Comments on iOS 5 Notifications Center implementation

As you know, notifications handling and management is a very popular topic among iOS enthusiasts. I can't remember all proposals that I stumbled upon in the last few weeks before WWDC 2011 keynote. Now that iOS 5 Notification Center is officially announced, I would like to compare Apple's implementation to my own proposal published a while back. 

In "iOS notifications: a better implementation proposal" my improved notifications handling was split in three parts: 

1. Providing visual cue for the newly received notification
2. Invocation method to access the notification stack
3. Management of the notification stack

Visual cue

According to Apple's keynote, when a new notification is received by the device, a visual feedback is provided at the top of the display. A small band is flipped like a cube to show the notification for a while. Then, with the same animation it disappears.

This visual effect and position is better then my proposal as it shows more information in a place where people are used to look for status informations: the status bar. The height of the bar is about the same as the status bar when a call is ongoing. Also, the animation is even less intrusive than my proposed vanishing in-the-middle view.

Invocation method to get to the notification stack
As many notifications can arrive in a very short period of time or simply during the day, a stack of notification is building. Apple proposes the two methods to open the process notifications: swipe from top to bottom starting at the status bar or swipe a notification from left to right while looking the lock screen. The first method will get the user to the notification center. The second method will let the user access the application responsible of the notification. By skipping the use of a stand alone application, Apple simplify the process of accessing the notification stack and provide a system wide invocation method without going back to the home screen.

Management of the notification stack

Apple's implementation of the notification stack management is pretty simple and requires nothing new to learn. Swiping a notification, tapping the X to dismiss a section are all gestures that users already practice a lot. The Notification Center's background is pretty dark. Emphasis is put of the text and the application icons. Apple introduce a special visual cue at the bottom of the view to dismiss the Notification Center.

 All in all, I like Apple improvements to the iOS notifications.