Is today's shape of apps was inevitable? (Part II)


Cont. [Is today's shape of apps was inevitable?].


Today I was thinking again about today's apps, and I noticed that maybe it isn't that uneducated people want apps to be simple, and that they are forgot all advanced possibilities. But simplicity came from the technological side of apps.


Traditional apps could be complex because most of the pre-web interfaces were allowing for it. They could be also navigated by full set of keys or by advanced mouse strokes and they are designed for packing many informations on the screen.


Web apps are working inside web browsers, what implicate limitation of keys set (for example without some special keys combination) and mouse strokes (for example combined with keyboard). Because web apps must work in every OS interface they are also generalized to some common subset of interface element, and ride off some specializations (for example screen "hot corners", multi-window). The most common, today's UX conclusion is simplification of application interface - less elements and less information. During migration of application interface, from desktop to web application, it's hard to set the same level of information on the same window - the most common problem is that they are don't fit web app screen, and must have bigger margins, paddings and font size to look "modern". Design is in natural way simplicated.


But that isn't all. Because the more popular, mobile apps are far more simplicated than web apps. So key set are again limited almost only for inputing text, mouse strokes are converted into touch (so less accurate) gestures.


So there are no way to implement the most of ordinary apps as web or mobile apps. Because it isn't possible, as a result we are equipped with the most complex web and mobile apps, what only they can be.


It's the same as Virtual Reality games - it's big marketing effort for selling that idea, but there are still no good games in the most of game categories (except for simulations such as one-seat driver simulation). The most of successful game designs, aren't possible to realize in VR world, and in the most cases are causing headache and nausea.


Maybe if web and mobile apps limitations would cause unpleasant effects we would be still in era of traditional apps. ;-)


[Is today's shape of apps was inevitable?]


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@ Mon 12 Jul 2021 09:45:38 PM CEST


tags: #software



/gemlog/