My concept UI for Windows 8.1 or 9.0

[Jacob Heston]

Yesssss!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[qudahamohammad]

This dispute has been resolved. A notification centre isn't as important on WP as on other platforms, like you said due to the live tiles, but there are exactly two scenarios where a notification centre would help:

• After a few seconds, toast notifications disappear never to be seen again. Nothing that is of importance beyond the immediate moment should be communicated via a toast notification, but not all apps conform to that rule. A mechanism to collect those toast notifications ensures nobody misses any.
• Those who use a lot of apps that support tile notifications may not want to pin all of those apps to the start screen. Particularly those that are only rarely used. A mechanism to collect the tile notifications for apps which aren't pinned would help free the start screen from rarely used "clutter" and ensure nobody misses any.

Any WP notification centre needs to aim primarily at solving those two issues. IMHO any solution that goes beyond fixing exactly those two issues is replicating what live tiles already do and is probably a bad idea.

The second scenario is reasonable and would be great if implemented but people would possibly rant because they do not get full-notifications like people on Android or iOS. People who want a system like Andriod would probably go with the option of being home-screen-less.

and if you miss a toast notification, just click the home-screen and go to the app to check? what's the problem of the first scenario?!

 

[Keith Wallace]

Impressive work and all, but there are a LOT of things I do not like about this:

1. Live Folders: I'm not exactly sure what these accomplish. They need deeper explanation, as I don't understand their purpose vs. live tiles as they are now.

2. Volume: I kind of like the volume UI, but I hate the idea that the rocker will always handle the master volume. I dislike turning down everything to turn down my music as it is. Leaving that in-place and adding this the way it is does nothing to help the issue, in my opinion. In most cases, I want to adjust music volume when I go from outside to inside, and I want to do that without looking. This means I have to either stick to what I have now, or I have to stop, look down, unlock the phone, adjust the music volume, lock, and go. It's just too much work to do while walking, and in general.

3. Notifications: I'm not a fan. The swiping form the right is a bad move, in my opinion. I can already see where I'd frequently try to get to the "All Apps" section, only to pull up a notification center I won't even use (the only apps I really take notifications from are on my Start screen, so a notification center offers no meaningful advantage for me).

4. Touch Buttons: One of the things I hate MOST about where smartphones are headed is the loss of the standalone buttons on my 920. Making them virtual, I just wouldn't like it (wastes screen real estate, in my opinion). If we're making all screens bigger to accommodate this, I might not mind, but if .5" of my 4.5" 920 was wasted on that, I'd be annoyed about only getting a 4" display experience. The gestures are really cool, but I'd rather keep the physical buttons than lose screen space to these buttons for gestures I'd never really use (I've used voice search a total of 0 times).

I do like some of the stuff. Most of all, I like the multitasking and closing of apps. Those are both well-done, but I think this would be an overall downgrade. The added functions do nothing to increase my productivity, while they'd likely result in a bit of bloating within the OS, and things like the virtual buttons and notification center would be more obstructing than helpful for me.

 

[Keith Wallace]

This dispute has been resolved. A notification centre isn't as important on WP as on other platforms, like you said due to the live tiles, but there are exactly two scenarios where a notification centre would help:

• After a few seconds, toast notifications disappear never to be seen again. Nothing that is of importance beyond the immediate moment should be communicated via a toast notification, but not all apps conform to that rule. A mechanism to collect those toast notifications ensures nobody misses any.
• Those who use a lot of apps that support tile notifications may not want to pin all of those apps to the start screen. Particularly those that are only rarely used. A mechanism to collect the tile notifications for apps which aren't pinned would help free the start screen from rarely used "clutter" and ensure nobody misses any.

Any WP notification centre needs to aim primarily at solving those two issues. IMHO any solution that goes beyond fixing exactly those two issues is replicating what live tiles already do and is probably a bad idea.

I'd rather see this resolved with a Notification TILE than an actual notification center, though. Make it so you pin a tile that shows total notifications in the top-left and apps with notifications in the top-right or something. Tap that tile, and you open to the list of apps with notifications. I don't want some added gesture/UI feature that'll get in my way more than anything. There are only about 4 apps (phone, messages, Store, and IM+) that I actually care to see notifications from, and I have them all pinned to my Start screen. If they add a notification center, it needs to be capable of being 100% turned off, in my opinion.

 

[a5cent]

And if you miss a toast notification, just click the home-screen and go to the app to check? what's the problem of the first scenario?!

