Cant click or double click it. RGB colours are 240,240,240. Sits 205 pixels down and 149 pixels from the left. 194x55 pixels width x height.
![]() ![]() I’m going to hold off judgement for now as they don’t yet look finished. It uses a nicely integrated sidebar to manage different categories.It’s a shame that this sidebar hasn’t yet made it to other parts of the preferences UI with Network and Notifications still using a very old looking sidebar.One aspect of preferences that has been quite controversial (on Twitter at least) is the new icons. PreferencesPreferences sees quite a lot of change in some areas.The Dock preferences pane has become “Dock and Menu Bar” and now integrates controls for the new macOS control center. I can guarantee this will result in fewer people discovering Finder’s Spotlight search goodness. This change seems a little inconsistent as it’s not made it to Preview. To me, it seems like the design team have not yet been able to find a way to elegantly integrate these elements into the iOS inspired UI.One final thing to note is that in Finder the search bar at the top right has been replaced with a search icon that expands when clicked. The updated WiFi menu is also a massive improvement, as the old list could easily be overwhelming with the number of WiFi networks displayed.I’m less convinced that the Notification Center is easier to use though. Control Center looks like it’s been badly photocopied and the Notification Center in Catalina has a bug whereby it renders at double it’s normal width.What was obvious within a few minutes of use was that the Control Center is a massive improvement on Catalina’s row of scattered Menu bar icons. It’s also difficult to take decent screenshots of both of these. Menu Bar and Notification CenterThis is one of the areas where macOS has changed the most. This is quite a departure from the existing sheet drop-down - it feels much more iOS-like. White Borders App Desktop For Images Full Height SidebarOther bundled appsIt was impossible to go into depth with every single bundled app. Both apps make use of Apple’s new accent colour and new glyph icon library. For example both apps already include the new full height sidebar.For me this illustrates a bigger point that Steven Sinofsky recently made on Twitter - that Apple is executing a meticulous multi-year strategy.One area where changes are evident are is in preferences windows. It’s obvious that the new UI has been planned for a while as Apple Music and Podcasts are mostly indistinguishable from their initial Catalina release. I think this is a little strange considering the overhaul Siri is receiving in iOS 14. The search field also loses a lot of its contrast.Unsurprisingly Terminal is almost unchanged.On the subject of unchanged apps, there were a number of other apps that are so far relatively unchanged.Siri in macOS Big Sur shows no apparent changes. On first impressions, I feel this is a little visually confusing and makes it harder to scan. As with Finder, there are no longer any rows meaning all elements are at the same level. Best storage device for macTakeawaysOverall, the UI changes in macOS aren’t as dramatic as I was expecting. It did receive a new icon though. What’s more, I don’t think it’s changed much since MacOS 9 judging from its weird, retro controls.Boot Camp is also practically unchanged, although this is perhaps unsurprising given Apple’s move to Apple Silicon, so presumably Boot Camp’s days are numbered. It’s completely identical between both releases. I also hope Apple don’t leave pro users behind. Right now there are several different layouts and approaches to this UI. It unsurprising as this is the first developer beta, but there are still many rough edges.I hope in the long term they focus on creating consistent patterns: for example for the first launch experience of apps. Even if there are a few teething issues and the look is a little jarring at first, this has to be a good thing in the long-term.Having said that, Apple still has a vast amount of work to do to perfect the new macOS UI. They don’t feel well integrated into the UI and in some cases lack visual separation.If you’re interested in reading even more about the design changes in macOS Big Sur, Cult of Mac have a comprehensive overview of the new icons.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorBrianna ArchivesCategories |