Does Anyone Else ABSOLUTELY HATE the New App Design Trends?

[mik colin]

Currently most of android app devs steal ios apps functionality.

 

[EarlyMon]

Currently most of android app devs steal ios apps functionality.

Yeah. No.

 

[nickdalzell]

I don't mind how lollipop looks, but there are annoyances and control taken from the user that count it out for me. The gesture to bring up the quick toggles I keep messing up and it goes right back to top again. The way the toggles vanish or get added on their own based on how often or not I use them doesn't give me the ability to set them my way and have then stick. Say I don't use the flashlight for a week. It vanishes and I need to go into settings and find a way to use it again. Not intuitive. The OS should take my commands, not make decisions for me.

Another gripe is the whole auto network switch. If you get a slow wifi connection it drops it and uses up my mobile data, and that cannot be disabled! It was a problem feature on Samsung back in Android 4.3 but Samsung gave the user the ability to turn that off.

I still prefer the TouchWiz used on the stock Note 3 and Galaxy S4. It remains the same so I can be assured it won't suddenly turn into an unfamiliar mess. It has an organic and inviting look I find nice and easy to approach. The white space and crap gestures in lollipop and Google apps turn me off. Perhaps I'm just the demographic that Samsung made TouchWiz for? I adore the nature sounds and earthy look. Campy? Maybe. But I enjoy using it and it works fine.

 

[Crashdamage]

There ya go, Nick...talking about the OS and looks. We've been told over and over...this thread is about APPS. And function.[emoji35]

Edit: OK, maybe that was a little harsh...

 

[fdbryant3]

Read, I have stated exact problems, with examples, in this thread, numerous times and consistently said that colour and shape is far less the issue.

I have given numerous examples, but everyone else keeps going back to colour. I don't know how to make it any more clear without redundantly restating everything I already said. Not to mention, I even titled the thread APP DESIGN (not OS design).

I am trying to talk about app development trends and everyone is going on about "I like colours and circles" or "I like new [insert OS feature that has nothing to do with actual apps]".

I am not talking about the core OS or OS functions. I am talking about APP design in general in the Material system. Not the OS, not new features of the standard OS (like notifications changes), but the APPS. APPS APPS APPS (third-party or Google apps).

Example, placing everything in an app into a single view with little to no differentiation between elements except by adding a little extra whitespace.

It is simple why people keep going to color and shapes instead of the design trends you want to talk about. Most people don't have a problem with it. At worst they are indifferent and at best they feel it is an improvement. There is a minority.....no wait minority is to large a description......a niche of people that feel like you do that the new design trends are step backwards and thus inefficient.

Don't know what to tell you, you don't like it - most people do though (or probably more accurately just don't care long as they get what they need done). The good news is that much like fashion these things are cyclical. Barring some major advancement in input options give it 2 or 3 years and some "new" trend like 3d or skeumorphism will be the in thing again. You can probably trace it to the dominant trend whatever it was during a future lead developers formative programming years.

Also as to why people are going to the OS instead of apps is because as far as I can tell design guidelines are set more or less by the OS developer - which is why Material Design was introduced at Google I/O. The OS is fundamentally setting the design language for consistency and performance on the platform. Sure you probably have a lot of poorly implemented trends but it is a new thing.......give it a year for them to practice and get good with it. A which point it will probably change again.

 

[nickdalzell]

All i know is it's becoming a large PITA to find non-flattened non-material apps these days. I wanted to reinstall a popular and neat Google Now-style search/assistant app called Sherpa Beta Assistant. every single app store (Amazon, 1Mobile, Play, etc) wanted to use that crap updated flattened version, called Sherpa Next. I wanted my familiar app i used a couple years back, NOT the updated version. Not only does the updated version look hideous, the icon doesn't conform to the 3-D level of the TouchWiz apps icons, and that bugs me too. the updated app is also three times the original's size.

I had to spend one hour or so on the browser to find an APK repo with the original version. it's bad enough the OSs get flattened but must apps and websites do it too? before long my preference will not be possible. and i refuse to use flat design. i was glad to see it go after the 1990s ended and sure don't want a regression back to that dark era!

I also had to spend another two hours on websites and APK repos to find the old first-version Google Play apps, such as the original Play Books, which feels far more up-to-date than the new one, with its awesome 3D library view, menu button support, better app icon. I also located the first version of Angry Birds, the first YouTube app, and all work fine. need root though as you need to remove the versions in /system/app first, it won't let you replace them with older versions but must it be this hard and long-winded to have the version you prefer? why not offer that option (download older versions) in the app markets themselves?

 

[GuitarG20]

Probably the reason that app stores don't give the option is that they don't want to confuse people. It's all well and good that you can (and are willing to) take the time to find the old APKs because you want them. But in general, if you add the option to download the old version of an app to a store, people will just get confused and frustrated. The majority of users want a single button that will get them the newest version.