Toast notifications are visualized as green boxes at the top of the screen. They disappear forever after a certain amount of time. The problem we have is that once that box disappears, there is no way to know that you ever received it. Toast notifications don't show up on live tiles. You wont check an app for something you never realized you received.

The second scenario is reasonable and would be great if implemented but people would possibly rant because they do not get full-notifications like people on Android or iOS. People who want a system like Andriod would probably go with the option of being home-screen-less.

People who want Android should buy Android.

IMHO you aren't thinking about this correctly. What constitutes a "full" notification centre is not defined by how Android approached the problem. It is defined by how comprehensively notification related issues are addressed. WP's solution is not comprehensive (due to the two issues I mentioned), but Microsoft should be free to find a solution that fits well to the concepts already employed in WP. Most importantly, it shouldn't replicate features or notifications that live tiles already cover (such replications are typically referred to as bloat). Microsoft shouldn't be forced to copy Android, simply because some people have preconcieved notions of what a notification centre must look like.

 

[a5cent]

I'd rather see this resolved with a Notification TILE than an actual notification center, though. Make it so you pin a tile that shows total notifications in the top-left and apps with notifications in the top-right or something. Tap that tile, and you open to the list of apps with notifications. I don't want some added gesture/UI feature that'll get in my way more than anything. There are only about 4 apps (phone, messages, Store, and IM+) that I actually care to see notifications from, and I have them all pinned to my Start screen. If they add a notification center, it needs to be capable of being 100% turned off, in my opinion.

I didn't propose any specific solution. My point is only that the problem is not: "WP doesn't have a notification centre". That is far too simplistic and doesn't get to the bottom of what WP is actually missing.

I can think of a few ways to solve those two issues I mentioned, and your live tile approach is certainly one of them. However, if that live tile contained two numbers, I would prefer them to be:

• Missed toast notifications
• Missed tile notifications (counting only those that aren't already counted by another live tile)

That way I'd only open the notification centre if there's something my start screen isn't already showing me elsewhere.

I agree with all the other points you raised. If the notification centre can be integrated into the start screen, then there is no need for all the gestural swiping.

 

[Benjamin Mendez1]

Love it

 

[Fade_z]

Some concept's are nice, but its really hard to implement...
Its not just designing it for the Lumia 92x and above, but for low end and other company's....
I mean full multitasking is on win8 tablets because they have the chips capable of doing so..

Anyway, most of it is nice and fresh looking, still not really well thought through (think about left-right side swipes opening stuff etc or button size or even how this will affect battery life or work on lower res screens)

 

[a5cent]

I mean full multitasking is on win8 tablets because they have the chips capable of doing so..

Android has supported full multitasking on hardware that is much weaker than low-end WP8 devices. Hardware has absolutely nothing to do with that issue.

 

[ryan.kruger]

OP - I posted this on Reddit for you. Lots of love, lots of hate.

FWIW I really like it!

It's in r/windowsphone

 

[Christian Del Rosario]

Nice concept.... but, too much clutter, way too many gestures, I somehow became a headache by just viewing at the startscreen really (no joke), sry. Still ist an interesting concept.

thanks for your honesty. in fact, i was thinking why it looked cramped. then i realized the lies on the fact that i intentionally placed tiles with notifications already present. such as the mail app with notification, the music app with playing music, calendar app with a current schedule showing, a folder tile with 9 apps on it and a huge photo tile with yellow, green, blue and purple colors. i intended to show how much we can do to our live tiles. users probably won't bombard their screens like that. though some photo-lovers might use 4x6 tiles to showcase their pictures, right? in normal days, this setup would look less cramped without all the notifications.

not practical, most of these features would be absolutely tiny on a typical smartphone screen. and many of them go back towards the icon/folder paradigm that we're trying to get away from. and what is the obsession with 1080p? smartphone screens already have the highest resolution of any device, it is pointless to raise the resolution further in a phone form factor.

i understand the current satisfaction towards the current resolution of our phones. but as i have read recent news, nokia is preparing for a phablet, and it would benefit more if the resolution is 1080 on a phone with screen larger than 5 inches. so i was looking forward towards using the potentials of a 1080p screen. also on my youtube vid, i specified on the description that the os would be hardware flexible, like fonts would be a little smaller if it detects a higher resolution screen so that more info can be seen on the screen while still getting sharp texts.

i might have some miscalculations about the usage of the features i laid on a 5 in screen, but i'm thinking this through hehe. i'll get back to my drawing board once i finish my office works.

Some concept's are nice, but its really hard to implement...
Its not just designing it for the Lumia 92x and above, but for low end and other company's....
I mean full multitasking is on win8 tablets because they have the chips capable of doing so..

