The iOS lock screen: version 2.0, with ideas from Brentcas (Update 2.0)

Posted by AussieCamper on December 9, 2012 02:55 am 12

TL; DR: Brentcas's idea is great, but I think that the current notifications are unnecessary, and should either be removed or changed.

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I was reading Brentcas's post "Rethinking the Lockscreen" this morning and thinking about ways to make it better, and then this idea popped into my head.

The Current Lock Screen (as of iOS 6)

via i.imgur.com, by iDownloadBlog

The current lock screen exists of the status bar, the time, the wallpaper, the notification system, the slide-to-unlock mechanism, and the quick access camera grabber, which all take up about 40% of the lock screen space.

Brentcas's Idea

via i.imgur.com, by Brentcas

Brentcas's idea consists of lockscreen cards - swipeable bits of information, like a cross between live tiles, notifications and widgets. It still has the slide-to-unlock bar, and the normal camera grabber, so the only real change is the cards.

The Problem, and how to fix it

via i.imgur.com, by Brentcas

Although Brentcas's idea is great, I am still wondering about why notifications in the middle are needed. Why not just use the cards as not just controls and info, but also notifications? There would be lots of space in the cards and you would have more room to look at your wallpaper (if you're one of those artsy types) without a transparent overlay in the middle.

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So that's it for now. If anybody has any photoshop skills and some spare time, feel free to mock-up some notifications in card style. I also have some ideas about slightly changing the slide-to-unlock bar, but those can wait for later.

UPDATE: New render for cards in lists, below in the comments. UPDATE 2: Render for slide-to-unlock card, again in the comments.