Mac OS X Lion to tone down the Aqua

OneMoreThing... · Apr 12, 2011

The Aqua interface has been a staple of Mac OS X since version 10.0, but now it appears that Apple is toning down the aqua appearance of its operating system in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. As you can see from the screen shot above, Apple has removed a lot of the aqua trimmings from drop-down menus, they've also taken the pill-shaped aqua buttons and given them a more flat, rectangular appearance.

In addition to the changes above, Lion has also stripped out OS X's aqua scroll bars and replaced them with iOS-like scroll bars which fade away when not in use. The white pill button found in the upper-right corner of a Finder or app's window, which shows or hides a window's toolbar, has also now been replace with a full screen button.

I'm a fan of the new look myself. I'm glad Apple hasn't totally abandoned the aqua interface, but it's nice that they've toned it down. If you want to see more of the subtle changes listed above, click on over to AppleInsider, which posted the above images.

Mac OS X Lion to tone down the Aqua originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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vansmith · Apr 12, 2011

I very much like the "toned down" Aqua coming with Lion. I very much prefer aesthetic simplicity and it looks like Lion is going to cater to that preference. I'm still on the fence about the iOS scrollbars - I'll give it a try before I pass judgment. As for the lack of a pill button - if I can still hide toolbars, I'll be fine (I hide the toolbar for most apps).

robduckyworth · Apr 12, 2011

vansmith said:
I very much like the "toned down" Aqua coming with Lion. I very much prefer aesthetic simplicity and it looks like Lion is going to cater to that preference. I'm still on the fence about the iOS scrollbars - I'll give it a try before I pass judgment. As for the lack of a pill button - if I can still hide toolbars, I'll be fine (I hide the toolbar for most apps).

Same here. I am happy aqua is being changed. the scroll bars in 10.6 just don't fit in with the rest of the GUI. i just hope it doesn't become too "iPaddy".

Im still gonna leave out buying Lion for a good 6 months before i buy it.

technologist · Apr 12, 2011

Square, flat controls with just a touch of blue highlighting. Very much like Windows Aero, which is not ugly at all. Should make the switchers feel right at home.

bobtomay · Apr 12, 2011

Guess I'll go against the tide. I like the extra aqua. It also makes for a much more obvious "hey, you have options here". I also much prefer the pill shape over the square shape. That's just too bland looking, similar to most default Linux installs.

The disappearing scroll bar similar to iOS, now that I might like. I have gotten use to not seeing it on the iPad. I thought it would bother me not having some visual cue of how far up or down the page you are, but hasn't really.

Printerman · Apr 12, 2011

I think it would be cool if there was an “Aqua bar”. Which you could move to change the amount of aqua effect.

roflitskyle · Apr 12, 2011

That is very nice. I like that way better. Very minimal.

- Kyle

vansmith · Apr 12, 2011

bobtomay said:
I thought it would bother me not having some visual cue of how far up or down the page you are, but hasn't really.

I was thinking about this and I think I'm going to share the same feelings (don't own an iPad). Thinking about my own scrolling habits, I always scrolling using my Magic Mouse and rarely (if ever) use the scrollbar. I get the feeling that a lack of an always present scrollbar isn't going to bother me. What will bother me though is the fact that applications have to be written to use the new style - applications don't get it automatically. This bothers me because I like consistency across my applications.

bobtomay · Apr 12, 2011

I can see all the posts now...

How do I scroll?

How do I pick another font?

How do I change the font size - there's no scroll bar!!!

vansmith · Apr 12, 2011

That's probably the biggest problem especially since many Mac users will not have owned/used an iOS device. That said, I'm fairly confident that the scrollbar shows up when you move the mouse over the control. In that case, the scrollbar will show up when you move the mouse over the font list.

Feniks80 · Apr 12, 2011

I like it, i can't remember the last time i used the scroll bar. I will miss the aqua buttons, but it sure does look nice without it. I'm not sure what to think of the buttons, i like the rectangular look, but it looks to flat.

BrianLachoreVPI · Apr 12, 2011

The article left out the most egregious change - the question mark is no longer purple or cyan or whatever color it is... :Angry:

technologist · Apr 12, 2011

bobtomay said:
Guess I'll go against the tide. I like the extra aqua. It also makes for a much more obvious "hey, you have options here".

Agreed.

osxx · Apr 12, 2011

bobtomay said:
Guess I'll go against the tide. I like the extra aqua. It also makes for a much more obvious "hey, you have options here". I also much prefer the pill shape over the square shape. That's just too bland looking, similar to most default Linux installs.

The disappearing scroll bar similar to iOS, now that I might like. I have gotten use to not seeing it on the iPad. I thought it would bother me not having some visual cue of how far up or down the page you are, but hasn't really.

Like the aqua but never use the scroll bar .

roflitskyle · Apr 13, 2011

I don't think I am going to mind not having a scroll bar. To be honest I never used it. I think it is going to be a nice change.

- Kyle

the8thark · Apr 13, 2011

I'm ok with Apple removing the aqua elements. But Apple is also sucking out the colour from many of their apps and the finder experience. I owned a B&W 512k and SE Mac back in the day. I don't want to go back to those colourless days. I even have to use an itunes hack to get the v9 colours back in v10.

Please Apple I like colours. I want to see more colour.

robduckyworth · Apr 13, 2011

the8thark said:
Please Apple I like colours. I want to see more colour.

same, grey is too bland for some of us.

on the scrollbar front, i found the first day i had my mac, i was going, clicking on the scroll and dragging.

then i found the lovely two finger drag, which was sooo much easier than that. most people will realise in time. desktop people, you cant tell me you dont use the scroll wheel instead?

the scroll bar is still going to be there, but it will only appear while moving up and down.

the8thark · Apr 13, 2011

robduckyworth said:
desktop people, you cant tell me you dont use the scroll wheel instead?

I never did on my imac. Cause I never had a scroll ball till the Mighty Mouse. And it never worked for me so I went without it. And I read your post now and I'm like "yeah I can 2 finger scroll with my new Magic Mouse". I just never do. Old habits die hard I guess.

schweb · Apr 13, 2011

I do sometimes use the scroll bar if I want to make a big jump down a page. I don't do it often, but I do use it.

OneMoreThing... · Apr 18, 2011

Inside Mac OS X 10.7: Apple to strip most Aqua gloss

Inside Mac OS X 10.7: Apple to strip most Aqua gloss

Apple's next desktop operating system release will tone down much of the Aqua user interface and change how screen captures handle windows' drop down sheets.

Mac OS X Lion to tone down the Aqua

OneMoreThing...

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