Plenty Wrong with Windows 10 Mobile

[Deepak]

Hi! This is not a concept of W10M but is about all the minor and major mistakes of the mobile OS which heavily impacts its overall feel and credibility. I'll first post some of the major ones then the minor ones. I won't be adding them all at once. I also expect y'all to contribute.

Here's the first installment. Starting with the Action center.

Which one's better? The first one or the second and third one?


Combo box problem.


The volume bar I always wanted.


When will this end?!
















More are coming. Only 15 files are allowed per post.

 

[Deepak]

Second installment. Settings app:-





















More will come in the near future. But those would be minor ones. The above ones are some of the most visible ones. What do you think? Do share your views and ideas also and contribute :smile:

 

[rayf888]

Thank you for pointing out the inconsistencies across the W10M UI, unfortunately I would say this list could stretch on for quite some time.....

 

[Deepak]

Thank you for pointing out the inconsistencies across the W10M UI, unfortunately I would say this list could stretch on for quite some time.....

Yup. There several more screenshots remaining to be edited.

 

[travis_valkyrie]

1. Action center: no comment
2. They're commonly called 'drop down menus', not combo boxes, get it right. And also they look wide and fat for touch-friendly. It's not a PC so it doesn't have to be a narrow selection.
3. It's already good as it is, Alarms doesn't have to be discriminated against Ringer/Notification, they're the same thing.
4. Known bug.
5. 99% of the Insiders would say otherwise. Trust me, you don't wanna scroll through a list of 'transparent tiles' at the uservoice site.
6-9. Understandable, no comment.
10. I would want a Default Apps settings like in PC, but I wouldn't want it looking like android.
11-12. Again, wide options > touch friendly.
13. Understandable, no comment.
14. 'Tile picture' is actually right, when you say 'tiled picture' then the phone is like asking if you're going to use a picture that is tiled. ?? Also checkboxes do not look clean at all.
15. Again, wide options > touch friendly. There's a gap to indicate that there is a beginning and an end, showing you what you ringtones there are, and that it's not infinite.
16. Understandable, no comment.
17. 'My phone number' actually reads and match the MSISDN on your SIM card which is supposedly set by your carrier. But these days SIM cards can be set with a different MSISDN if requested. MSISDN can be programmed onto the SIM by using a compatible phone (usually the old clicky keypad Symbian phones).
18. No comment, Backup options actually connects to OneDrive to grab your settings.
19-21. No comment.

Some I agree with, some you'd have to understand why they're there, and some are just whiiiiiiiny.

 

[Deepak]

.....

Oh. Well, some of your counter arguments are acceptable. Your chronology was a bit difficult to relate with.

Btw, an independent volume slider for alarms is one of the top demands of Insiders. I included some of the feedbacks from the Feedback app. The alarm volume slider is one of them.

What is point 5 about? From what I understood, there have been another feedback, which had received more than 500 upvotes, stated that on the lines of a Behance user's concept, MSFT should not make all the tiles transparent. It would make the start screen look ugly.


Yup, I too don't want an Android like default app selection screen. It's just an idea. It can be changed.

There are more such trivial mistakes. WP8.1 was so much perfect. No inconsistencies at all. I always wonder don't they see these inconsistencies or do they think those are just fine to be bothered.

 

[Jazmac]

Overruled!!

 

[Deepak]

Overruled!!

Who objected?

 

[PepperdotNet]

It's quite obvious that someone at Microsoft needs to take ownership of "Interface Consistency" and get all of this taken care of. The UI needs a lot of polish.

It's also quite possible that this is already underway, or "on hold" pending being told "it's done, or at least we're not making any more major changes right now" - six months ago such an effort would have been a complete waste, as things marked for change might work completely different now. At this point, it's definitely something they should do.

 

[Jazmac]

Who objected?

Microsoft. Much of what we see is a result of what feedback they get from TP. Most of the fixes going in is going to adjust from time to time and when the engine is running the way it needs to, then bells and whistles go in. Not easy to be patient but we're all in the same Windows 10 Mobile boat.

 

[ven07]

What is the issue with "dead space"? Do we really need to fill everything? :/

 

[Alfa Kapa]

The infinite scrolling and width changing contextual menus (lists) were stated as a bug from Gabe Aul on build 10166 (or so)

when the engine is running the way it needs to, then bells and whistles go in.

Well, in 4 months from now, I'm betting that most of the UI which is all over the place right now, will be in the exact same position!

 

[Kram Sacul]

Just install 8.1 where most of these design mistakes don't exist. You also get a much more stable OS and a design language that doesn't look like it was slapped together in 5 minutes.

 

[drachen23]

Thanks for this. I've been a fan of the design of Windows Phone since it was called "Windows Phone 7 Series" and loved its consistency and design language. It's so sad to see it fall into this inconsistent mess. A lot of these things were pointed out earlier in the beta process and there's been little real improvement. Some of it comes from shoehorning a desktop OS onto a small touch device, but a lot of the inconsistency is at the API level.

I'm a professional programmer and I have dabbled in developing WP7/8.x/UWP apps on the phone. The SemanticZoom control (the #ABCD jump lists) and the SplitView control (the hamburger button and the flyout menu) are bare-bones controls where you have to build the UI parts yourself. It's great that they have incredibly flexible controls and I would never say that it's a bad thing on its own, but there is also no ready-made implementation for programmers to use. With controls like the Pivot, Panorama and ApplicationBar (menu bar) introduced in WP7 there is a standard implementation that can in most cases be reskinned but there usually isn't a need to. That's why WP7 apps had such a consistent look and feel.

