Is "Metro" dying already?

[AngryNil]

What this proves is, is that Metro can't always do the job.

This is a wake up call for those who have interpreted Metro far too narrowly. Metro isn't pivot and panorama. Those are templates for certain apps for a specific form factor for Metro. In many ways, the new Facebook app is not far from Metro at all, and could be a great example of it with a few minor tweaks. Facebook's aesthetic has in fact flattened out recently. At its core, Metro hasn't failed – but Microsoft has, by failing to provide much guidance for expanding Metro past those two templates from 2010.

 

[nessinhaw]

This is a wake up call for those who have interpreted Metro far too narrowly. Metro isn't pivot and panorama. Those are templates for certain apps for a specific form factor for Metro. In many ways, the new Facebook app is not far from Metro at all, and could be a great example of it with a few minor tweaks. Facebook's aesthetic has in fact flattened out recently. At its core, Metro hasn't failed ? but Microsoft has, by failing to provide much guidance for expanding Metro past those two templates from 2010.

100% agreed! pplz are too close-minded when it comes to Metro...if it's not X nor Y then it isn't Modern UI lol

it doesen't work that way! the old one is beautiful but for a heavy feature app like FB it just doesen't work properly!
and our app is still different, only the blind close-minded ones can't see Metro in it!

it's funny when MS finally deliver a decent FB app, an app that WORKS, everyone is crying about design lol

i just hope MS won't add back the huge banner image...it's pretty but not functional :/

 

[Villain]

This new facebook already tops the old facebook app... which was an embarrassing kinda working mess.


I love the metro look BUT I also don't mind seeing a bit of flavor and styles... do you like private school uniforms or military where everything is uniform and standardized?

btw... I think this app looks metro enough

 

[Gaichuke]

Metro isn't pivot and panorama.

This, this and once more this.

 

[MrSean490]

it's funny when MS finally deliver a decent FB app, an app that WORKS, everyone is crying about design lol

I love the new look of the app, it's heaps better -- I'm just saying the metro (as we know it on WP7) evidently isn't cut up for the job in all situations, especially data dense Facebook.

 

[abel920]

100% agreed! pplz are too close-minded when it comes to Metro...if it's not X nor Y then it isn't Modern UI lol

it doesen't work that way! the old one is beautiful but for a heavy feature app like FB it just doesen't work properly!
and our app is still different, only the blind close-minded ones can't see Metro in it!

This exactly! And it's driving me nuts! We're too close-minded to accept change and, and yet we wonder why our market-share sucks.

 

[Gaichuke]

I'm just saying the metro (as we know it on WP7) evidently isn't cut up for the job in all situations, especially data dense Facebook.

That's exactly the misconception we've been discussing here.

That Metro = panorama & pivot screens, which is absolutely false. The new FB app IS a Metro UI app, it just does not use the default navigation models the previous version used due to them not being optimal for a complex application like Facebook. So your statement of Metro not being cut up for the job is not correct.

 

[johninsj]

Facebook has their own "brand" UI, which they are melding with metro. I hardly see that as the death of metro.

 

[Dazzi]

100% agreed! pplz are too close-minded when it comes to Metro...if it's not X nor Y then it isn't Modern UI lol

it doesen't work that way! the old one is beautiful but for a heavy feature app like FB it just doesen't work properly!
and our app is still different, only the blind close-minded ones can't see Metro in it!

it's funny when MS finally deliver a decent FB app, an app that WORKS, everyone is crying about design lol

i just hope MS won't add back the huge banner image...it's pretty but not functional :/

I totally agree. I would rather have an app that functions properly (while having a mix of Metro Design), rather than a pretty full on Metro app that doesn't work.

Furthermore, for the people who don't like it, we still have the people hub. Therefore, I think Microsoft have done a good job of catering for everyone's needs.

I really appreciate what they are doing, and I think others should do too.

 

[Sanjay Chandra]

One of the bad things about Metro is screen waste.

Those big fonts at top of music app or Metrotube , waste lot of space.Too much scrolling.

I think MS must re-work on apps which have lists and same with devs.

 

[MrSean490]

That's exactly the misconception we've been discussing here.

That Metro = panorama & pivot screens, which is absolutely false. The new FB app IS a Metro UI app, it just does not use the default navigation models the previous version used due to them not being optimal for a complex application like Facebook. So your statement of Metro not being cut up for the job is not correct.

I've never seen a legit metro app that wasn't panaroma/pivot on WP. In the official developer IDE, that is all there is. What then officially is a metro app?

 

[Gaichuke]

I've never seen a legit metro app that wasn't panaroma/pivot on WP. In the official developer IDE, that is all there is. What then officially is a metro app?

Any application that follows the design principles of Metro, as simple as that. You can see all of those in effect when you look at the new FB app (except perhaps the typography not so much, but it's still a beta) The point is that panorama and pivot controls are not mentioned in those principles at all.

 

[Chris_Kez]

The new FB app IS a Metro UI app, it just does not use the default navigation models the previous version used due to them not being optimal for a complex application like Facebook.

pplz are too close-minded when it comes to Metro...if it's not X nor Y then it isn't Modern UI lol
...and our app is still different, only the blind close-minded ones can't see Metro in it!/

Alright, serious question here for anyone that has the Android or iOS Facebook app: Aside from the "flat" look, are there any design and/or UI/navigation elements that make the WP Facebook Beta app different from the iOS or Android versions? I did a quick comparison on my iPhone 4 and these apps seem >95% the same. Some minor differences:

• Flat style
• Being able to swipe through the center icons (once activated)
• iOS has no visible icon for Chat section, though it is in the same place
• iOS version includes some extra options within most areas (e.g. filter timeline view; chat has on/off button and "New Message" button that let's you add multiple people; left bar includes an option for creating groups; etc.

