Apps made for one OS shouldn't insist on aping the design elements of another
User interfaces should be designed for the <i>user</i>, not for the operating system. I feel like more apps should embrace their uniqueness rather than aping whatever Apple&#x2F;Google&#x2F;whatever puts out as the &quot;new standard&quot; every time their design team decides to go in a new direction.<p>A lot of user interface design is managing user expectation (things people have gotten used to, like where a &quot;create&quot; button is or what a &quot;share&quot; icon looks like) versus optimizing for long-term usability of an app (something like Snapchat, with its seemingly-esoteric UI that is actually efficient once one is used to using it).<p>The only reason the author gives for taking this position is that &quot;Participating on someone else’s operating system means you’re on their turf. The author even admits that &quot;I’m not saying either design is superior.&quot; So app companies should forego optimizing for user experience to pay respect to the platform that they&#x27;re on? This is a totally backwards position; apps should respect their users. If that means following all the OS guidelines for a sparingly used app, that&#x27;s fine. But if that means creating a unique UI and app flow for long-term user happiness, then the app company owes no respect to the &quot;local conventions&quot; of the OS.<p>edit: clarity