You know, I often write that we need new operating systems with a completely different interface. Android and iOS are terribly bored, as are Windows, macOS and Linux. All these systems remain as they were at the stage of their inception. The main idea of the operating system is to provide the user with an environment for working with programs. Access to applications is carried out in any system in the form of an icon with an inscription. And this concept of user interfaces has haunted us for years. One could have expected something different, but now I understand that we have become hostages of the situation, and it is unlikely that Android and iOS will ever change.
Why Android and iOS will never change dramatically
Not so long ago, I reviewed the Before Launcher. So, after that, I really decided to use a minimalistic launcher for a while, the main screen of which looks like this:
Before Launcher surprises with its simple and convenient
Unfortunately, less than a day later, I returned to the standard launcher Xiaomi again. And the whole point is that I'm simply used to it, and it's more convenient for me to interact with familiar desktops. This has happened more than once when using various devices, and the only phone that seemed convenient to me in this matter is, perhaps, HTC Mozart on Windows Phone. But here it is worth considering that the system was not much different from Android. There was a list of all applications with icons, and the desktop, although it seemed very different, still offered tiles by analogy with application icons.
But what is to be done? Will manufacturers be able to come up with something different? I doubt very much, because for 10 years now we have been using operating systems that are very similar to each other. iOS and Android are the most successful systems on the market. If you put them side by side, there won't be much difference between them. This only says one thing – in their current form, these systems are probably optimal in terms of user interface, and it is unlikely that in the future we will see something different from desktops with application icons.
And if in the case of updating applications there are no strong problems, then the operating system is something more, you cannot just take and radically change something. That is why Google and Apple at this stage are more likely to implement new features on top of current capabilities. Even if we take iOS 7, the system, although for many, has become radically different, but nothing has changed in terms of experience. Apple just updated the visuals, leaving everything else in its place. The same applies to Android – as it was from the first version, so it remains conceptually, Google only adds new functions and improves the design.
conclusions
From all this, I can only come to one conclusion – it is unlikely that we will ever be able to observe an update that will radically change the main screen Android or iOS. Apple and Google just won't dare to change their products too much because everyone is used to them.
VK, for example, recently updated its design, and officially only 70% liked it. This is not such a big figure, and it only means one thing – a certain percentage of people out of those 30% will simply refuse to use the social network application.
Habit is the worst quality of a person, it prevents products from getting better. Modern operating systems, be they iOS or Windows, have become hostages of user habits. How to deal with this? I have no answer to this question.
Perhaps you can answer it. Share your opinion in the comments and don't forget about our Telegram chat.