Also, old versions may have security issues or bugs. And while I'm sure app store systems save old versions of apps for record keeping, I bet it would take a lot more infrastructure to make all of them available for download.

 

[funkylogik]

Think your best bet is to keep titanium backups of all the apps you're happy with incase you update and don't like them Nick

 

[Slug]

I wanted to reinstall a popular and neat Google Now-style search/assistant app called Sherpa Beta Assistant. every single app store (Amazon, 1Mobile, Play, etc) wanted to use that crap updated flattened version, called Sherpa Next.

Why are you blaming the app stores? It was the developer who updated the app, so go complain to him for doing so.

I wanted my familiar app i used a couple years back, NOT the updated version.

Then do what the rest of us do, and keep a backup of the previous version(s) so that we can revert if we find issues.

must it be this hard and long-winded to have the version you prefer? why not offer that option (download older versions) in the app markets themselves?

Because the package name would have to be different for each version, thereby breaking the seamless update mechanism for the vast majority of users who don't have your unique problems.

 

[nickdalzell]

The dev isn't at fault. there is simply no way to implement an option in the app description to show old versions to download. that's on Google and the Play Store, not the dev. problem is that if the app is a user app, updating it by mistake only gives you the choice to uninstall, not downgrade, unlike a system app, where 'uninstall updates' is available. newer isn't always better--some updates break things, or remove a feature some of us may like to keep, or change the UI to a hideous mess. there should be easier ways to either downgrade or locate the older version. Also, i'm not alone here. the fact the repos exist prove that not everyone likes or needs the updated version. updated apps might not work as well, use more RAM or have bugs. sometimes the adage 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' should apply. An ebook reader, for example, should do one thing and do it well. read ebooks, offer features like bookmarks and sync. if that is working 100% why on earth would there be any need to change the UI, add in tons of garbage services and break a feature or two? sometimes devs should know when to quit.

Backing up the older version may be well and good--but let's assume for a moment that the app is on the system folder of an old phone such as a ZTE Merit, and maybe i couldn't root the device. how do i rip the APK from it? let's assume also i disabled app updates in the Play Store, so i have used the same version on the Merit for a year or so, satisfied it worked perfectly fine.

Now later on i decide to update to a Galaxy Note 3, and it comes out of box with KitKat and the updated Google Apps. see the problem? i couldn't root the Merit i had previously due to difficulty rooting at the time, so how would i have been able to back up the specific apps in the first place?

 

[EarlyMon]

Yeah, seeing as how you have the solution on how to get the old apps in another thread, this is all moot and philosophical at this point.

Your problem is solved, others with the same preferences can read up on the tricks there, let's say we move back on topic.

 

[EarlyMon]

Moving back on topic does not mean - moving back on topic after we all get another last word.

Views noted, thread cleaned, and we're moving back on topic.

 

[nyydynasty]

if we're all giving our opinions, i agree with whoever said it before. I like MD and where its headed. I agree that the amount of users that dont like the functionality of MD is so small that Google is not concerned with them. The vast majority of users enjoy MD.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

Material Design is fine. It's Lollipop I'm not too crazy about.

 

[jb4kats]

I agree with you. It looks cheap. I am so disappointed in this update. I am trying to find a way to go back to Kitkat but the only way is to actually root and then try and get Sprint (store) to reinstall the kitkat OS but that would also mean bricking my phone but one tech at the store says that rooting is allowed and the only way they would go back to 4.4.4. Is to brick it but I'm a little apprehensive but I'm tempted to give it a try. I HATE LOLLIPOP!

 

[nickdalzell]

Lollipop isn't alone, since flat design became the standard (a standard that's over twenty years in the past with the Xerox Star and first Macintosh) apps, OS and websites have been conforming to it en masse and I agree it looks like something you'd see in elementary school computer labs.

It's not Lollipop's fault. Blame Microsoft for starting this regression with Windows 8. Ever since that happened Apple followed by Google took right after it.

 

[El Presidente]

I think MD done right it's ok.

Done badly it's horrible. The BBC app was great till it was designed materially, now it's a clumsy mess.

Slidelock, previously I could hit back and it would take me to the previous screen. Now, no matter where I am in the app, the back button exits the app completely.

Flipboard, QKSMS, The Destiny companion app are some that work really well.

 

[nickdalzell]

Most MD can look good true, it's the extra steps and too many gestures that count it out for me.

The new Gmail app is a horrendous mess. I keep deleting or opening messages by mistake so I rooted, removed and found a very early Gmail app to replace it, since I view check boxes to select individual mails easier and a delete button more Intuitive than swiping. (Also less smudging on the screen)

Google Play Books is a cluttered mess too, too many options and assumptions on what It thinks I like, an extra swipe and tap (pulling the sidebar out) to get to my library of books. If Google is about minimalism they should have stuck with the first Play Books app, the one with the library view as default and 3D representations of the books in your Google account, nothing else. Compare both and tell me which you prefer.

