Before downloading iOS9 to my iPhone, I was rather excited by the prospect of this new software. What new features would I be able to use? How would this update improve my phone and by extension, my life? The first thing that greeted me upon updating was not a life-changing, experience-enhancing update, but a simple font change. I couldn’t help but feel a little cheated. This “big update” was nothing more than a handful of new tools and a completely unnecessary change in the font. In the current age, developers are becoming too focused on pointless aesthetic changes and less on actual content upgrades.
The concept of updates to pre-existing software has been around for as long as software itself. The idea is utilized in the majority of software nowadays, building on the base product until a final, finished product eventually emerges long after the initial release or introduction. In some cases, a further charge is required in order to upgrade the software, such as downloadable content for video games.
The issue with these updates is that the concept of an update has become more idealized than the actual update itself. A change in the icon design of a smartphone app or yet another font change to the “Google” logo can make the software feel refreshed without really doing anything of actual substance. It’s gotten to the point where some of the changes made don’t even qualify as actual updates, as is the case with many social media websites like Twitter and Tumblr, who are more concerned with color schemes and the way the comments section looks than making actual improvements. Changes are solely made for the sake of making changes, with no actual goal in mind but to stir up controversy and draw attention.
While it’s important for brands to remain modern and relevant through making their software look newer and more intuitive, too much focus on tiny, unnecessary aesthetic changes can bring the central focus away from the actual purpose of updates: to build upon and improve the original content. Software has become more of an investment than ever and consumers expect the product to entertain them and last them a long time beyond the initial release. Developers need to dial back on the pointless aesthetic changes and go back to putting content first.