Anyway, most of it is nice and fresh looking, still not really well thought through (think about left-right side swipes opening stuff etc or button size or even how this will affect battery life or work on lower res screens)

i was actually envisioning my concept ui on my lumia 800. i believe the swipes would still look good on a smaller screen (except the 6 column tiles and splitscreen). i'm sure in the future battery life won't become more a problem. i'm optimistic about it.

OP - I posted this on Reddit for you. Lots of love, lots of hate.

FWIW I really like it!

It's in r/windowsphone

wow thanks! i really appreciate it. i already foresee the likes and dislikes on my concept. that's normal.

 

[Christian Del Rosario]

Amazing concept, I absolutely love it, and if I had a choice between this and the current WP8.0 I would definitely choose yours. Here are my (detailed) thoughts on the concept:
Things I liked:

• homescreen windows 8 feel - it gives a new refreshing, more visually appealing look to WP, which I think is starting to age in its design. The single flat colour of WP gets tedious over time, wheras I haven't found the same with windows 8. My other issue with flat colour is that it is harder to identify icons for specific things because they all look similar, it simply does not provide enough contrast to provide the visual memory of where things are on the screen. I know some people like consistency and there could be a flat colour option for those folks, but I think the majority prefer their icons to stand out.
• Folders
• New 'all apps' screen is much more flexible
• Bing universal search is awesome in windows 8.1, lets hope it makes it into WP8.1
• Independent vol controls - I think everybody agrees we need this
• Task manager improvements - ability to close apps and those other new options down the bottom
• Best notification centre concept I've ever seen (but flashlight should definitely be a quick setting)
• Love the lockscreen, though I think quick launch adds unnecessary complexity

Things I disliked/need improving:

• Too many ways to multitask becomes confusing (swipe from left edge, swipe up from back arrow, hold back arrow). I would prefer just these 2: hold back arrow, and make tapping an already open app on start screen resume that app if it is already running (instead of re-opening it).
• Swipe down to close is not as easy on a tall narrow screen as it is on a wide, short screen on a tablet, it would be better just to close apps from the task manager
• Split screen - only phablets would be able to use it and it would require a massive WP market share before developers would start making apps that work with this
• All the capacitive swipe up gestures seem overly complicated and just replicates functionality already there. For example, if you arrange icons well on your start screen those quick shortcuts aren't that helpful, voice commands are already easily accessible and would be better served by having an always on driving mode (eg. say "lumia" to activate voice commands, followed by the command "lumia, text joe")

I know a lot of users have been quite negative about a lot of the ideas, but remember that a lot of WP users are here because they like the minimalist design and don't want to see that change. Personally I think WP is pretty bad at the moment, it is part of the windows ecosystem and that is why I have one, but it is the weakest link in the chain. I would much prefer a more windows RT like OS with a redesign for the mobile form factor, which is exactly what you've done.

To the users who would prefer the notifications to only be accessible via swiping to the left of the homescreen, here is why that is a bad idea:
1. Including quick settings in a notification centre is a complete waste of time unless the notification centre is accessible from anywhere. For example, if I already have my music playlist queued but realise my bluetooth is not on, I should not have to leave the app to turn it on. Similarly, when independent app volume controls get implemented, it would be nice to be able to access that without leaving the app. Other settings like wifi and flashlight (and music controls) should also be accessible from anywhere rather than having to return to the start screen. This is 50% of the usefullness of a notification centre, why limit it by only being able to access it from the start screen.

2. Things like email, facebook, twitter, IM programs, etc do not have toast notifications (or those that are there are unreliable), and even if present, these are easily missed. Having a notifications centre only accessible from the start screen would barely give more functionality than the start screen itself. The user would still have to exit their current app, interrupting what they are doing to see if they have any new emails, IMs, facebook messages, etc, this concept doesnt really add anything to the current start screen functionality. What WOULD be useful is if the user could swipe into the notification centre from anywhere in the OS, instantly checking whether there are any new emails, etc without interrupting their current activity.

3. My 3rd point is simple: if a user wants to only access notifications from their start screen, they can still choose to do so even if the capability is there to access the notifications from anywhere, while users who want more flexibility would be able to get it. Just because you won't use a feature doesn't mean it should be hobbled for everyone else.