Now with the new controls in W10, each dev does his/her own thing with it. That's why it's such a mess now. There's no built-in implementation, never mind styles or guidance on standard font sizes, colors, spacing, icons, etc. There's no reason for that. All of those jump lists and hamburger menus should have the same implementation. They do the EXACT SAME THING for each app. For those that want to rebrand or reskin it, great. XAML makes that incredibly easy. It's crazy that each dev should keep reinventing the wheel for basic functionality each time they write an app. It's quite clear that MS did internally.

For those of you saying that this is just "polish", it isn't. This lack of consistency is baked into the API and design tools. It's there for every dev who clicks File -> New -> Project in Visual Studio. It's not going to get fixed by just tweaking the styles in the apps MS ships with the phone. It's a much deeper, ecosystem-wide problem. It has to do a lot with the mess that was Windows 8.x and the rush to get Windows 10 out the door and onto every platform imaginable. Consistency and logical design just aren't priorities anymore, and that makes me sad. It was the reason I fell in love with WP7 in the first place.

 

[R3mis]

Just install 8.1 where most of these design mistakes don't exist. You also get a much more stable OS and a design language that doesn't look like it was slapped together in 5 minutes.

Not to mmention a miles better camera app (Lumia Camera), better battery life, no hamburger menus, no tiny UI elements and so on and so on ...

 

[Deepak]

Just install 8.1 where most of these design mistakes don't exist. You also get a much more stable OS and a design language that doesn't look like it was slapped together in 5 minutes.

It's not about installing a stable OS which is consistent and is neatly polished. Windows 10 Mobile is new. So, having inconsistencies is understood. But the issue is that why is Microsoft not acting towards polishing the OS at a time when the release of the OS is very near. Under the hood fixes are not visible but the UI inconsistencies are. End users must feel contented with the OS. Most W10M users surely don't want to revert back to WP8.1. But want to see the new OS perfect in all aspects.

 

[colinkiama]

They can't really change the UI until the Redstone builds. I disagree with the email app, it's how the menu looks like on pc too but I agree with everything else. EVERYTHING

 

[Deepak]

What is the issue with "dead space"? Do we really need to fill everything? :/

No, we don't. But don't you really see the inconsistencies? Like the Quick jump letters grid. Having spaces is good but they should be consistent across the OS. The Photos app shows 3 picture thumbnails in a row while the Films & TV app only shows 2 leaving so much space in the app. It looks more like disproportionate scaling. In the Calculator app, the Hamburger menu should have had icons instead of blank spaces. Don't you realize how bad those sliders and progress bars look when they aren't stretched across the page? It also looks like disproportionate scaling.

So yes, blank spaces need to be filled, but not everywhere. The Ringtone selection list having a space is ok. Not others. Anyways, it's your opinion. You seem to be a person who likes to live in a messed up room. You like to see the OS as such then be so. I don't find the spaces neat and polished, clearly not!

.....

Very nice write up. I too had become a die hard fan of WP a few years ago. I had come to know about WP when I had first seen a Nokia Lumia 800. Then I used to see the Lumia 520 and 1520 ads on TV as a sub-14 year old teen when I didn't know anything about WP (I wasn't allowed to own a phone until I was 16). Then I started reading about it on the internet, I watched several reviews of the OS and Windows Phones at that time. Then I came across WPC back in 2013. From then onwards I fell in love with WP even when I read and heard a lot that WP was a failure and it has so low market share. My love and loyalty towards WP grew stronger when I bought my Lumia 830. And it was all because of WP 8.1.

But now I see that whenever I say anything against W10M people tend to think I am criticizing it. I am not. It's my love for WP which makes me say it. I am not a person who would simply turn to Android or iOS or revert back to WP8.1 just because this OS doesn't make me contented. I was told several times not to buy a Windows Phone. My family and friends tried to convince me a lot to buy a competitive Android phone from Samsung or Xiaomi. My uncle even offered to buy me an iPhone 5S. But I rejected it sternly. I simply replied to all these people that "why do you want me to buy something which I hate so badly?". And finally I have my Lumia 830 with me. I am typing this reply on it itself :wink:

So, I want my phone to run an OS which would make me feel contented. In this case W10M. Counter arguments are accepted but not when someone tries to persuade me to accept his views by using harsh language. It won't help. Which is why I have requested people to contribute their ideas. It's not a concept. It's just about all the trivial mistakes clearly visible across the OS. Such trivial things can also discourage the end user from using it.

I disagree with the email app, it's how the menu looks like on pc too.

It's not about looks. Yes it's good that the menu is consistent across devices. No arguments on that. But the issue is that the menu is taking up whole of the screen. A full new page would be better instead of the Ham menu. Only this app has such a menu. The point is, the menu is good as it is, but shouldn't take up the whole screen. Ham menus take up a maximum of 2/3rds of the page. Only the Mail app on mobile has something different.

 

[speccy]

I agree with some of these observations but not all. One contradiction was where you said something looked too cluttered on one screen, and then went on to point out unused space on other screens... Can't have it both ways.

Overall I prefer Win10M over 8.1 despite the quirks.

 

[Canjok]

I appreciate your effort with all those images and explanations. It was interesting to read.