I’ve written extensively about how Android skins have gotten more and more like iOS with every passing 12 months. This drawback extends to a number of Android producers, and I am not saying Apple does not additionally poach loads of options and designs from Android. It is a pattern the place corporations are most snug transferring in direction of the middle to keep away from offending anybody with their software program. They do not need to launch something too daring or totally different in hopes of alienating long-time customers or scaring off potential new prospects.
It wasn’t all the time this manner. The pre-Nougat Android days have been full of attention-grabbing and distinctive skins that made you are feeling such as you have been utilizing a tool made by Sony, Motorola, and others. Listed below are my favourite Android skins that persistently ship a pang of nostalgia.
3 HTC Sense
It’s a must to begin with the GOAT
It is not possible to debate earlier Android UIs with out mentioning HTC Sense. It was the gold customary for the primary half of the 2010s. For many individuals, it was synonymous with Android throughout that interval. You could not sit by way of a TV industrial break with out an advert for an HTC Evo, and on the middle of it was HTC Sense. Utilizing Sense UI 6.0 on my HTC M8 was a dream, and it made Android KitKat a greater expertise.
In case you used an HTC smartphone, you recognize that Sense UI’s attraction goes past the clock and climate widgets. In contrast to a lot of its contemporaries (one in all which is on this listing), HTC Sense ran fantastically. It was one of many first instances that animations have been performed effectively on early Android telephones, and the widgets added seamlessly to the person expertise as a substitute of dragging it down. HTC Sense was user-friendly. For all of the reward we have given Google for making Pixels extra interesting to first-time customers, HTC tried to lure iPhone customers over 10 years in the past.
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HTC’s apps have been additionally effectively performed, with out the tough edges we noticed from different corporations. The corporate did not overlook that Android is about customization, and you could possibly make your HTC look the best way you need with loads of wallpaper and different choices. HTC normalized most of the gadgets we take as a right. I nonetheless look fondly at my HTC Evo 3D due to my superb time with the HTC Sense.
2 MotoBlur
A minimum of Motorola tried one thing
I am an unapologetic disciple of Home windows Cellphone. I cherished the platform and am nonetheless amazed that Android producers do not undertake a few of its design components. It was implausible at combining the social elements of life with information and climate data and presenting it at a look on the house display screen.
Motorola tried one thing related with MotoBlur. It displayed a number of social media feeds, messages, and e-mail accounts throughout the house display screen. MotoBlur put notifications from a number of sources into one feed. With a single scroll, you could possibly see messages from two totally different e-mail accounts, Fb, and Twitter. It was preferrred if you happen to had one system for private and work use, as MotoBlur allowed you to log in to a number of e-mail accounts and see messages from them in a single feed.
As revolutionary as MotoBlur was, its efficiency was terrible. The Motorola Photon 4G carousel typically felt prefer it moved at one body per second, and social media feeds usually slowed down the system. Animations weren’t polished, and the efficiency wasn’t highly effective sufficient on these older gadgets. I’ve all the time loved Motorola software program, and I believe the current swap to Hey UI has gone effectively for the corporate, however there’ll all the time be one thing about MotoBlur that I really feel is value revisiting.
1 Sony Xperia UI
The whole Sony product household felt built-in
I keep in mind powering up my Sony Xperia Z3 Compact for the primary time and loving the software program. Sony struck the proper steadiness between principally inventory Android and some distinctive touches that added to the expertise. Whereas it did not function the unmistakable XrossMediaBar, outstanding throughout the peak of the PlayStation 3, it had an aesthetic just like that of the PlayStation 4 and different Sony media gadgets of the interval. It was colourful and vibrant, with engaging widgets and Sony apps. Present Sony cellphone software program has shades of earlier eras, nevertheless it feels totally different.
The Xperia UI featured PlayStation 4 distant play by default, and Sony included a Walkman app for listening to music. In contrast to telephones at the moment, it felt like a Sony system, and I loved that the corporate included different IPs from its catalog of merchandise. I’ve all the time had a gentle spot for Sony smartphones, and the software program UI was a major motive.
I am not saying return to when telephones did not work
Fortunately, my nostalgia does not cloud my frequent sense. I do not need Android to return to a time if you did not know in case your cellphone would work correctly, with terrible efficiency and crashing apps. Smartphones have sufficient efficiency to run even sophisticated UIs easily, and I am certain engineers from Google and Samsung may determine it out. It appears corporations need to spend extra time on initiatives like Galaxy AI. I perceive the enterprise attraction of wanting unoffensive and pleasant software program for all customers, however I might hope that competitors would spark corporations to attempt one thing totally different. Till then, I am going to sit with my HTC Evo and dream.