Today I would like to discuss with you the problems associated with a large number of different casings from different manufacturers.
On Wednesday, I published an article in which I talked about my experience teaching parents how to interact with a smartphone. Readers took this topic very vividly, many shared their stories, those who want to read the article in more detail and comments can follow the link.
Problem # 1. Training
After its publication, I realized that there is something else that I would like to talk with you, dear readers. Literally on the same day, I received a letter from a 76-year-old woman asking me to help her deal with the phone according to the principle of scheduling all actions for points 1, 2, 3, etc. And so I thought it was a good idea, but it's rather problematic to do it. Why? Because each manufacturer has its own shell with unique features that prevent the preparation of such material.
I'll write, for example, an article based on TouchWiz, and the person was presented with a MegaFon Login, where the logic of work and the interface are slightly different. But this 'a little' is already enough for a non-versed user to start to get lost. This, by the way, is one of the reasons why you need to immediately and for a long time decide which brand of smartphone you buy for mom or dad. After all, then transferring them from Samsung to HTC or Lenovo will be very problematic. For you and me, everything is logical and understandable, for inexperienced people, any step aside raises questions and misunderstanding.
By the way, we have a series of articles 'Android for dummies', where we try to tell in simple language about the basic capabilities of your Android – smartphone.
Problem # 2. Unity of the interface of the shell and third-party applications
Google has once again shoveled the appearance of the operating system, choosing Material Design as a starting point. Developers are not new to this behavior of the search giant, so many applications were updated in accordance with the guidelines rather quickly (to tell the truth, I was very surprised by this). But companies are not “rolling out” updates so quickly. It is clear that this is largely due to the adaptation of their own shells for the new OS version.
Unfortunately, this adaptation does not always include an updated design. I remember when the Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note received an update to Android 4.0, the only external change was the sharper edges of the network signal icon. Otherwise, TouchWiz's 'cartoonish' design remained the same.
It's a completely different matter – HTC, at one time I really liked the version of Sense 3.6, which perfectly fit into the Holo design concept.
Solution options
As usual, both sides are to blame – both Google and the manufacturers themselves. The search giant has long threatened to oblige manufacturers to at least not touch the starter launcher, but things, as they say, are still there. In addition, Google could give the sources of new OS versions to large companies in advance so that they prepare updates simultaneously with the announcement of the new version Android.
On the other hand, manufacturers themselves are also in no hurry to support the guidelines for new designs from Google. Look at TouchWiz, Vibe UI, ZenUI – they are all very different from Google's Material Design.
In my opinion, Google just needs to tighten the terms of use Android. Now the time has passed when it is necessary to increase the number of users, the stability of work and consistency of appearance are much more important. In the meantime, switching, for example, from Samsung to HTC, you seem to open a completely different operating system.