that reflects in its completely static home screen. They could improve this, implement some sort of live-updating widget feature, but they would need to put serious restrictions on it. Not everyone has affordable data, and battery life is supremely important.

Also, they need to move away from the faux 3D look they use on everything. It's really a throwback to their last 15 years. Their marketing is nicely minimal, but their software can become gaudy at times.

One of the biggest problems is that they have a large and deeply entrenched user base. One that can have a negative reaction to ANY change. The question is what to change, and by how much, or you end up with a "New Coke" situation.


Oh, and this is Android:

 

[mescalineeyes]

I'll save you the trouble. I called it the 5 because that is predominately how it is referred to in the media.

Do I, or anyone, really care what it in fact ends up being called? No. I just want it.

This is my ONE pet peeve. Let me have it.

 

[LyleLanley]

I'll save you the trouble. I called it the 5 because that is predominately how it is referred to in the media.

Do I, or anyone, really care what it in fact ends up being called? No. I just want it.

I'd bet money on the next iPhone either being called "iPhone 4G" or just "The New iPhone".

I care damn it!

 

[José Mourinho]

They got rid of the negative space on the side, and the "normal" size for tiles no longer exists.

That small change in tile size makes it look grotesque.

Are you actually going to argue that the small increase in size of the square icons in WP7 (since getting rid of the gap at the right hand side of the screen) has turned this OS from aesthetically pleasing to "grotesque". Wise up.

What is now the middle and large sized tiles are barely larger than they used to be. And now, if you want, you can have some small ones too.

 

[kehs]

Are you actually going to argue that the small increase in size of the square icons in WP7 (since getting rid of the gap at the right hand side of the screen) has turned this OS from aesthetically pleasing to "grotesque". Wise up.

What is now the middle and large sized tiles are barely larger than they used to be. And now, if you want, you can have some small ones too.

Yes. It's a very subtle change, but having tiles bigger and removing the negative kills the entire aesthetics.

 

[lunarworks]

Apple should hire some real graphic designers and allow you to choose from a selection of artistic, data-rich home screens / lock screens. Sort of like the notification centre, giving you info like number of messages and weather, but a bit more integrated. Make it optional. Also, the "roll your own" solution is an invitation for disaster.

 

[José Mourinho]

Yes. It's a very subtle change, but having tiles bigger and removing the negative kills the entire aesthetics.

Wow.

 

[Snakeyes]

On the lock screen. Thought about posting that too but there's NSFW and then there's NSFW!

Good point. Glad you're not losing your touch!

 

[Dreams-Visions]

See how the lack of options suck?

I have no idea what your point has to do with mine.

My point was that the home is fine because it makes efficient, useful and effective use of the space, and the UI is well documented to be easy to learn, adapt to and use. Fucking infants and woodland craetures can manage using iOS.

Further, my point was that the lockscreen is generally unused space that is quite the opposite of my homescreen point: it's not very useful. It's not effective use of space. It's so useless, the lockscreen could be skipped all together when waking the phone and nobody would miss it. In fact, smartcovers for iPads do just that. Someone else mentioned that it's "basically your notification center", but in that context, it's only useful for logging missed alerts. That's not what I'm talking about. The lockscreen should be and can be more useful than just showing the time. I think the Notification Center was acknowledgement of that, but there's still room to get better. Ultimately, it's not a big deal. It's just nitpicking a very satisfactory experience.

So how does your point (the part worth quoting) interface with mine? On what grounds?

 

[345triangle]

Android has become my favourite home screen UI. Holo is stunningly beautiful. I keep things extremely simple. I only have 2 other home screens that have 3 widgets on and I love how it looks.

Holo UI apps are also extremely consistent, it's weird how iOS has gone from being consistent to kind of all over the place in terms of design.

ICS looks good apart from the stunningly awful iconography. i mean, seriously, look at those phone and messaging icons!

my homescreen is this:

pretty much the stock sharp ICS skin that came with my phone. i keep it around mostly for the icons.

