Google Designer slams Windows 10 as outdated
Accusing Windows 10 of looking like a 10 year old operating system is rich coming from a guy who works for a company which produces a mobile OS which is comparatively no newer looking now than it was 7 years ago. Ok they haven't hit the 10 year mark yet. But time won't change anything.
Both OSs have of course changed in many ways in those timeframes. UIs have been tweaked, design standards evolved and tons of functionality under the hood from digital assistants to notification centers. But, the day to day user experience on these platforms hasn't really received anything more than a slight touch up. The same goes for iOS.
As a designer it should be much more frustrating that he can't make any meaningful changes within his own companies product. But, more than likely all designers employed by these companies believe they truly are making changes and feel their changes ARE revolutionary while those of their counterparts aren't.
To deepen the irony, the designer said that he liked the direction with Windows 8. This is amusing because Google probably has access to more data explaining why Windows 8 failed with consumers than anyone. And, it is that exact same reason why Windows 10 is so similar to XP and why Android 5.0 is so similar to 1.0 and why iOS whatever # we're on now is so similar to the original. People can't handle change.
Long ago I argued that Apple had abandoned planned obsolescence when the iPad and iPhone were successful. Sure, hardware changes. But they don't force devs to start from scratch and so devs continue targeting old hardware for increasingly longer periods of time. Before the iPhone it was unimaginable that any sizable number of the Apple user base would be using a device more than 1 generation old. When they did true planned obsolescence it wasn't just the hardware that became outdated with each product cycle, it was EVERYTHING about the product.
With success being driven by an app store, Apple could no longer afford to start completely from scratch each time. And neither can Google. Or Microsoft.
These days I know people who still run iPhone 4Ss. That is FIVE hardware refreshes old (5 -> 5S -> 6 -> 6S)... AND I know people who are considering trying to pick up a used 4S to replace their current one when it dies. Yeah! They really feel like that ancient device is outdated *sarcasm*.
A look at the Android OS level fragmentation tells a similar story. Since most Android devices don't get many updates, OS fragmentation can give some insight into how motivated people are to get the latest. Which is to say, they aren't.
For this reason all of these platforms are maintaining support for years old apps and by extension UX because they need to appease developers to appease the consumers.
In other words. I whole heartedly agree. Windows 10 is not substantively differentiated from Windows XP. But then, neither is any other successful OS that has been around for a decade substantively different from when it became popular.
And, if we hadn't had enough irony, Microsoft is the only one of those 3 who ever so much as tried to actually break that cycle. Consumers revolted and gave birth to Windows 10 as a result.
Both OSs have of course changed in many ways in those timeframes. UIs have been tweaked, design standards evolved and tons of functionality under the hood from digital assistants to notification centers. But, the day to day user experience on these platforms hasn't really received anything more than a slight touch up. The same goes for iOS.
As a designer it should be much more frustrating that he can't make any meaningful changes within his own companies product. But, more than likely all designers employed by these companies believe they truly are making changes and feel their changes ARE revolutionary while those of their counterparts aren't.
To deepen the irony, the designer said that he liked the direction with Windows 8. This is amusing because Google probably has access to more data explaining why Windows 8 failed with consumers than anyone. And, it is that exact same reason why Windows 10 is so similar to XP and why Android 5.0 is so similar to 1.0 and why iOS whatever # we're on now is so similar to the original. People can't handle change.
Long ago I argued that Apple had abandoned planned obsolescence when the iPad and iPhone were successful. Sure, hardware changes. But they don't force devs to start from scratch and so devs continue targeting old hardware for increasingly longer periods of time. Before the iPhone it was unimaginable that any sizable number of the Apple user base would be using a device more than 1 generation old. When they did true planned obsolescence it wasn't just the hardware that became outdated with each product cycle, it was EVERYTHING about the product.
With success being driven by an app store, Apple could no longer afford to start completely from scratch each time. And neither can Google. Or Microsoft.
These days I know people who still run iPhone 4Ss. That is FIVE hardware refreshes old (5 -> 5S -> 6 -> 6S)... AND I know people who are considering trying to pick up a used 4S to replace their current one when it dies. Yeah! They really feel like that ancient device is outdated *sarcasm*.
A look at the Android OS level fragmentation tells a similar story. Since most Android devices don't get many updates, OS fragmentation can give some insight into how motivated people are to get the latest. Which is to say, they aren't.
For this reason all of these platforms are maintaining support for years old apps and by extension UX because they need to appease developers to appease the consumers.
In other words. I whole heartedly agree. Windows 10 is not substantively differentiated from Windows XP. But then, neither is any other successful OS that has been around for a decade substantively different from when it became popular.
And, if we hadn't had enough irony, Microsoft is the only one of those 3 who ever so much as tried to actually break that cycle. Consumers revolted and gave birth to Windows 10 as a result.
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