Do you like the new OneDrive UI (v4.4.0.0)

[twint7787]

I don't doubt it. I'm more than willing to deal with WP's deficiencies so I can enjoy the unique UI and benefit from all the attention paid to creating an excellent UX through consistent, well-thought-out design. If MS starts turning the core WP apps into Android look-alikes then I see no real upside to WP compared to the competition.

This is what I am saying. Then we are going to live in a weird world where our messaging/email/calendar apps are metro, but OneDrive/Office/OneNote are Android spin offs? No thanks.

 

[Squachy]

Ehh it looks the same except for the header menu. The old one had gigantic header text which the entire space was replaced by a big blank blue header with the hamburger menu and icons below it. The icons below it does the same thing as the previous gigantic header text, but the hamburger menu seems to...do the same thing as the header text so theres some redundancy there. To me it looks like they combined the android hamburger menu with some revised Metro UI to get this Frankenstein design that tries to do both at the same time....
Metro itself could do away with the hamburger menu IMO. They could either keep the icons or change them to smaller text whichever seems better (look at some other apps like the bing apps to see the smaller text used, and office app to see enourmous office logo and big header text take up half the screen the old way of metro used to do).

 

[colinkiama]

In my opinion they should put search back in the app bar. Kill the hamburger button. Bring back the pivots but the text must be the smaller 8.1 font and finally the grey bar should be kept there to choose between business and personal. The icons would probably be like a suitcase and an outline of a person maybe. I wish someone could actually do a concept for me

 

[colinkiama]

Tbh though the app isn't that bad. Maybe the grey bar needs to be changed maybe

 

[Mellifluous]

I don't mind the hamburger button. The overall design of the app has changed little and the hamburger button does not mean WP is getting more Android-esque. The hamburger is something that has been implemented in apps and websites regardless of os - it is obviously considered a good standard and I don't see why we need kick up a fuss about it. If WP got ios/Android type screen icons or other core design ideas it would be another matter, but this is obviously just Microsoft incorporating a design which aids navigation and which helps make their apps be more uniform. That way, a user who comes to WP from another os won't see huge differences.

 

[Connor Price]

Equal in functionality and features, not in looks. Otherwise why buy one in the first place? Is it ok to ditch live tiles just so WP can gain parity with the competition? The UI is pretty much all WP has going for it now, remove that and there is no reason for the platform to even exist, especially with the current app situation which Microsoft themselves aren't helping.

Yeah, I do understand. However, the more minimalistic flat design is obviously where Microsoft is going. The Facebook app is like this, quite a lot of Microsoft apps are looking like this, Windows 8 apps look like this and so on. Personally, I don't mind it. But I like the flat look of material design, so maybe that's why.

 

[iamakii]

It's an Android app tbh.

 

[Michael Alan Goff]

I'm wondering if there would be the same outcry if Microsoft had created the hamburger menu and were switching to the ellipsis that Google used? Hypothetical scenario, obviously.

 

[anon(5789608)]

Why is nobody whining about the hamburger button in the OneNote app on iOS? Why WP is not allowed to have these "hamburgers"? Why are all the WP fanboys supposed to shout their pain about UI change..?

As long as the app keeps being the same or more productive, I will be very happy with it. I bought my Windows Phone not because of three dots definitely.

Because is on iOS, not on WP. Guidelines are different.

 

[Wam1q]

I'm wondering if there would be the same outcry if Microsoft had created the hamburger menu and were switching to the ellipsis that Google used? Hypothetical scenario, obviously.

The Hamburger is on the far top left... It makes navigation difficult. The bottom app bar and the ellipsis menu are ideal positions for options, settings, etc.

 

[Wam1q]

I don't mind the hamburger button. The overall design of the app has changed little and the hamburger button does not mean WP is getting more Android-esque. The hamburger is something that has been implemented in apps and websites regardless of os - it is obviously considered a good standard and I don't see why we need kick up a fuss about it. If WP got ios/Android type screen icons or other core design ideas it would be another matter, but this is obviously just Microsoft incorporating a design which aids navigation and which helps make their apps be more uniform. That way, a user who comes to WP from another os won't see huge differences.

