[terhechte]

The "it would have been different under Steve Jobs" trope is coming up every so often when Apple introduces a radical new feature. Oftentimes I don't agree but in this case I absolutely do. A huge amount of engineering to get these shader effects right, but the outcome will be that the platforms will look more like a fruit salad and less coherent. Companies that invested in React Native, Flutter, Tauri, or alternatives in the past years will not necessarily be willing to redo their whole app just so that the controls get the glass look. At the same time replicating this in every cross platform toolkit might be difficult, and so I think this will lead to many apps looking out of place which worsens the overall experience.

[theshrike79]

As with everything related to Apple, most likely this change is related to something coming in a year or two that needs transparent widgets.

Now devs have time to adjust their applications for this system, which makes the next update easier.

Could be AR glasses or a consumer level VR headset, or something completely different.

[seec]

Well I agree that with Apple there is always some sort of plan. But the real question would be: is that plan worth it?

Considering what they are doing with the Vision Pro, I am extremely skeptical. I think Apple has lost touch with why people bought their stuff and this is more evidence of that.

[adampk]

You would think this would be obvious to everyone. Clearly Apple is prepping for a digital overlay on the real world. Also less UI interaction, more voice/AI interaction.

[jpmonette]

Looks quite relevant for Vision Pro, transparent screens, AR and such. I think that's the rational. Maybe a transparent iPhone screen coming up?

[baal80spam]

Very interesting take - infinitely more insightful that any knee-jerk reaction I've seen up till now!

[adwawdawd]

They are called Apple, why are you surprised about fruid salad?

Additionally why would Apple be interested in making cross platform coherence easier? Just buy Apple if you want the cool design.

[terhechte]

I agree, but I think they're not in the position anymore to enforce this. Years ago this would have been a valid move, but companies that switched to cross platform will not move back. It saves costs and adds velocity to just have one team for both platforms.

[adwawdawd]

Companies will have to decide if they want the cool design or their own consistent look.

[jkmcf]

  I think this will lead to many apps looking out of place which worsens the overall experience.

I think this was a business decision aiming for this result.

[douglaswlance]

react nataive gets some design refreshes for free. its native.

[terhechte]

But not these, afaik. RN only supports basic view types and composes them into controls. But these offer complete distinct controls. Using these in RN is possible, but usually via iOS-only plugins

[rdsubhas]

A < Glass $gt; component that's an empty container everywhere else, except on iOS it a glass.