I understood Apple modernized the icons on iOS, because many users fell into the "I want to unify everything" mode. But I can't believe they done the same with macOS. Not only they screw up many icons (incl. my favorite; the Finder) - they destroy the investments of many indie developers.
But this is a tendency they have started long ago. Latest when they unified the shape, we should have send thousands of mails to Cupertino. No it is too late… is it?
rgovostes · 1d ago
> The macOS Tahoe app icon squircling is a pain and a cost for indie developers like me and the others shown above.
No? The system provided you with an icon. You aren’t obligated to redesign anything.
It’s fair to disagree with the aesthetics of the new style or usability of losing unique silhouettes or readability of shrinking icons down to fit in the squircle, but it isn’t creating any obligation for indie developers.
lapcat · 1d ago
> it isn’t creating any obligation for indie developers
Tell that to the users, who will absolutely bitch and moan and berate. Have you ever done user support?
Although I personally despise iOS squircles on Mac, my newer Mac apps do have squircle icons, not because I want them but rather because users want them. They hate when app icons are "out of place" compared to all of the others on their system.
rgovostes · 1d ago
I'm an icon snob myself, and have fond appreciation for the glossy 3D icons of Mac OS X's past—the Pages inkwell, the "Here's to the crazy ones" easter egg in TextEdit, etc. I abhor the minimal-effort iPhone Mirroring icon in Sequoia.
I think the automatically generated icons for your apps look completely fine. And basically all of the examples you showed. You could remove the border on Bonjeff or add a background color to Underpass (or any of them) if you really wanted. If I had StopThe* side by side in my Dock, I would probably wish the octagons were the same size, but they might not have been to begin with?
(My favorite icons might be in Books.app → Book Store → Sections.)
wpm · 1d ago
The Dock is a personalized thing. Apple should not be forcing app's icons into anything, or rendering them in any way other than what the developer provides. If the developer, or more chiefly, the user, chooses to use a different icon, Apple has no fucking right to change it, get in the way, or do anything but display the pixels I told the icon to be.
This kind of crap is an example of the worst of their hubristic tendencies.
But this is a tendency they have started long ago. Latest when they unified the shape, we should have send thousands of mails to Cupertino. No it is too late… is it?
No? The system provided you with an icon. You aren’t obligated to redesign anything.
It’s fair to disagree with the aesthetics of the new style or usability of losing unique silhouettes or readability of shrinking icons down to fit in the squircle, but it isn’t creating any obligation for indie developers.
Tell that to the users, who will absolutely bitch and moan and berate. Have you ever done user support?
Although I personally despise iOS squircles on Mac, my newer Mac apps do have squircle icons, not because I want them but rather because users want them. They hate when app icons are "out of place" compared to all of the others on their system.
I think the automatically generated icons for your apps look completely fine. And basically all of the examples you showed. You could remove the border on Bonjeff or add a background color to Underpass (or any of them) if you really wanted. If I had StopThe* side by side in my Dock, I would probably wish the octagons were the same size, but they might not have been to begin with?
(My favorite icons might be in Books.app → Book Store → Sections.)
This kind of crap is an example of the worst of their hubristic tendencies.