Old vs New UI

This cluster features debates on software user interfaces, with commenters largely preferring classic, clearer old UIs over newer designs criticized as bland, buggy, or poorly styled.

➡️ Stable 0.7x Other
4,781
Comments
20
Years Active
5
Top Authors
#6484
Topic ID

Activity Over Time

2007
8
2008
32
2009
69
2010
157
2011
203
2012
288
2013
308
2014
178
2015
153
2016
196
2017
205
2018
232
2019
246
2020
358
2021
477
2022
392
2023
418
2024
300
2025
513
2026
48

Keywords

IOW UX tenderapp.com apple.com OpenMoko FireFox CSD LibreOffice youtube.com imgur.com ui looks design windows icons themes uis old modern doesn look

Sample Comments

IanCal Jun 10, 2023 View on HN

Let's not pretend the old ui is good, it's just not as bad as the replacements.

gsich Mar 13, 2019 View on HN

Have they reverted the horrible UI?

ejpastorino Dec 22, 2012 View on HN

Kind of old. The UI looks completely different now.

Narishma Apr 3, 2021 View on HN

I think it looks better than modern UIs.

ilrwbwrkhv May 12, 2023 View on HN

In every single example, at a glance, the old left image was clearer than the new right proposed ui with muted colors. I don't use this buggy software anyways so don't have a horse in this race but from a UI design doesn't seem better to me. They should really go back to the windows 2000 aesthetic. That was the peak imo.

caublestone Feb 17, 2012 View on HN

I was hoping for an Ubuntu like UI. This looks like someone just hacked together the interface design from a collage of different styling with no direction :(.

kevinqi Oct 16, 2014 View on HN

I'd have to agree - maybe it's different when you use it, but based on the screenshots, the UI seems like a step backward.

xanderlewis Mar 2, 2025 View on HN

> UI still looks like it's from 2005.Are you sure this is a problem?

Fatnino Jan 2, 2023 View on HN

The windows UI is not a great look either.

ape4 Feb 9, 2023 View on HN

The UI doesn't look that old fashioned to me. It doesn't look like a website - it looks like an application (which is appropriate).