Designer Jay Machalani, who proposed a way for Microsoft to fix the Windows 8 Start Menu problem that turned out to be very similar to what Microsoft actually revealed it wants to do with it, thinks he has figured out how to fix one of the main problems with Apple’s mobile operating system – according to some people – while sticking to Apple’s basic design principles. Machalani has envisioned an iOS 8 concept that brings users the “iOS Block,” which is a mix between Android’s widgets and Windows Phone’s Live Tiles that will improve the experience of those iOS users who want widgets, while also maintaining the same widget-less iOS experience others have grown to love.
With iOS Blocks, users would be able to turn an app icon into a larger block on the screen that offers a more lively experience, and which lets them quickly glance over an app for information and interact with it. That would eliminate the need of going into an app for certain purposes, and speed up access to certain data.
All the while, the familiar interface Apple still maintains in iOS, despite the major changes that came with iOS 7, will remain unscathed, as long-time iOS users who don’t feel the need of widgets would be able to interact with iOS without ever using the Block feature.
Apple, which will introduce iOS 8 at WWDC 2014 on Monday, has stayed away from adding widgets support to its iOS devices, preferring a simple interface that’s easy to use instead.
The following videos show Machalani’s vision for the iOS widget, with a thorough description behind his thinking available on his website.
