Liam PentonJul 10, 2025
Marco Arment

Alan Dye doesn’t design UI.

He hides it.
https://mastodon.macstories.net/@viticci/114829148037318202

Federico Viticci :ticciseal: (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image The more time I spend with Liquid Glass, the more I don't understand Alan Dye's and the design team's obsession with minimizing UI chrome and "prioritizing content" instead. With collapsed tab bars in iOS 26, it now takes me two taps to switch between Library and Music. Is that…better? The animations are gorgeous, sure. But does it actually *work* better? 🤔

MacStories on Mastodon
Jul 10, 2025 at 2:25pmIvory for iOS
Show threadchris overcashJul 10, 2025
@marcoarment @viticci it’s like a bad Dye job…
Show threadFreediverXJul 10, 2025
@marcoarment @viticci
Alan Dye's elevator pitch for UI design.
Show threadNic GoodmanJul 10, 2025
@marcoarment @viticci I don’t mind the approach in some places but damn sometimes it’s just annoying. Like I use tabs in safari a lot as well as private browsing so I can test new web builds and it used to be 1 tap to access tabs/private browsing mode, now in the default UI it’s like 3. Granted there are UI options now for safari that restores the balance but damn, the fact that you need to provide that as an option just proves the point that minimalism/hiding UI isn’t always a great direction.
Show threadChancerubbageJul 10, 2025

@marcoarment @viticci

I want a device to make my life more convenient. Not a Chinese puzzle box.

Show threadhooliewsJul 10, 2025
@marcoarment "They won't know I don't know how to designUIs if there's no UI."
Show threadJosh RiversJul 10, 2025
@marcoarment I wouldn’t get worked up about it. I mean, I agree with you, but most people don’t care and in a couple years most folks will just consider it normal. Technological enthusiasts will just get more and more marginalized and it will all become expected.
Show threadFreediverXJul 10, 2025
@joshrivers @marcoarment
And with every step away from good UI design, Apple further erodes the separation between their products and those of their competitors.
Show threadMatthew ScharfJul 10, 2025

@marcoarment ironically this quote from Jony Ive introducing iOS 7 is still perfect:

“True simplicity is derived from so much more than just the absence of clutter and ornamentation. It's about bringing order to complexity.”

Show threadTito CiuroJul 12, 2025
@scharf_10 @torb @marcoarment Yeah. Somebody didn’t get the memo.
Show threadMario Ocasio 🇵🇷Jul 10, 2025
@marcoarment Same as hiding the camera icon in iMessages… 🙄
Show threadJeroenJul 11, 2025

@marcoarment
Alan Dye sucks.

He is ruining it, and has been for years. Now it seems he can do what he wants without being kept in check. Nobody seems to question his decisions.
Fact is: he is just not a good designer.

Show threadJeroenJul 11, 2025
@marcoarment
Tell me, what time is it?
It is time for Alan Dye to go.
Show threadJochen MarschallJul 26, 2025
@marcoarment @viticci
We have the biggest displays with the highest pixel density computers have ever provided. Yet we are shown the least amount of information ever.
Why tf can I not see (and cannot change settings to see) the time of events in list view in the phone app, the FaceTime app, or in Mail on any Apple device these days (also Teams on Windows)???