iOS 7 Animations Cause Nausea for Some
Apple made a big fuss at the introduction of iOS 7 about how most of the skeuomorphism had been removed, ranging from the green felt of Game Center to the stitched leather of Calendar (see “Apple Unveils Completely Redesigned iOS 7,” 10 June 2013). At the same time, the Apple executives showing off the new look were almost reverent when talking up iOS 7’s new visual effects, including the parallax effect on the Home screen that gives the impression of depth, icon animations after unlocking, and cinematic representations of current conditions in the Weather app.
Now that users have spent some time with iOS 7, the reaction to these new motion-based effects is not universally positive. Even Apple seems to acknowledge that by making it possible to turn off the parallax effect in Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion (see “Peering at iOS 7 for the Vision Impaired,” 19 September 2013). That control says it will also “reduce the motion of the user interface,” but doesn’t provide any additional details or appear to do anything else.
In particular, that setting doesn’t get rid of the animation that causes icons to fly in to the Home screen when you unlock your iOS device or the zooming on the background wallpaper when opening and closing folders. I find these animations annoying and time-wasting, and I’d shut them off if I could, but they don’t significantly affect my use of the iPhone.
That’s not the case for designer Jenni Leder, who explains in a blog post how various animations in iOS 7 trigger her motion sickness and make her physically ill. She’s far from alone in experiencing nausea in response to iOS 7 animations, to judge from coverage on Stuff and a lengthy thread in the Apple Support Communities.
In general, it seems that people with certain vestibular disorders have trouble with such animations, as well as some video games, 3D movies, and more. The problems can even be related to the particular display technology.
Of course, animation in iOS isn’t new — there has long been a zoom effect after unlocking and when returning to the Home screen from an app. But there does seem to be something qualitatively different about iOS 7’s animations, such that they generate the same kind of nausea-inducing effect as a first-person shooter game or 3D film. Perhaps it’s a bit like the “uncanny valley” that causes revulsion when human features are almost, but not exactly, natural. If the animation is too realistic, particularly with regard to the simulation of three dimensions on a 2D screen, it may set off the viewer’s motion sickness.
Regardless, it’s clear that Apple needs to acknowledge that iOS 7’s eye candy has non-trivial side effects, and the company should beef up the Reduce Motion option to turn off unnecessary swooping and zooming. Jenni Leder encourages those who are affected to file a bug report with Apple, mentioning bug number 15074144 so the duplicate reports can be tallied. You can also send email to [email protected], though Apple reportedly takes such informal feedback less seriously than bug reports.
This shouldn’t be a controversial move, since some of iOS 7’s visual effects serve the same purpose as the Find My Friends app’s stitched leather. That is to say, none whatsoever. Is there any usability difference in a Home screen whose icons don’t fly in after you unlock your iPhone? Does a slowly moving cloud in the background of the Weather app change your understanding of the weather conditions?
Note that I’m just suggesting an accessibility option here, and certainly not arguing for a complete elimination of motion in the interface. Much of iOS’s interface motion is tied to user actions — the icons on the Home screen sliding as you swipe from page to page, for instance — and that direct feedback is essential for the touch interface to work.
But it’s important to distinguish between visual effects that are core to the user experience of iOS and those that merely make it look cool. Eye candy should be optional, given its negative consequences on a portion of the population. And who knows, in a few years, it might seem as dated as simulated stitched leather and green felt.
I am visually atypical, and I know that. But I'm having a hard time with iOS 7 in a number of ways, even after changing my Wallpaper, contrast, text size, and turning off parallax. Some of the icons, because I have poor edge perception, are easy for me to miss when I am less than careful about tapping. Some of the line drawing icons/UI elements disappear almost completely for me, as in the AirPlay icon, and some I can't figure what they are, so I tap them to learn.
That might seem a small thing, but the ramifications are not. UIs shouldn't require guesswork and research.
I'm hoping that I'll get accustomed with use, but right now, it's more than a little frustrating.
Let us know when/if they "fix"it. Thanks.
I like the old way of opening folder icons. It just expanded like a window shade from that spot. Given how much you switch apps on the iPhone it does get really old to have things zoom in and out. To give enough contrast to the icons, i had to switch to the black wallpaper. The folder is now gray, making it harder to see the icons. browsing through your phone the dozens of zooms doesn't add to the experience.
Yes, I agree. When writing this, I was comparing back and forth with an iPhone 3GS running iOS 6, and although there is motion, it's far more understated and, frankly, feels better thought out.
It seems that these motion effects aren't available on the iPhone 4. I can't find a "Reduce Motion" option under the Accessibility banner.
I guess that's not a bad thing!
As another person with "atypical vision," I eagerly went to the bug site to file my two cents on 15074144. But It seems that civilians (without developer accounts) can't use that form. I enter my ID and it refreshes with no change.
I'm going to try [email protected] and hope they pay attention.
Yes, sorry, you need an Apple Developer account (which is free, but another account to track).
Just reinforces my conviction that while Jony Ive is an excellent hardware designer, he is, at best, a very mediocre software designer. I have no intention of downgrading from iOS 6.1.x to iOS 7.
So far, from all the various articles and comments, I can see no compelling reason to go with iOS-7. It seems like change for change's sake. Yahoo Groups and Flickr come to mind. Several others are following suit.
The only real improvement is with iPhone 5S's finger print detection, which requires iOS7.
No thanks.
The most important reason is the Activation Lock aspect of Find My iPhone, which will render iPhone thefts far less common over time. But that is a bit of a herd immunity situation - if enough people use iOS 7, thefts will decline even if you're still at risk.
This should be a wake-up call for Apple design strategists. According to the "vestibular disorder" link in this column, approximately 90 million Americans have susceptibilities to such nausea syndromes. Worse, 80% of the retirement-age population are likely to have such susceptibilities. This is as the baby boomer population bulge begins to age into this demographic which will increasingly be tech-savvy and a significant market.