4. It would provide a single consistent place to have sharing options, similar to what the charms bar does for windows 8.

yes, maybe flashlight can be places on the quicksetting too. i intended the quicksetting to become customizable. regarding the hold back arrow, it's not anymore present in the concept. it's been replaced by the swipe up gesture. it's faster than holding the button for a second or two. also, thanks for pointing up your point #1. my notification screen is supposed to accessible from anywhere, without leaving the app. yet i agree that ONCE the startscreen is able to provide the same function as the notification screens we are wishing for (like showing the notifications from apps we did not pin), then a notification screen in no longer needed.

and thank you for point 3. i don't know why but am i the only one around here that believes the customizability of android is what windows desktop os's advantage over mac? windows os has been hailed because of its customizability, and it's keeping many users away from mac. but now it's gearing towards a simplified customization. wouldn't it be great if despite the minimalistic design (which i loooove the most), the os is actually customizable?

split screens are more usable on phablets, i agree. that's why i visualize an os that's flexible to the hardware. but there are few things i like to be on splitscreen even on a 4.5 in phone, like being able to use the calculator while on the messaging app. usually, my friend texts me some numbers and i want to compute it. it would be difficult to switch between apps just to get back and forth esp if the numbers are too many. or looking at a picture while composing a message. i dunno, i just need those. i also agree that the splitscreen would make it difficult for developers to create or adjust their apps, but why stop from there?

lastly, regarding the swipe down, imho i don't like swiping down to close apps in my windows 8. i still want a close button for my modern apps. but since it's already there, i wanted to have w and wp to have similar ui, so i placed the gesture there. i actually like the swipe down to be on a phone rather on a laptop screen hehe

 

[Christian Del Rosario]

what's the point of live tiles if there's a notification center?

I do not want to sound mean for the guy who created the concepts but Windows Phone would be gesture based if these concepts were actually implemented which increases it's learning curve.

now to my point, who in the right mind would look at live tiles when there's a notification center?

people with iOS stopped looking at the notification number beside most apps because they have a notification center.

I think that, that's the dilemma that Microsoft is facing. making a notification center would remove the point of looking at live tiles. wouldn't it?

i actually agree with you at some degree. up to some point, the startscreen already serves as a notification screen. but a lot of times, i get 6 text messages and although the icon would show how many, it would only show me only 1 message to read, gearing to a need of a place where ALL notifications can be checked at once.

with regards to being gesture based, i don't see anything wrong with that, as long as there is ample moment to instruct users how to do it. like many others, i was shocked when windows 8 did not teach users many things on how to use the os. but with proper how-to's, i believe there wouldn't be a problem even if the os has become touch based.

actually, many years ago, i was till using android that time, i was shown a lumia 800 for the first time. and i did not know what to do. i did not understand anything about it. i tried swiping a little and i get more and more confused so i just gave the phone back to the owner. my point is, even the current setup of wp7.8/8.0 would be confusing and non-intuitive without any tutorial, but with simple but precise instruction, the os could be learned. and i think adding a few more function won't hurt especially if it would unify the experience on both desktop and phone.

 

[Christian Del Rosario]

Impressive work and all, but there are a LOT of things I do not like about this:

1. Live Folders: I'm not exactly sure what these accomplish. They need deeper explanation, as I don't understand their purpose vs. live tiles as they are now.

2. Volume: I kind of like the volume UI, but I hate the idea that the rocker will always handle the master volume. I dislike turning down everything to turn down my music as it is. Leaving that in-place and adding this the way it is does nothing to help the issue, in my opinion. In most cases, I want to adjust music volume when I go from outside to inside, and I want to do that without looking. This means I have to either stick to what I have now, or I have to stop, look down, unlock the phone, adjust the music volume, lock, and go. It's just too much work to do while walking, and in general.

3. Notifications: I'm not a fan. The swiping form the right is a bad move, in my opinion. I can already see where I'd frequently try to get to the "All Apps" section, only to pull up a notification center I won't even use (the only apps I really take notifications from are on my Start screen, so a notification center offers no meaningful advantage for me).

4. Touch Buttons: One of the things I hate MOST about where smartphones are headed is the loss of the standalone buttons on my 920. Making them virtual, I just wouldn't like it (wastes screen real estate, in my opinion). If we're making all screens bigger to accommodate this, I might not mind, but if .5" of my 4.5" 920 was wasted on that, I'd be annoyed about only getting a 4" display experience. The gestures are really cool, but I'd rather keep the physical buttons than lose screen space to these buttons for gestures I'd never really use (I've used voice search a total of 0 times).

