1w ago

I'm curious, which settings app layout do you prefer?

The image on the right is how the settings app look on macOS 12. On macOS 13 (2022) it was changed to look more to the one on the left, with all the sections selectable in a sidebar and a smaller window. Many users have complained about it, saying that it sacrificed function for form and is part of making macOS more like iOS by mindlessly copying phone UIs onto computers which it isn't meant for. I think its alright, not terrible. And it's the norm with settings apps looking like that in Windows, KDE, Gnome, and some other DEs.

26 comments

Left. Left. Absolutely left, oh my god.

The left. It's far superior.

I'm so much more used to the left that I absolutely do not like the right at all. Side note: it's why I absolutely disliked default Gnome when I was first using Ubuntu: programs set up similarly to the right in the start menu adjacent thing.

Definitely the left.

Fun fact: KDE's settings app used to look the one on the right up until a few years ago, too.
- @Ephera @TheTwelveYearOld And Apple's doesn't look like that anymore either. It looks more similar to @kde's app now.
  
  As said in the post, yes, lol.

I find the left one better, but still very cluttered.
Many categories could be merged to keep it more glanceable and create less choice paralysis.
The list to the left is the way to go, but maybe we should have subcategories or some other type of grouping within them?
I don't know UX design, but I know I feel they both are a bit much to take in and not intuitive to navigate.
I like the Gnome settings app better! 😄

The grid on the right just shows you all your options.
The list on the left obscures some of your options behind a scroll down, which you will then realize you actually have to scroll back up for!
- Behold! The power of search beckons you :P
  I completely stopped caring about how the Systems Settings menu is organised after all the improvements they did to search a few years ago

I much prefer the one on the right. Sure, it looked a bit less modern but it wasn’t nearly as glitchy as the newer one. I rely on searching for settings and it almost never works; I really don’t know how Apple ever let the new version into macOS.
- OP is just talking about layout, not implementations.
  
  Well the layout of the search in the new version also completely fucking sucks since at least in the old layout it would highlight the section you needed to go to.

Left, definitely.
It's way less chaotic and more neatly organized. Much easier for me to find what I'm looking for.

Left.

Left, but in reality I'm only ever using the search bar. Further, if the OS has a good universal search (like command space on Mac) I might not even be using the search bar in the settings app directly. Search bars in settings are a blessing and I'm so glad they've become the norm.

I prefer chaos. I have it place windows in a randomly generated location, and set at a random window size (if the app allows it). 😈

Obviously left, because you can still see the list of options when you have one selected.

I prefer right for browsing.
Though, I use search to find the setting I’m looking for 99% of the time, anyway.

The new settings app in macOS is a ridiculous wall of text. So I prefer the one on the right.

if i could choose, i would get the left, but right is fine too

@TheTwelveYearOld
Left.

I use KDE for technical reasons, but I pretty much prefer Gnome's settings and generally their whole UI design.
Speaking of the image, I prefer KDE's settings. Apple's is too dumbed down and slower to navigate.

The right was fine, honestly. At least on macOS, the new "modern" version is an utter clusterfuck. As for complaints about being unable to pick a different option when one of them is open, in macOS you have a View menu with all of them available to select from on either one.
Having said that, a list/search area to the left of the panel is probably preferable if done properly.

I still remember when it was the right. I just clicked whenever to try to find what I wanted. Still kind do it on now too, but it's not as bad as it once was in terms of organisation. Things have started to make sense.

KDE Plasma used to have one like the one on the right a few years ago, and I was so glad when they ditched it. I strongly prefer the organized look of the left one. I always had a hard time finding anything in the old KDE/MacOS settings.

26 comments