[nomdep]

These beautiful images (AI generated, perhaps?) make for a great showcase, but I find myself disagreeing with almost everything here - except for the core desire to make interfaces more engaging.

The real challenge is that UI designs are ultimately constrained by their hardware. This means major interface innovations often limit where the software can actually be used.

Take tablet-optimized apps, for instance. They can fully embrace touch interaction, but this leaves desktop-only users completely out of the loop.

So unfortunately, truly revolutionary interfaces tend to require equally revolutionary hardware to match .

[do_not_redeem]

Definitely AI generated.

https://wattenberger.com/thoughts/our-interfaces-have-lost-t...

What are those floating letters? Does the keyboard have 3 rows of keys, or 4? What's going on near where the esc key should be? Why does the screen look like the back of a park bench?

[robotguy]

Yeah, I immediately noticed the extra arm in this one:

https://wattenberger.com/thoughts/our-interfaces-have-lost-t...

[godelski]

Did we read the same article?

  > The real challenge is that UI designs are ultimately constrained by their hardware.

Sure, but part of designing a product is recognizing this and the author seems to be making that point. Surely they aren't saying you should have sound and haptics in devices with no speakers or motors. Certainly I think the author would argue that cars should have physical knobs and not touch screens.

The problem is what you mean by "UI"

UI means "User Interface". It does not mean "Software defined User Interface".

  User interfaces are composed of one or more layers, including a human–machine interface (HMI) that typically interfaces machines with physical input hardware (such as keyboards, mice, or game pads) and output hardware (such as computer monitors, speakers, and printers). 

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_interface

[schneems]

> truly revolutionary interfaces tend to require equally revolutionary hardware to match

The prime examples given were about mixing and matching capabilities that most hardware already has. Most computers and tablets already have a microphone and some kind of tactile input (touch or keyboard).

So, I wouldn’t say that you’re wrong in tying UI innovations to hardware, but it feels like perhaps you didn’t read the whole article. We can innovate by remixing existing functionality without having to wait on entirely new paradigms being adopted and universally available.