 

[Holy Wars]

No, because by that logic, the iPhone 4 is the iPhone 3 sine the 3GS was also a "half-hearted upgrade"

I made this chart:

Everyone knows the "iPhone 5" 1) won't exist under that name and 2) isn't the 5th iPhone. But it's obvious why people use the name and what they mean.

 

[Burger]

Anyone who doesn't think that Apple has internal projects involving a radical overhaul of iOS is crazy.

Obviously they simply don't talk about it. iOS 5 was a huge update, iOS 6 is a refinement. I would expect iOS 7 to be... different.

 

[Xun]

Anyone who doesn't think that Apple has internal projects involving a radical overhaul of iOS is crazy.

Obviously they simply don't talk about it. iOS 5 was a huge update, iOS 6 is a refinement. I would expect iOS 7 to be... different.

That's what I'm expecting as well.

It wouldn't surprise me if Jobs helped with it in some way either.

 

[jokkir]

Yes, iOS really needs to overhaul their UI for iOS7.

Speaking of home screens, this is probably one of the better I've seen for Android:

Mine for the moment

From the Android customization thread.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

If they come up with something better, sure, but right now I prefer how iOS handles its home screens than any other mobile platform.

 

[surly]

If they come up with something better, sure, but right now I prefer how iOS handles its home screens than any other mobile platform.

In what way? I can have a static grid of icons with Android. The difference there is, that would be my choice, but not my only choice.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

In what way? I can have a static grid of icons with Android. The difference there is, that would be my choice, but not my only choice.

Aesthetic and performance are important factors for me, too. Get an iOS skin, have it run at the same performance as the iPhone 4S, and yes you could achieve the same home screen on Android. It would still be Android, though.

If I really wanted to, I could jailbreak my iPhone and throw up a big-ass clock and weather widget like all those cool Android phones, too. I really don't want to do that, though.

 

[Ape Gone Insane]

It is in need of some sort of visual upgrade or improvement, especially on the iPad.

 

[kehs]

Don't worry zefah, when Apple gives deep level access to app information and functionality without having to traverse through it, you'll understand it and like it.

 

[Vyer]

Wow.

I wouldn't jump to 'grotesque', but that change does make a significant alteration to the look and design of the start screen. I don't think that his comments are really ridiculous in that regard. (and I'm not happy to have to make that statement. . )

 

[Error]

Yes, iOS really needs to overhaul their UI for iOS7.

Speaking of home screens, this is probably one of the better I've seen for Android:



From the Android customization thread.

love the icon design in that setup.

From what I get from this thread from iOS users is that choice is bad because someone can make the phone look ugly, sure there are some ugly designs but the option is there to make it as ugly or as good looking as you want. plus you optimize your phone in the way you feel most comfortable, YOU, google doesn't decide what's best for you they give you a basic template and then you take it from there. completely different from apple and iOS, where you are stuck with the same looking homescreen as every single other iOS user. Don't give me that crap about jailbreaking, android is customizable out of the box iOS isn't.

 

[Cheebo]

I really don't like the apple homescreen. Or most of the defaults for anything. Here's a post about my Android screen. Obviously, the wallpaper can be whatever you want.

Well swiping up for phone may not be so useful. iPhone is only one of 3 main devices running iOS. A simple gesture like that should be for a universal function.

 

[buhdeh]

Since we're all posting our home screens;

I just use Emoji icons for the folder titles (no JB tweak). I do use a JB tweak to turn the newsstand into something useful, an actual bookstand for quick access to books i'm reading etc.

As well as changing the background of NC. Other than that i'm pretty pure, don't use JB for visual tweaks and whatnot much at all.

What app to change NC background (also, link to your NC background?)? And how do you collapse NC sections?

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Well swiping up for phone may not be so useful. iPhone is only one of 3 main devices running iOS. A simple gesture like that should be for a universal function.

I wasn't suggesting that they take my setup, just that I liked it, and that they shoudl strive for that level of simplicity (or at least have it be available).

That's also the most controversial aspect of my setup, because people who borrow my phone can't see how to make a call. An icon would be prefereable for universal use. For me, it's one more thing I can take off the desktop.

 

[Glowingmonx]

Yes, iOS really needs to overhaul their UI for iOS7.