Change for the sake of change is always bad. Some apps are fine never needing an update. Play Books was fine in its first incarnation, not needing fixes. It did what it was meant to do and did it well, I still use that version. Sometimes it's best to know when to quit.

Of course, I'm dating myself. I still think NeXTStep was ahead of its time.

Then there are great examples of good implementation. The new Google+ app looks good and doesn't change much other than replacing the ugly bottom navbar for a floating action button. I'd appreciate the option to tap and hold and move it around, since it looking as if it's floating complete with a drop shadow Implies a movable object.

 

[funkylogik]

I agree with you. It looks cheap. I am so disappointed in this update. I am trying to find a way to go back to Kitkat but the only way is to actually root and then try and get Sprint (store) to reinstall the kitkat OS but that would also mean bricking my phone but one tech at the store says that rooting is allowed and the only way they would go back to 4.4.4. Is to brick it but I'm a little apprehensive but I'm tempted to give it a try. I HATE LOLLIPOP!

Samsung?

 

[nickdalzell]

Unless Samsung screwed TouchWiz with flat or pastel design I don't see how. I erred on the side of caution and deleted the firmware upgrade apk

Kitkat isn't broken. Why so many need change so often is beyond me, I'm perfectly happy to use what works.

 

[jb4kats]

Kitkat wasn't broken, you are correct. I didn't know the update was even coming yet but this was a new phone and only had it 2 days and the auto update was checked and I forgot to uncheck it. When the phone started auto updating my apps I stopped that but forgot about the system update, the most important one. I think they oft to make it possible to go back to a previous version, not everyone likes these changes and I'm like you, it looked nice before, why do they have to go messing things up? They did the same thing with Beautiful Widgets, they changed the whole platform and ruined it as fast as I'm concerned. I loved the old one. I'm still building up the nerve to root but does root give you the option to change colors and such or is it a waste of time?

 

[nickdalzell]

Why app stores can't also offer older versions, for he sake of compatibility at least, like apktop, is beyond me. Newer isn't always better. Some things just work and don't need to change, and should be traditions. Change for the sake of change is always a bad idea. And that is exactly what lollipop is. Google has simply run out of ideas for Android and uses iOS 7 as a template.

I went so far to root my devices and replace the system apps (Google apps mainly as I thought the Kitkat versions lacked the level of 3D I grown accustomed to) with older versions as well. The first version of Google Play Books is a great example of Google minimalism, yet in later versions it became cluttered and busy, taking two extra steps to get to your purchased book list. Why?

The old jelly bean era YouTube looked perfect as well, and i hated the extra step to back out of a video they added to the later versions vehemently. Before you got back to your search by simply hitting back. Now you hit back, and swipe out. Usability problem! I also thought the dark UI was better for the eyes, and for those with AMOLED displays, better for the screen and battery. Why must every site, app, OS look pastel and white?

If your apps work perfectly fine, I suggest not updating them. The new versions will embrace this hideous flat design/material design for the foreseeable future unless someone higher up decides to go back to the future again, and updates tax internal storage, have heavier demands, and likely full of new bugs or wakelocks.

 

[jb4kats]

I just want the old colors and look of previous 4.4.4. Other than that I see nothing drastically changed. Well, the pedometer does not show up on lock screen not does it keep count correctly but that is not a big deal to me. Just the look and color scheme of contacts and messaging to be specific.

 

[nickdalzell]

If TouchWiz changed with the update to 5.0 the only way I know of to downgrade is to use a older stock firmware and flash with ODIN.

Once that's done root the device and delete the fwupgrade.apk or sdm.apk from /system/app depending on your carrier

 

[Hadron]

I think MD done right it's ok.

Done badly it's horrible. The BBC app was great till it was designed materially, now it's a clumsy mess.

You see I don't think the problem there is "material", the problem is an incoherent, inconsistent layout.

The old app was a masterpiece of efficient design for a small screen - my only complaint was the relatively limited number of stories in each category. They could have made that more "material-like" without changing the essentials, but like many news organisations (Guardian, I'm looking at you!) they decided that promoting "trending" stories and video pieces was more important, resulting in an incoherent layout with jarring changes between categories or as you scroll down within most categories. But I do have more than one backup of the old .apk, as Slug says

If TouchWiz changed with the update to 5.0 the only way I know of to downgrade is to use a older stock firmware and flash with ODIN.

Once that's done root the device and delete the fwupgrade.apk or sdm.apk from /system/app depending on your carrier

But then you've got to hope your current device will last you until the fashion changes again, because there will be no way to install KK on a newer one.