The Hamburger doesn't aid navigation... It's on the far top left! The app bar at the bottom and the ellipsis menu are ideal for navigation. And you mean they should make it familiar for users of other OS's switching to WP (which not many are doing anyways) and alienate their current users... Like how would a WP user know where are the settings (since they are not in the ellipsis menu now)?

 

[colinkiama]

The Hamburger doesn't aid navigation... It's on the far top left! The app bar at the bottom and the ellipsis menu are ideal for navigation. And you mean they should make it familiar for users of other OS's switching to WP (which not many are doing anyways) and alienate their current users... Like how would a WP user know where are the settings (since they are not in the ellipsis menu now)?

Check the hamburger button Duhh. Are you trying to say windows phone users are stupid?

 

[Donny James]

Up in arms over a hamburger icon. Truly a First World Problem.

 

[Michael Alan Goff]

The Hamburger is on the far top left... It makes navigation difficult. The bottom app bar and the ellipsis menu are ideal positions for options, settings, etc.

For anyone with a normal sized phone, it isn't hard to use. For me, I use a giant phone and I just use two hands.

 

[jlzimmerman]

I do agree that the titles of the pivot screens are a bit too big. With that said, it's still better than the new look. It's a hint of one of the the things I don't like about Android: inconsistent design.

 

[Wam1q]

Up in arms over a hamburger icon. Truly a First World Problem.

BTW, I live in the Third World and I don't like it at all.

 

[Wam1q]

Check the hamburger button Duhh. Are you trying to say windows phone users are stupid?

Why should we have to change to make it easy for somebody else, when the change does nothing good for us? (This is not a change for the better... It is simply worse. The older implementation was better--for usability reasons. The setings option could easily be in the ellipsis menu along with the other redundant things. So no use for the Hamburger menu at all. It would have been perfectly fine with the old UI--with the headers made a bit smaller if some people don't like them)

 

[Wam1q]

For anyone with a normal sized phone, it isn't hard to use. For me, I use a giant phone and I just use two hands.

I have a Lumia 1020. I can easily navigate my phone single-handedly since I don't have to reach the top left corner (I am right-handed). Options, settings, etc., are all within easy reach in the app bar or the ellipsis menu paired with simple swipes between tabs/pages. This app simply breaks that consistency. (I couldn't figure out earlier that I could still swipe, because the text-headers were removed)

 

[a5cent]

The issue is not the hamburger button per se. That is missing the point. The issue is UI inconsistency. Granted, not everyone is equally bothered by breakdowns in the consistent use of design language, but many are. You need look no further than metro on the desktop, where many claimed the jarring differences between the two made their UX with W8 unbearable. On W8 however, anybody with a working understanding of file associations could fix most of that issue, so they'd never see a metro app on their PC again, but we can't do that on WP.

Worse, I don't think there is a form vs. functionality argument to be made here. There is literally nothing in the panel opened by that button, that is not redundant (navigating files, recent and shared views works fine without it) or just out of place in a metro app (clearly belongs in the app bar or ellipses menu). IOW, there is no feature/functionality this inconsistent approach enables that a metro based design could not achieve equally well or IMHO better. Finally, the blue area up top wastes even more space than a reasonably sized pivot header would (although I agree that on many displays those headers are just too big). In summary, this approach offers nothing that a metro app couldn't, but sacrifices design language consistency regardless. That is not a good trade to make.

So, why then? I suspect MS is building OneDrive as a cross platform app using Ximarin or something like it. That would allow them to develop one app for each of the three platforms for the price of one, and allow them to release it to all platforms on the same day...

If I'm speculating correctly, I would reluctantly/rationally understand MS' approach, but emotionally hate it.

 

[Jazmac]

Really, going up in arms and calling out MS on yet another trivial detail? There is just no pleasing this crowd.

MS goes left, everyone screams, outrages, calls treason, riots, etc.
MS goes right, ditto.
MS goes forward, double ditto.
MS does nothing, you guessed it : triple ditto.

FFS people, relax. Modern UI is great and lovely, but it may not be the absolute best solution for every, single, thing.

This new update is faster and more functional, I like it.

First world problems FTL.

Exactly. It feels like a nursery and everybody is wet and soiled..