Latest news with #UIredesign
Phone Arena
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Phone Arena
Yes, the redesign is bad. But have you tried using Android Auto without it crashing?
Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot, as the one and only Charlie Chaplin once said. That's how I feel about the latest Android Auto update that got so many people agitated: Android Auto's new look is here, but not everyone's on board "Not everyone's on board" is the politically correct way to describe emotions over at the "Horrible UI redesign" Reddit thread at the Android Auto subreddit (hence the AA abbreviation).But how much of a tragedy are we speaking about here? What has changed so drastically that got people fuming with anger? As it turns out, it's just a design touch-up that changes the following when listening to music: A gray background now replaces the sampling of the album art The seekbar is relocated and looks shorter than before Which results in a display with way too much empty space, small, unpractical playback buttons and a dull background – that's what people who don't like it say about quite honestly, they're not lying. Image by Google That may be just me, but I think that when you're driving, it's great to have your eyes on the road ahead, behind and sideways simultaneously. It's great to be alive, let's keep it that way. That being said, it's of vital importance to me to listen to music while driving. Now, how do we combine driving safely (with eyes exclusively on the road) and the option to play, pause and change tracks at the same time?But, of course, by all means – let's have as much dead space on the media player screen! Why bother putting large, easy to operate buttons? What's more, why not change the way things look – and not for any practical reason, but just out of curiosity? If people don't like it, we'll surely listen to their feedback and revert things to the way they last part was a bit sarcastic, to be honest. But you know what I'm talking was the close-up. If we change perspectives – and take a few steps back – it's a different picture altogether. Top is before and bottom is after. | Image credit — @Adil15101 At the end of the day, it's a background that no longer mimics the colors of the album art we're dealing with here. No more pink, blue, orange colors – just a plain gray background. We're not talking about the music player suddenly crashing, or static noise coming out of the a fine line between getting angry about things that are worth getting angry about and situations where our angst is futile, and we end up hurting ourselves and not "the enemy".The only solution I can think of right now (maybe this will change in the future) is to get aggravated about the things we don't like (let's raise our voices!), but certainly not to get carried away and overinvest our emotions and – most importantly – our time. We have to bash our heads against the wall, but we've got to know when to do it and when to terms of Android Auto, this should mean that everyone who dislikes this new update, should make their opinion known to Google. Whether Big Tech would pay you and me any attention is another matter. Image by Google Habits do define and form our opinions. For example, I prefer gray/black backgrounds and find the color-adapting background mode lacking in taste. But, hey, that's just me. That's probably because I'm used to having gray/black monochrome backgrounds on my gadgets' is, I suspect people will just adjust and adapt to new design (if a miracle doesn't happen and Google reverts things back to the way they were). It's in our nature, for good or there are real AA (Android Auto) concerns – far more severe than a background's color or the position of a one quick glance at the Android Auto subreddit reveals all kinds of horrors. For example, one recurring challenge involves wireless connectivity failures and unexpected phone reboots. These problems seem tied to updates 13.4 and 13.5, deployed in January and February. Several Reddit users described situations where their phones restarted during calls, while streaming music, or even when the device was addition to these wireless complications, users have reported problems invoking Google Assistant via Android Auto. Commands triggered by voice or steering wheel prompts cause the audio to stop momentarily, but the assistant fails to process the command and the system immediately resumes playing music. Typical troubleshooting steps – such as clearing cache or reinstalling the app –have not consistently resolved the issue highlighted in Reddit discussions involves frequent connection drops, occurring both over wireless setups and USB cables. Some users report that their Android Auto system connects for a short period – sometimes just minutes – before disconnecting. This happens regardless of cable type or phone model. So, as much as I hate when companies make unnecessary design changes (why alter something if it works?) and throw us back to the adapting and adjusting stage, I can't ignore the other pressing AA issues. If, however, this minor design change will help Google in any way to make things more stable and less prone to connectivity issues, then and only then the new dull outlook would be worth it. Time will tell!
