• Diyan
• On April 18, 2015

Why Windows Phone UI needs to evolve?

Yes, it seems that Microsoft is killing the Metro design with pivots and swipe navigation we all know from Windows Phone 7 to 8.1.

Windows 10 is about to bring drastic changes to the operating system and the Hamburger Menu is probably the most controversial feature that already popped up on Windows 10 Preview for Phones.

There are opposite opinions on the subject, from love to hate, but the truth is probably somewhere between. There should be a reason for that menu at the top to exist on Android and iOS. But what is it?

A former designer at Microsoft has revealed on Reddit that the internal debate within the team has started 2 years before we saw the first implementation of the Hamburger UI in Windows 10 Mobile Technical Preview. Here are the main reasons, according to the designer, why do Hamburgers make sense:

• Swiping hides content, and is too difficult to reach a section while there are 5 or more tabs
• Menu at the bottom is as hard to reach with a thumb as menu at the top. The perfect variant could be a menu in the middle of the screen, but that is not possible.
• Hamburgers are not used as often as you may think.
• Hamburgers have become a standard for app developers and not having them on Windows Phone is one of the key reasons for the app gap.

The new Windows 10 test version for Phones has introduced a couple of universal apps /Maps, Calendar, Outlook/ with a Hamburger menu at the top left corner. Microsoft has promised the new Office suite for Windows 10 will be coming by the end of April, and they all will have the new UI, for good or bad…

Source: wmpu