14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 10 versions of PCs and smartphones will come with revamped apps that would include an Android-inspired hamburger menu, but despite the fact that Microsoft seems to be pushing its new platform closer to its rival, a former company employee says they’re not copying Android in any way.
In an AMA session on Reddit during which the former Microsoft Windows Phone designer also explained why the hamburger menu has to be there in Windows 10, he also tried to prove that the software giant isn’t necessarily imitating Android when building the new operating system.
He says that Microsoft’s employees are actually very careful not to get too close to its rivals in terms of design because it’s all about what he calls “differentiation” between Windows Phone, Android, and iOS.
“That really did not happen. If anything, the company has been too slow to accept anything from Android or iOS because they’re so concerned about losing differentiation. I literally had to find ways to refer to common design patterns without referring to ‘the fruit company’ because I knew I’d immediately lose the argument,” he explained in a post.
“It was like the Cupertino version of Godwin’s Law … it turns out the design world (when it comes to interaction design) is similar. We have libraries full of research … It’s what sucks about being a power user minority – we don’t represent a large enough market to make it financially viable enough to design for us. The mainstream is where you get your market share.”
A hamburger menu in Office was mandatory
Continuing the hamburger saga, the former Microsoft designer, who did not reveal his full name, explained that Office is living proof why a hamburger menu was needed.
Basically, the Office productivity suite has so many features that it would be really difficult to implement them all in just a single menu that would be different from the hamburger and, at the same time, keep it easy to reach on all phones.
Because the company needs to maintain consistency across devices and offer similar experience on tablets and PCs, the hamburger menu was the only one that fit Office, so Microsoft is now trying to use this first implementation in more apps available in its operating system.