Windows 10 Mobile Concept (Multitasking improved)

[Gerg1]

Hello guys,
I created a concept of what Windows 10 Mobile should be.
You can have a look here: https://www.behance.net/gallery/42348809/Windows-10-Mobile-Concept
Multitasking short demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpBQql51ULA
Thank you for your attention!
I want to hear your opinion and tips.

 

[kaktus1389]

Looks good, but IMO the buttons on the taskbar shouldn't disappear, perhaps just the space between them should shrink so you don't have to add another windows button.

 

[Gerg1]

Thanks for the feedback. My idea is the navigation bar to look and act like the taskbar on the PC. The Task View button is equal of holding the back button and user can pin Cortana icon to the "taskbar", which acts like the search button

 

[Zulfigar]

I like the concept, but why not swipe left so you have the Back, Home, and Search buttons first followed by the open apps? That way you keep the back button at least.

 

[Gerg1]

I like the concept, but why not swipe left so you have the Back, Home, and Search buttons first followed by the open apps? That way you keep the back button at least.

Hmmm, very good idea. What if holding the Task View button works as back button?

 

[Gerg1]

The concept is updated and now it has back button.
PS: It is in the Feedback Hub, you can find it in Mobile Environment category, Nav bar subcategory and Most Recent, named Taskbar Experience on your navigation bar.

 

[Krystianpants]

*The translucent action center shouldn't be the start menu but the actual background image used for the start menu. If none exists it will have nothing.
*Don't like the line used to expand in action center. I think it's fine the way it is, it could be more bold.
*The way the background behaves should be an option. Parallax or centered.
*Not a fan of taskbar experience. Mobile should be simple and hide as much as possible from the user other than the app or area they are in. It's also not a multi window environment so it makes no sense.

 

[a5cent]

Just for the record. This has absolutely nothing to do with multitasking. This is called task switching. Completely different things.

Also, please demonstrate what this concept would look like with 7, 11, or zero open apps. If you're building a concept you should be working with the edge cases. That means your concept needs to demonstrate the extremes, rather than use the number of open apps that most conveniently fits your current thinking.

At least for now I'm not convinced.

Bunching all the open apps at the bottom of the screen in a task bar only makes sense if they are on screen all the time. The point of that is to enable instant task switching without subtracting a lot of screen real-estate from the foreground app. If we're required to bring up a separate task switching UI anyway (currently by holding the start button or as in your concept using a gesture), then there is absolutely no point to bunching everything into a small bar at the bottom of the screen. If we're already opening a task switching UI, might as well make use of the all the screen real-estate that is available.

Furthermore, I'd forget the gesture and keep the tap&hold as it is now. Using that button is how people expect to access the task switcher on iOS as well. Your approach is just different without providing any real benefit. If you're going to do something that is unfamiliar, you need to provide a tangible benefit in exchange.

 

[Gerg1]

Just for the record. This has absolutely nothing to do with multitasking. This is called task switching. Completely different things.

Also, please demonstrate what this concept would look like with 7, 11, or zero open apps. If you're building a concept you should be working with the edge cases. That means your concept needs to demonstrate the extremes, rather than use the number of open apps that most conveniently fits your current thinking.

At least for now I'm not convinced.

Bunching all the open apps at the bottom of the screen in a task bar only makes sense if they are on screen all the time. The point of that is to enable instant task switching without subtracting a lot of screen real-estate from the foreground app. If we're required to bring up a separate task switching UI anyway (currently by holding the start button or as in your concept using a gesture), then there is absolutely no point to bunching everything into a small bar at the bottom of the screen. If we're already opening a task switching UI, might as well make use of the all the screen real-estate that is available.

Furthermore, I'd forget the gesture and keep the tap&hold as it is now. That's how people expect to access the task switcher on iOS as well. Your approach is just different without providing any real benefit. If you're going to do something that is unfamiliar, you need to provide a tangible benefit in exchange.

Well, first of all, thank you for the feedback. I really appreciate it.
The Taskbar Experience can be turned on or off by the user. If you dont like it, simply dont use it.
You can still use the old back button task switcher.
If there are many apps opened, you can slide the navigation bar horizontally to access them.

 

[TechFreak1]

I agree with a5cent, this is just task switching not multi tasking .).

I would class multitasking as having two apps or more open on the screen at the same time.

Also in order assess the merits of any concept it needs to show case the following.
1) How it looks before the process is started
2) How it works (the process)
3) How the concept looks after the process is completed

Right now your demo does neither of the above, it only shows us icons and thumb nails of apps.

 

[a5cent]

If there are many apps opened, you can slide the navigation bar horizontally to access them.

So what exactly is the benefit of that compared to what we have now, where we also scroll the cards?

If it's about how many cards you see on screen at once, then why not make the cards smaller? On large screens, we might also add a second or third row of cards. so we'd be able to see 2x2 or 2x3 card at any one time in the task switcher, including their images, rather than just the app icon. I'm just thinking out loud here and wondering why your approach is better? At least from where I stand I think an objective argument can be made that it is not (because you only get the app icon rather than the image and you'll still end up scrolling), but maybe I'm missing something...

The Taskbar Experience can be turned on or off by the user. If you dont like it, simply dont use it.

Which is how all the last 2000 bad concepts were justified. If this was the typical approach to this sort of thing, OSes would be filled to the brim with bad ideas that we'd be "free" to turn off. The thing is, every feature, even after the initial version is released, continues to drain money and developer time to maintain it. For these reasons, every idea must be good, and unfortunately, even many of those ideas that look good on paper don't end up being good in practice. I don't think yours even looks good on paper... at least not yet.

I'm sorry for being a pain in the rear. I know a lot of enthusiasm and effort goes into making these concepts. It's not easy, and I applaud your great attitude towards criticism. If you can keep that up you'll go places ;-)

As it is now, I think I gave reasoned arguments for why this isn't a good idea. I think you need to come up with a better counter argument than "well, you could turn it off".

Either way, wish you all the best.