Phone Arena
11-06-2025
- Phone Arena
Liquid Glass on iOS 26 is stunning, it also sucks
We had countless reports that Apple wouldn't talk about AI much at this year's WWDC ( Worldwide Developers Conference ), focusing instead on a complete UI redesign. That turned out to be true, and we got our first look at iOS 26 and its meticulously designed Liquid Glass overhaul. This redesign is, at least in technical terms, quite stunning. The execution, however, leaves a lot to be desired. Apple shows off Liquid Glass for its operating systems. | Video credit — Apple When Apple went into the details of how it created Liquid Glass for iOS 26 , all I could think was that this looked amazing. The craftsmanship here is brilliant, and the company has genuinely put a ton of effort into this example, the glass-based elements across the UI don't just show whatever's hiding behind them, that would have been super easy to do. Instead, Liquid Glass tabs and menus refract the light of the objects behind them, just like real glass would. Apple showed us how it had crafted app icons with actual glass in its design labs to better study how light would bounce off of their unique all technical aspects, Liquid Glass is a marvel of digital engineering. I keep seeing iOS 26 in motion and I keep thinking, 'wow!' Comparing Liquid Glass with Windows Vista or custom Android skins is doing a disservice to just how brilliantly Apple's redesign is is why it's a massive shame that it sucks so much. Liquid Glass on iOS 26. | Image credit — PhoneArena As soon as iPhone users installed the iOS 26 Beta, reports of Liquid Glass and its failures started pouring in across social media. I would have shared some of those posts if the moderators of those communities weren't working overtime to remove all of them. Simply put, Apple's new design needs time in the oven, a lot more time. Menus and other elements that feature text fail to adapt properly to their background, often leading to issues with legibility. Contrast is all over the place and has made notifications almost impossible to decipher. Lastly, whenever there's too many Liquid Glass buttons or menus on the screen at the same time, it leads to a confusing and jumbled up mess. Which entirely defeats the purpose of why Apple made Liquid Glass. The refraction in Liquid Glass is great. | Image credit — Apple I personally think that there is a lot that Apple has done right with iOS 26 . For example, the improvements to the Camera and Phone apps, with the former being a lot less cluttered now. The lock screen also looks pretty neat, when it's not messing up all of your notifications, of course. Unfortunately, Liquid Glass needs a lot of work. Thankfully, iOS 26 is only out as a Beta at the moment, and Apple has months to perfect the new redesign before the public release in fall. This means that some of the stunning new effects on the virtual elements will likely need to be toned down, which is a bummer because they're genuinely very pretty. The level of translucency across Liquid Glass will probably also need to be tweaked, and iOS 26 may actually end up resembling Windows Vista after all. Apple executive Craig Federighi pointed out that the company has been experimenting with translucent elements since iOS 7. It's a shame that they weren't able to perfect it in time for this overhaul. Lastly, even if Liquid Glass looked just as perfect as Apple had intended, it would have still needed to be changed. There have been multiple reports that all of the fancy effects are taking a toll on the processing, and iOS 26 is a laggy experience for many iPhone users. And I haven't even mentioned how iOS 26 is apparently the buggiest Beta in years. Fair warning: this is the buggiest beta 1 in 12 years. — Mark Gurman (@markgurman) June 9, 2025 Apple has recently had a string of bad software updates, and it needed to really pull it together for WWDC. In a way, it did. I enjoyed the in-depth look at Liquid Glass and I can see the vision that the company has. But the bugginess and lack of quality control is, unfortunately, expected at this point.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Netflix (NFLX) Overhauls TV Experience With Global UI Rollout
Netflix (NFLX, Financials) is giving its TV app a major makeover. The update, rolling out globally over the next few months, is built to help users find something to watchfaster and more intuitively. There's no revenue figure tied to the redesign, but it could help Netflix improve how long people stay on the appand what they choose to watch next. The revamped homepage now shows a big banner right up top with a recommended title. Scroll down and you'll see rows like Your Next Watch or Only on Netflix, all based on what you've seen, searched, or even which trailers you've clicked. Content tiles are getting labels like Emmy Award Winner or Recently Added to give users more context before hitting play. Netflix also moved its navigation barwhat used to be tucked to the side is now placed across the top for easier browsing. The redesign isn't just about looks. It's meant to lay the groundwork for where Netflix is heading next: live programming and TV-streamed games. Both are areas the company is quietly investing in, and this interface gives it room to highlight them front and center. The company is also using more personalized data signals. For example, if a viewer searches for rom coms and Glenn Powell, the homepage could dynamically shift to highlight both. On mobile, a TikTok-style vertical video feed is also being testedanother sign Netflix is experimenting with how people discover content. This UI refresh may seem cosmetic, but it signals a deeper bet: that a smarter, cleaner interface will keep Netflix ahead in a crowded streaming landscape. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
