Scott Jenson, a veteran UX designer formerly at Apple and Google, argues that the 'UX/UI' split pits programmers against designers and narrows ambition in open source. He makes the case that desktop UX has stagnated and that open source projects could lead experimentation beyond current interaction models.
Why Hacker News points people here: HN commenters cite it when discussing stagnating desktop UX, Apple's design decline, and open source's chance to experiment with new interaction models.
“It's time for open source projects to embrace experimentation and take the mantle of cutting edge UX”HN comment, 2026
“I've recently watched this talk by an ex-apple UI/UX engineer”
Ex-Apple UX engineer talk on what Apple lost.
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I’ve always respected macOS for being the 'stable' choice for not-as-techy people. But recent versions feel like a mess. Running Tahoe on my 2019 Mac Pro (Yes the cheese grater one) has been surprisingly frustrating. Simple things are broken: Ableton couldn't even trigger a microphone permission prompt, forcing me to meddle with a SQLite database, which is definitely not meant for end users to touch, just to get it working. Logitech’s software is stuck in a loop denying it has Bluetooth access (Which it has). And with the added graphical glitches (Apple likes to call them liquid glass) and weird window artifacts (For some reason, all my windows had a black, rectangular border one day), it’s honestly less reliable than my macOS-style Linux rice from 2015. I've recently watched this talk by an ex-apple UI/UX engineer: this video I think what he's talking about is precisely what got lost at apple.
RecommendsbsimpsonJan 2026
“It's time for open source projects to embrace experimentation and take the mantle of cutting edge UX”
Argues open source should lead desktop UX experimentation as Apple retreats.
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Scott Jenson - who worked on the classic Mac for Apple, and Android for Google - recently gave a talk on this: this video The tl;dw is that copying UX lets others invest energy in identifying the paradigm. Linux, which tends to be starved for resources, has historically been reasonably well served by letting Apple and Microsoft define UX, while Linux focuses on implementing it. However, those headlining companies haven't been investing in desktop UX excellence in recent years. It's time for open source projects to embrace experimentation and take the mantle of cutting edge UX, because Apple et. al. aren't paving the way anymore.
RecommendsglkindlmannJan 2026
“This talk from Scott Jenson (who worked at Apple in Human Interfaces) was thought-provoking”
Thought-provoking talk giving optimism about UX experimentation.
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It may have jumped the shark, but it may be that now there's space for actual experimentation and innovation again. This talk from Scott Jenson (who worked at Apple in Human Interfaces) was thought-provoking and gave me a little optimism: this video
Cites itjotaenDec 2025
“a recent talk of Scott Jenson, where he talked about how we just took over established UX patterns from desktop to mobile as is”
Jenson on carrying desktop UX patterns over to mobile.
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This looks like an interesting concept! > I find that the drag and drop experience can quickly become a nightmare, especially on mobile. To me, drag and drop is only a nightmare on mobile. On desktop (using a mouse or trackpad), drag and drop actually works quite well. Your design experiment reminds me of a recent talk of Scott Jenson, where he talked about how we just took over established UX patterns from desktop to mobile as is, and how that created all sorts of nuisances. ( this video ) If mobile drag&drop was implemented like you are suggesting from the very start, I actually might have preferred that over the situation we now ended up with. One technical note on your implementation: on certain mobile browsers, there is a glitch where the UI can jump around as the browser dynamically slides top or bottom menu bars in and out.
Cites itjayweeJan 2026
“Scott Jenson (Apple/Google UX) laments we stopped innovating on Desktop.”
Jenson laments the lack of desktop UX innovation.
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> "we have to cater to what 96% of users know" Indeed. Just recently saw a talk "Are we stuck with the same Desktop UX forever? | Ubuntu Summit 25.10" ( this video ) where Scott Jenson (Apple/Google UX) laments we stopped innovating on Desktop. Such appeal to conformity is indeed quite sad from GNOME.
Cites iteighty8daysJul 2026
“This feels like a step in the right direction from this talk on desktop UX.”
Multiple cursors seen as progress matching the talk's call.
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This feels like a step in the right direction from this talk on desktop UX. Finally some cool innovation here! this video
CriticalxnxDec 2025
“I felt rage baited when he crossed out Jakob Nielsen and promoted Ed Zitron”
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I felt rage baited when he crossed out Jakob Nielsen and promoted Ed Zitron ( this video ). Bad AI is not good UI, but objecting based on AI being "not ethically trained" and "burning the planet" aren't great reasons.
CriticalGaryBlutoDec 2025
“It's really strange how he spins off on this mini-rant about AI ethics towards the end.”
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this video You're missing the ampersand. It's really strange how he spins off on this mini-rant about AI ethics towards the end. I clicked on a video about UI design.