I do like some of the stuff. Most of all, I like the multitasking and closing of apps. Those are both well-done, but I think this would be an overall downgrade. The added functions do nothing to increase my productivity, while they'd likely result in a bit of bloating within the OS, and things like the virtual buttons and notification center would be more obstructing than helpful for me.

ok let me help you with some of the points you mentioned.
live folders: we can pin to start almost anything, isn't it. so we can also merge many of the pinned things on a folder. for example: i am very fond of song lyrics and i could use folders to place all my lyrics from there. that way, i won't need to go to office app and look for the lyrics (from all my office documents). also, i have several pinned websites and putting them in a folder would make it organized.

volume: dont' worry, you don't need to unlock the phone to change your music volume. and with regards to the rocker only able to control the master, i honestly don't have any idea on how the rocker would control a specific profile. android has a way like if you're listening to music it would automatically control the music profile, but that never work for me. when the music is on, then i rocked the volume up, i always though the entire phone is getting louder until i realized i'm not hearing my messages and calls because only the music profile is adjusted and left others with little volume. but i'm still thinking this through, i'm still looking for a way to do it.

notification screen: ok this is more of a personal preference. let me share an experience to you. i don't pin my market app because i don't use it often. but when i do, i always get surprised that 15 apps already have updates and i tell myself, "oh that's why my 9gag app is not working properly!!"

many users install a lot of 3rd party apps and if they put them all on the startscreen it would cramp it. so some of the apps are left in the all apps. once that happens they will not anymore see notifications from that app...

also once the app gets many notifications, like for example 7 txt messages, the tile will not be able to show all text and you will have to open the app to see them, usually only to find the texts are not worth looking at.

lastly, i'm not sure about accidental opening of notification screen. since i also have android which uses edge swipe for notification and swiping inside the screen is for scrolling, i get used to swiping only inside the screen to get to all apps in windows phone. also, i dunno, when i tried edge swiping to get to all apps in wp, sometimes it doesn't work.

touch buttons: i intended to make the height of the screen longer (the width is the same) to accommodate the startbutton. i dunno if it's possible hardware-wise, but i think it's possible since apple was able to make iphone screen taller.

 

[Christian Del Rosario]

I didn't propose any specific solution. My point is only that the problem is not: "WP doesn't have a notification centre". That is far too simplistic and doesn't get to the bottom of what WP is actually missing.

I can think of a few ways to solve those two issues I mentioned, and your live tile approach is certainly one of them. However, if that live tile contained two numbers, I would prefer them to be:

• Missed toast notifications
• Missed tile notifications (counting only those that aren't already counted by another live tile)

That way I'd only open the notification centre if there's something my start screen isn't already showing me elsewhere.

I agree with all the other points you raised. If the notification centre can be integrated into the start screen, then there is no need for all the gestural swiping.

ok, may i clarify what toast notifications are? is that those notifications like "Wi-Fi Networks available" that appears for awhile, then after that you will never see it again unless you actually go to wifi settings?

i really agree that once startscreen fully works as the notification center, there's not need for a notification screen... i was also thinking of a way for that like using hover or double tapping a tile, but using that would still show notifications for specific apps that are pinned, but as of now that's the best my mind can get. i'm still thinking it through. i really appreciate your inputs.

 

[RockmanNeo]

Not too keen with the left and right gestures, but big yes to the button gestures just because I came up with it too


Capacitive Buttons Redefined
Please help vote! Thanks.

 

[a5cent]

ok, may i clarify what toast notifications are? is that those notifications like "Wi-Fi Networks available" that appears for awhile, then after that you will never see it again unless you actually go to wifi settings?

Things like xbox achievements come through as toast notifications:

Toasts for Windows Phone

i believe current win8 users will immediately become familiarized with the setup. for new users, i think it will be solved by a well-explained tutorial during the initial phone setup and during the first open of the app/page

No consumer product's UI should require a tutorial. A tutorial is just a silent admittance to having failed at designing something self explanatory. If Windows 8 had shipped with a tutorial, then the reaction would have been better, but it still wouldn't be loved. A consumer product like WP must be loved or it will fail.

 

[trandz]

holy hell ! If they had 1/2 these features Id dump by GS4 Active yesterday lmao.

 

[Kevin N Smith]

I like the ideas, but the concepts need to be slightly more metro. Anyway, if MS has ideas like this in their future, i'll keep with WP forever!

 

[Fade_z]

Android has supported full multitasking on hardware that is much weaker than low-end WP8 devices. Hardware has absolutely nothing to do with that issue.

I do not own an android phone but can you actually use 2 apps at once?
Also iOS and wp8 both have multitasking, just not 2 things at once