Part 2 of our discussion on the upcoming design changes from Google with Material Design.
After watching Google release their new Android UI, Material Design, there was a sense of familiarity. The new visual language is a pretty refreshing take on tablet interfaces, its minimalistic and bold design cuts straight to the chase. However, it isn’t too far fetched; the design looks like a mash-up of Apple’s new UI with that of Google’s newer, bolder Chrome UI.
Interested in the 9 principles that make up Material Design? See our post here!
This is a good thing because it would seem the consumers, are tending to prefer using this minimalistic yet stylized interface. How else can we explain phone and tablet manufacturer’s decision to shift appearances? They are all beginning to look uniform and that could be due to surefire marketing statistics or a general agreement that simplicity shrouded in color and tactile graphics suits us, the average user, best.
Although Google has already wowed us at the I/O conference with Material Design’s beauty, there is no telling if the presentation was made from their final draft. There’s no definite way to determine how the interface will appear and perform until its release this fall. This is a good thing because we have no idea how far they went to perfect Material Design’s functionality before its début at I/O. Android L (lollipop) is supposed to expand your device’s multitasking capabilities using the ability to store the apps and web pages you’re using in Google Chrome’s card deck formation. The purpose is to manage the content you’ve recently used on your device which I find helpful except it’s nothing new.
Curious about the news from WWDC this year? If so, check out our miniseries on the whole event!
The iPhone has had a similar function for a while now, the double-click app manager. It’s easy to see how one would be glad to arrange apps and web pages alike, but with access to both at once the screen may become overloaded with content. Google is definitely making strides in the right direction but some feel the new Android OS fell short of a complete revitalization. This may have been a logical way to keep their new interface favorable, a comfortable and stylish avenue taken for the sake of user approval. We’ll be looking forward to this new UI release to evaluate the impact it has on multi-tasking functionality, as well as more tech design in the near-future.
About PixelRocket
PixelRocket builds custom web and mobile applications for startups, enterprises and nonprofits. We also focus intensely on the UI/UX of every application we construct, which means a quicker learning curve and better experiences for your users. For the web, we provide solutions in .NET, PHP, and Java, as well as front end design and development. For mobile, we build applications for Apple, Android, and Windows Mobile. Our mission is give you the tools to succeed, and set your business apart.