I imagine WP will get a few more tweaks, but without doing a really deep functional comparison of all features/aspects/uses, I'm just not seeing any real difference here.

On the Android side, I've only seen screenshots but that app looks nearly identical to the WP version. Are there any differences at all there?

 

[ammarmalik2011]

Metro wastes a lot of space. Do you have any idea how much more content is now visible on the Facebook app now that they've gotten rid of the Metro UI? You can't sacrifice functionality over form by using insanely sized headers that take up half the screen. Metro looks good on apps that don't require a lot of intricately written data, for example a weather app. But for something like a stocks app or even LinkedIn, Metro is nothing but a hindrance. Don't believe me? Go check out the LinkedIn app for iOS/Android and compare it with what's on Windows Phone. Windows Phone shows a lot less data on screen compared to iOS just because it's using Metro UI. The 'prettiness' of Metro is very short lived, at the end you just want the damn app to do its job well.

 

[DonnaxNL]

I was bored to read the whole thread, but I have also something to say.

The switch from Metro UI styled Facebook app to cross design app is perfect. I know it doesn't make the Windows Phone version special, it wasn't already because it has less features (like sharing and mentioning).
If people want the Metro UI in it, than I think of a mix: the banner image (want I began to like) with the timeline/overall features of the iOS/Android version.
Come on, if I want to like a status, I don't want to click on the '+'-sign and then the like button. Just bam, Like! (one press) and reading further.

 

[Gaichuke]

Alright, serious question here for anyone that has the Android or iOS Facebook app: Aside from the "flat" look, are there any design and/or UI/navigation elements that make the WP Facebook Beta app different from the iOS or Android versions?

Why should it matter if it resembles the iOS or Android versions? FB is a product and Facebook has definitely wanted to make the iOS and Android apps look similar, so why should WP be any different from that? They have a clear vision of what their product should look like and they want it to be consistent across the platforms.

 

[AngryNil]

Metro wastes a lot of space. Do you have any idea how much more content is now visible on the Facebook app now that they've gotten rid of the Metro UI? You can't sacrifice functionality over form by using insanely sized headers that take up half the screen.

Nowhere is Metro defined by oversized headers.

 

[Gaichuke]

The switch from Metro UI styled Facebook app

If people want the Metro UI in it

Good grief. There is no switch away from Metro. There is no "cross design" in effect.

THE NEW FB DESIGN IS METRO. IT JUST DOES NOT USE PANORAMA OR PIVOT SCREENS.

 

[DonnaxNL]

Good grief. There is no switch away from Metro. There is no "cross design" in effect.

THE NEW FB DESIGN IS METRO. IT JUST DOES NOT USE PANORAMA OR PIVOT SCREENS.

With 'cross design' I meant the design is on iOS, Android and WP the same, and you know it is. The WP is more flat and even iOS and Android versions differ, but the basic idea of for example the bar and the menu are the same.

With the Metro UI most people think about the big typography which the Facebook (and Twitter) app haven't anymore.

 

[rockstarzzz]

OP: did it ever occur to you that, with this beta, they are trying to make things work fine first? The style adjustment would come later.

Anyway, let me say this: people's priority is for something that just WORKS. The "yays" you've mentioned were surely for being able to enjoy a *functional* Facebook app, an opposite experience from the current official app.

Ps: that banner is a waste of space, glad it's not there in the beta.

It never works that way. You can't lay out your app and keep building on your beta and then decide you will move your elements around drastically. Beta is only beta for the functions that may or may not work. The design is highly unlikely to change. I've not seen any beta come out as something totally different in looks. Will be happy to stand corrected on this though!

This is a wake up call for those who have interpreted Metro far too narrowly. Metro isn't pivot and panorama. Those are templates for certain apps for a specific form factor for Metro. In many ways, the new Facebook app is not far from Metro at all, and could be a great example of it with a few minor tweaks. Facebook's aesthetic has in fact flattened out recently. At its core, Metro hasn't failed ? but Microsoft has, by failing to provide much guidance for expanding Metro past those two templates from 2010.

The whole idea and selling point of WP was - everything looks like the phone OS - when you are in and out of the app there are ways and design that makes you feel like you never entered an app, it feels like it's all within the system i.e. look, feel, navigation etc like system app. By getting rid of pivots, huge panorama, banner etc - compare this to People hub (where social aspect of OS lies). I would have imagined FB being a social app, will look more like People Hub in near future.

One of the bad things about Metro is screen waste.

Those big fonts at top of music app or Metrotube , waste lot of space.Too much scrolling.

I think MS must re-work on apps which have lists and same with devs.

What you call waste fits totally with the design ideology. If anyone who has been long enough with WP remembers, those big titles and those endless panoramas were touted as design that doesn't bother your content. There is always something peeping at you from your right hand corner suggesting intuitively that there is more content - scroll the panorama and then there is more and more and more! No arrows, no fiddle buttons on the screen - all we have is content. That is Metro to me. That was Metro and that will explain why pivots and panoramas are KEY in Metro!

Right now in beta - you scroll nowhere! You swipe from left and swipe from right, that's all! There is no design telling me there is more content, where is my intuitiveness?

Also, anyone telling me that Metro design wasn't good enough for function rich Facebook is totally under estimating Metro! What has design got to do with how an app functions? Whatever code is required to function can still run, the look of the app will be different.