Just saw this video of Android Lollipop. Is WP way behind?

[a5cent]

People on this website are in denial, hard.

Just because people don't agree with your view doesn't mean people are in denial. I could just as easily say you are in denial about the advantages of WP. It makes no sense. People enjoy/appreciate different things. That's why it's good we have choices. If Android was better at everything than WP, then you might have a point, but just the fact that Android is taking inspiration from WP shows that is not true.

Lets not pretend you are the only person here with a valid point of view.

 

[RJ Priest]

I thought that it would look much better than what is shown in that video. When I saw Google's original Android L video, I thought, "well, Google finally made a good looking OS by taking inspiration from Metro design. It really looks great." In the OP's video here, it doesn't look that good at all (design wise).

Everytime I see the Android desktop or homescreen (whatever it's called) I cringe when I see the Windows 3.1 / Win95 style desktop icons. Metro Design is the logical step forward for touch input, I love it. Old school desktop icons should be an obsolete characteristic of 80's / 90's UI design - reserved for desktop mouse input, not on touch screens.

When Microsoft first unveiled the Metro Design language, they should have had Michael J. Fox appear on stage and say, "I guess you guys aren't ready for this yet... but your kids are gonna love it." Who knows if and when that will ever happen, but I'm all for clean, touch input optimized design.

 

[neo158]

I thought that it would look much better than what is shown in that video. When I saw Google's original Android L video, I thought, "well, Google finally made a good looking OS by taking inspiration from Metro design. It really looks great." In the OP's video here, it doesn't look that good at all (design wise).

Everytime I see the Android desktop or homescreen (whatever it's called) I cringe when I see the Windows 3.1 / Win95 style desktop icons. Metro Design is the logical step forward for touch input, I love it. Old school desktop icons should be an obsolete characteristic of 80's / 90's UI design - reserved for desktop mouse input, not on touch screens.

When Microsoft first unveiled the Metro Design language, they should have had Michael J. Fox appear on stage and say, "I guess you guys aren't ready for this yet... but your kids are gonna love it." Who knows if and when that will ever happen, but I'm all for clean, touch input optimized design.

That's just it, I don't think the underlying code of Android is a problem and switching to ART should give a performance boost and better battery life.

The problem with Android is the cluster**** of an interface. For example some of the Google apps on Android 4.4 have received updates to get the Material Design, but in those apps I found five different interface styles. If Google can't get consistent styling throughout their own apps then how the hell do they expect developers to create apps with a consistent design.

 

[steve_w_7]

Android is a mess.

 

[Gesh75]

So what do you guys think?

Hhaha well from what im reading on the replies I guess you got your answer :grin:

 

[Ed Boland]

That swipe to the left screen dialer we could use on Windows Phone. At least an option to do it.. Especially when at work.. and needing to make an important phone call real quick.. Swipe to the dialer from the lock screen, or from the start screen. Or have an option to "swipe to" whatever we choose on this "missing left pane".

 

[Nicholas Maguire]

How is that so much better than Windows Phone? Every OS has their own way of doing things. Are there some things Windows Phone could use? Yes, but new features will continue to be added. Look how many features it's grown in just the last year. There's a ton. If you're such an Android fan just to to Android, we won't miss you. However, I prefer Windows Phone in every way.

 

[troylytle]

Definitely some nice improvements, but still not going to be a daily driver for me.

 

[LumiaWorld]

I actually like it. The animations are nice.

 

[LumiaWorld]

One thing WP is way behind though is the lock screen. Microsoft, fix it!

 

[LumiaWorld]

I watched the video and I didn't see much at all that Windows Phone won't do. In fact, it looks like Android is playing catch up with WP by implementing things that WP already does. For example, notification settings. Everything shown in the video WP already does. Quiet hours, inner circle, choosing what apps can display notifications and how, etc.

So, no, WP isn't way behind and is ahead in a lot of areas.

AFAIK, Android had these for a long time already.

 

[jdhooghe]

Not exactly sure where people are getting this "android is copying metro" thing. Can someone elaborate? It doesn't look look anything like WP, in fact, it looks more low-key and muted instead of bright, like WP. I see no live tiles and I also see no giant app list.

 

[GSOgymrat]

I saw a video of the Nexus 6 and thought it looked like a great phone but then I watched this video and it reminded me of my issues with Android and why so many people love iPhone. Halfway through this video my eyes were glazing over as he goes on about swiping this way, put this setting to this and then this locks out this but if you want that you pull down here and set this to this and here is this animation and this spins and this scrolls and here are bouncing Androids with lollypops... OMG! Just say "Turn on Quiet Hours" and be done with it. Then when the guy said certain apps aren't supported yet it just solidified my impression that Android is pieced together and still not cohesive and uniform. I've never owned an iPhone but the impression I get from using my iPad and from iPhone owners is that it is simple to the point of boring but it works and it is cohesive. Windows Phone is a nice balance of some customization but it still remains ordered and generally cohesive.

 

[realwarder]

I think it looked nice and now includes some great WP features as well as a few others around the lock screen.

Still like my WP though, but it's always good to see what's coming.

 

[abhinavsaprey]

The only consistent thing in the Android UI is the inconsistency!!!!
.

True that... Every app that runs on WP perfectly blends with the modern UI that it offers and gives experience like a native app would...

 

[LumiaWorld]

Not exactly sure where people are getting this "android is copying metro" thing. Can someone elaborate? It doesn't look look anything like WP, in fact, it looks more low-key and muted instead of bright, like WP. I see no live tiles and I also see no giant app list.

True... The only thing similar between this and WP is the "FLATNESS". Nothing more, nothing less. Wow that rhymes.

 

[Aleksandar Andreev]

I saw a video of the Nexus 6 and thought it looked like a great phone but then I watched this video and it reminded me of my issues with Android and why so many people love iPhone. Halfway through this video my eyes were glazing over as he goes on about swiping this way, put this setting to this and then this locks out this but if you want that you pull down here and set this to this and here is this animation and this spins and this scrolls and here are bouncing Androids with lollypops... OMG! Just say "Turn on Quiet Hours" and be done with it. Then when the guy said certain apps aren't supported yet it just solidified my impression that Android is pieced together and still not cohesive and uniform. I've never owned an iPhone but the impression I get from using my iPad and from iPhone owners is that it is simple to the point of boring but it works and it is cohesive. Windows Phone is a nice balance of some customization but it still remains ordered and generally cohesive.

So true!

 

[Skinnyman9000]

That was a dev preview though, so certain apps not functioning correctly, and having messy UI, is a given in those circumstances.

The main shame with Android is the skins that manufacturers add to them. The Touchwiz skin is plain awful. I have a Nexus 5 with the action launcher, its simple and functional. Then when I try to use my wife's Note 3 its a big incoherent mess, I have no idea how she uses that phone daily, its terrible.

I think this is where MS and Apple have got it right, their OS looks the same on every device, its coherent and structured. Yes Android offers unlimited customisation, but to the point that its all very messy. 5.0 is the most polished version to date, but it's still nowhere near MS & Apple standards.

I guess regardless of what OS you choose you have to compromise somewhere, whether that's functionality, customisation, multitasking etc. No OS offers everything, yet.

 

[windows920]

WP is quite good OS for a phone, but the apps (quality and missing) are sh*t compared to Android and iOS.

 

[viky1101]

Android resumes app fast because it has dedicated ram ... Once we get that in wp we wont be able to keep 100 apps in our phone ,.. So what's the use of faster resume ...