Speaking of home screens, this is probably one of the better I've seen for Android:



From the Android customization thread.

I remember that one

Actually made the status bar transparant to complete the Google Glasses look

 

[Auron_Kale]

I do kinda wish that there was more than just static icons, but at the same time, I do love my phone's home screen anyways.

'Home Screen':

'Main Screen':

 

[Cudder]

Since we're all posting our home screens;

Good lord, man. This hurts my brain just looking at it.

 

[Auron_Kale]

Now that I really think about it, the only thing I've ever missed from Jailbreaking was having transparent icons.

If I could somehow have transparent icons, I'd be really happy actually.

 

[amrihua]

I like it as is. An OS is an app launcher, why complicate it?

 

[Auron_Kale]

I like it as is. An OS is an app launcher, why complicate it?

It's one of the reasons why I've preferred how iOS just makes things work, but a little something while keeping it simple wouldn't hurt in the next iteration.

 

[Zee-Row]

The interface was one of the reasons I left for Android.

I like a clean homescreen. Frequently used apps are in folders, regular phone functions are in the dock and everything else is in the app draw.

What widgets are those? I wanna use them!

 

[dc89]

Yeah I think iOS needs a bit of a refresh interms of it's layout. But now they are hell bent on changing OS X to mimic iOS I doubt it will happen.

 

[Oppo]

Some of you guys sound like you want your home screen to look like a small Times Square of animated GIFs.

Metro is an interesting approach, I get where they are coming from, but the difference between "ambient" tiles and auto-updating icons is a semantic one. Apple has been sparing with access to that in the official API because I believe they don't want the interface to turn into GeoCities. Obviously the calendar icon updates, and there are the red badges. Also, I find that it's difficult to distinguish what is tappable in Metro, due to how flatly it uses color.

Also if your user base can really drastically alter the interface appearance, it can become a bit of a support nightmare as well.

I think the icon grid is here to stay for awhile. It's even in Lion. And a bunch of Apple marketing.

 

[Damon Bennet]

i have nothing against the small buttons in wp8 homescreen. they are optional. I just wish they'd bring back the whitespace on the right. It does not look as good if its blown up like that

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

I like it as is. An OS is an app launcher, why complicate it?

I want it to be simpler and less ugly.

 

[Uno Venova]

Yes, iOS really needs to overhaul their UI for iOS7.

Speaking of home screens, this is probably one of the better I've seen for Android:



From the Android customization thread.

So what wallpaper is that?

 

[Enco]

That looks clean but for the life in me I can't stand individual shaped app icons. Metro is better than this, imo, since at least everything is gridded and consistent to a degree.

But having different shapes, some circular, others rectangular, other totally unique, for the same element (apps) is very ugly on a mobile device, to me. Again with the symmetry in a way.

If you look at metro, android, and iOS screens with the threshold levels maxed out, android will look the worst of the three.

But tbh they all suck in the grand scheme of things. Things have progressed so fast in terms of what we can access but the GUI for it all has lagged behind. It'll take something big but that won't be soon at all.

Agreed.

The Android icons make the UI horrendous in my opinion. I would rather go for a less capable Windows phone than an Android if I didn't have my iPhone.

 

[Divvy]

Agreed.

The Android icons make the UI horrendous in my opinion. I would rather go for a less capable Windows phone than an Android if I didn't have my iPhone.

Yeah, but with android, you can just get an icon pack that has your favourite shape of icons.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Yeah, but with android, you can just get an icon pack that has your favourite shape of icons.

Yep. Was just about to post this.

 

[Marty Chinn]

I can't seriously believe that people who don't think iOS needs any change and think that the other OSs are sloppy and ugly, think that what is shown in these pics looks good.

 

[Raistlin]

I think it is even sillier on a tablet:

ipad:

competition:

You're comparing stock iPad to an unreleased 3rd party launcher on Android?

Seriously?

I love Chameleon (donated to the kickstarter in hopes it will breath life into my tablets), but if you're going to make this comparison ... shouldn't it be versus non-stock iPad launchers too? That said, I think iOS is in serious need of an overhaul.