As much as I love Windows Phone, getting around Settings is a mess, both at the OS level with the endless and haphazard settings list, and at the app level. There are 3 main categories of settings that should be standard to each app, but are found in 3 different places. These are:
Background Services (aka Battery Saver)
Data Sense
Notifications
The Battery Saver app, Data Sense app and Action centre are essential when trying to understand the overall picture for each of the categories (eg. Data sense gives you a nice overview of your total data usage and the apps contributing to the most data usage). Since these three categories are all inter-related, knowing the status of two of the categories could help solve a problem in the third. For example, if the Twitter app is using a lot of data, knowing the Background settings and Notifications settings could help pinpoint the reason for high data usage.
The "Mess" that I refer to in my thread title arises when you are need to find the settings information at the app level. Using Data Sense as the example, clicking on the Twitter app in data sense doesn't give you any additional information. You have to go to Battery Saver and see what is happening there. If you need to know the notification settings status, you have to go back out to Action Center and find the Twitter app. Notifications also brings another problem with the implementation of Live Tile toggles (i.e. turning the Live Tile on or off). This setting is usually within the app, but not always in the same location (varies from app to app).
All this leads to wasted effort and complicating the users "flow".
My solution is to consolidate the app level settings for Background services, Data Sense and Notifications in a panorama menu called "App Settings". This would be accessed from the app list. Long press on the app, and the "app setting" would appear in the menu between "share" and "install". See Image Below.
The App settiing menu would add several options:
The panorama app settings menu would enable us to quickly see the status of background settings, data sense, and notifications. These settings could also be linked eg. If background services are "Off", then the Live Tile toggle is greyed out in the off position. The aim of the app setting is to reduce the complexity for the user, as well as giving them some additional granularity in data management.
Please chime in and share your thoughts.
P.S. Pardon my Photoshop skills, this is not meant to convey an idea, not be an actual representation of Metro Design principles.
Background Services (aka Battery Saver)
Data Sense
Notifications
The Battery Saver app, Data Sense app and Action centre are essential when trying to understand the overall picture for each of the categories (eg. Data sense gives you a nice overview of your total data usage and the apps contributing to the most data usage). Since these three categories are all inter-related, knowing the status of two of the categories could help solve a problem in the third. For example, if the Twitter app is using a lot of data, knowing the Background settings and Notifications settings could help pinpoint the reason for high data usage.
The "Mess" that I refer to in my thread title arises when you are need to find the settings information at the app level. Using Data Sense as the example, clicking on the Twitter app in data sense doesn't give you any additional information. You have to go to Battery Saver and see what is happening there. If you need to know the notification settings status, you have to go back out to Action Center and find the Twitter app. Notifications also brings another problem with the implementation of Live Tile toggles (i.e. turning the Live Tile on or off). This setting is usually within the app, but not always in the same location (varies from app to app).
All this leads to wasted effort and complicating the users "flow".
My solution is to consolidate the app level settings for Background services, Data Sense and Notifications in a panorama menu called "App Settings". This would be accessed from the app list. Long press on the app, and the "app setting" would appear in the menu between "share" and "install". See Image Below.
The App settiing menu would add several options:
- "Use this app on Wi-Fi Only" - There are many times that I wish I could leave the background services of an app on, but only use it on WiFi. Twitter is a good example of this. Though there are some apps that allow background services on Wi-Fi only (PodCast Lounge), I would love to see this feature become OS wide.
- Notifications - Toggles for all the settings (rather than check boxes).
- Live Tile Toggle - Place the Live Tile activation here rather than the app as it fits the category.
The panorama app settings menu would enable us to quickly see the status of background settings, data sense, and notifications. These settings could also be linked eg. If background services are "Off", then the Live Tile toggle is greyed out in the off position. The aim of the app setting is to reduce the complexity for the user, as well as giving them some additional granularity in data management.
Please chime in and share your thoughts.
P.S. Pardon my Photoshop skills, this is not meant to convey an idea, not be an actual representation of Metro Design principles.
. I believe Joe B said that will be addressed in Win10.
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