Forum Discussion
Top feedback summary for September 24
alzadude
This took some me getting used to, but I've grown to prefer it to the old square Edge. I wonder if this new, more rounder look might eventually make it's way across all Windows 10 & Apps, making it more consistent.
I also like the large address bar, easier to read on my sleep-deprived eyes : )
Indeed the issue that bothers me the most is the lack of consistency on the desktop across the apps.
I don't mind which design/look is adopted, I just wish they'd implement it consistently!
Granted, the Chromium-based edge is built on different GUI tech, and so naturally will look a bit different, but I don't think there's any value in making users aware of that.. I would imagine most users would prefer consistency, whether it's the look or the design (placement/organisation of menus etc) from a usability perspective.
I suppose it would be more effort to update all other built-in apps to this rounded look, rather than change just this one app to the square look.. That's a consideration 🙂
Granted, the Chromium-based edge is built on different GUI tech, and so naturally will look a bit different, but I don't think there's any value in making users aware of that.
Actually there is value in that. Windows 10 is the most used desktop/laptop OS in the world, and all those users have current Edge, but most have chosen not to use it. Indeed it has too few users and too small a share of the browser market to make it worth Microsoft's time and money to go on with it. This new Chromium Edge is an attempt to garner a larger share of the browser market ... probably a final attempt if it doesn't succeed. Now, most ordinary users don't follow the tech press and blogs, and if new Chromium Edge looks like old EdgeHTML Edge at first glance, most Windows 10 users who decided not to use old Edge will just think it's the same-old, shrug, and carry on with whichever non-Edge browser they are currently using. Chromium Edge needs to look obviously different from old EdgeHTML Edge to have a chance of getting a significant proportion of all those current non-Edge using Windows 10 users to even think about switching to it.
And on top of that, the browser with by far the biggest market share for desktops/laptops is Google Chrome. For these mostly non-techie current Google Chrome users, if Chromium Edge actually looks very like Google Chrome, it becomes easier to lure them into trying it. 'Look, there's no learning curve because it looks and works just like what you use now, but without Google hoovering your data and these shiny extra features' kind of thing.
Remember, Microsoft isn't aiming it at the current far too few Edge users, or techie types. They're aiming it at the horde of non-techie Windows 10 users who are currently using Google Chrome.
DavidGB my main issue is that it's not consistent with the other standard Windows 10 apps, from a usability/design point of view.
For example, look at the design of Mail, Calendar, Music, Settings, Videos/Movies, Maps. The current Edge app matches these other apps for design.
I'd like to see all these apps match on usability/design, including the new Chromium based edge. That could be done in two ways
1. Update all the other apps to match the usability and design elements of Chromium based Edge
2. Update the Chromium based Edge to match these other apps
I can't imagine that 1. would ever be done, due to the amount of work required. So to achieve the consistency goal, the only other option is 2.
- Option 2 is the best.
they should start by making the UI the same as Windows 10 native apps. the fluent design language elements, the acrylic style top bar that exists in the Photos app, Edge classic, Xbox beta app and more, even the Windows 10 settings page has acrylic/transparency theme.
Windows 7 also had the similar effect called Aero.
- One thing we history and google chrome thought us is that people simply don't care about the UI.
look, the classic Edge and Firefox have the most beautiful and useful UIs among browsers (transparency, useful features etc) but they are among the least users browsers.
and what is on top? google chrome with the worst UI ever, small, compact, everything is into each other and very simple.
so bottom line, people Don't care about the UI as much as you think, they just need something that works and about the consistency, the consistency should be about under-the-hood Not the visuals. under-the-hood consistency is such as a good and reliable sync, ability to use that sync on multiple devices, a good browser engine that doesn't hang or crash, a bug free browsers experience and things like that.- HotCakeX -- I largely agree with this. Features and ease of use matter more than design to most people. But it's hard to passionately support a product without great design, especially for those of us who do care about design. It's like a piece of furniture in a house -- there could be a really comfortable couch, and comfort is it's mean feature, but if it's covered in towels or blankets to hide all the stains and wear-holes on the surface, it's still a piece of junk. Ultimately, to be great, it needs to be both functionally effective and sport beautiful, user-friendly design. And good design means consistency. There is no such thing as good, inconsistent design.
- Design consistency is so important, and its lack is one of the greatest problems for MS. I understand that design evolves over time, and so older programs may not always be able to have the new style. That's OK, but ideally things like curvature on tabs for an MS application would use system-UI elements so they can all be the same and all change at the same time.
- Spoiler
GraniteStateColin wrote:
Design consistency is so important, and its lack is one of the greatest problems for MS. I understand that design evolves over time, and so older programs may not always be able to have the new style. That's OK, but ideally things like curvature on tabs for an MS application would use system-UI elements so they can all be the same and all change at the same time.So..among all the bugs and problems and the missing features, This is the problem? this 1 single pixel?
one would need a magnifier to even see that. I don't know why you say 1 pixel can cause inconsistency.
- HotCakeX, It's more than a single pixel (that's why it looks round and not like a diagonal), and I do think it leads to an overall feeling of inconsistency, which undermines usability more than you might think. Those subconscious cues really affect user comfort. However, all of that being said, I would agree that major functional issues are more important. The issue is not that this minor rounded look is bad, or even that it doesn't fit in the OS, but that MS appears not to be giving issues like this any thought at all. That's the serious problem. It indicates a measure of chaos and lack of organization in the company's software product development. Consistency is the single most important facet do to good design, when it's missing, it just shouts to users, "We're not concerned with design or UI."
- The curves you mention are only on top of the tabs and they are only 1 pixel or less, not noticeable on most of the light colors.
