Observation: Mac App Store UI

Posted by Jaan on October 20th, 2010 | Add your comment

Never mind the new MacBook Air. The most interesting detail from today’s announcements is the UI for the coming Mac App Store app. Specifically that the menu sits at the top of the store. Compare this to iTunes or the regular app store where these live on the left and  bottom respectively.

The top placement makes sense for several reasons:

• It counterbalances the dock with all the installed apps at the bottom of ones computer screen
• Helps keep them visible even on vertically thinner screens, like the new 11″ MacBook Air
• …which is useful, and will help to drive sales
• The software updates alert (first icon from the right) is easy to spot

These are my initial on-the-spot thoughts within 20 minutes of seeing the screens. It will be interesting to explore the UI when the store goes live in 90 days or so.