On Google Play there are about 3 million applications, some new and others that were launched years ago and never updated again. There are more useful and less useful and more beautiful and pretty tough to look at. Today we are going to talk about the latter.
In this list we have compiled nine popular applications on Google Play that for some reason follow anchored in the past in terms of its design it means. We will focus especially on those apps that continue to be updated but that maintain their appearance from years ago, completely ignoring Material Design and anything that resembles it.
Renfe Ticket
Renfe’s website has earned a certain fame among Internet users and not for its benefits, and history repeats itself in its applications. We have chosen Renfe Ticket for our list, although the same can be extended to other apps such as Renfe Cercanias, PlayRenfe or Renfe Timetables. Renfe Ticket has a Average rating on Google Play of 2.1 stars.
The problem here is not so much the design, which reminds us of the best? times of Web 2.0, but errors are frequent. And by the way, these error messages are displayed with very Android 1.6 style dialogs.
RenfeTicket
WordReference
WordReference is one of the reference pages for making language queries, although design has never been his strong point. The official application for Android follows the same scheme, for better or for worse.
In this case, the app has managed to garner a good note on Google Play, an average 4.5, despite having an uninspired design and a lash system that works regularly. It’s more or less the WordReference web stuffed into a container, and the problem is that the container neither looks nor adds much to the mix.
English Dictionary WordRef
Tax agency
It is always appreciated that a government agency launches an application to be able to carry out transactions from your mobile without having to fill out forms or go in person. The app of the tax agency allows you, among other things, to deliver the income statement.
The application has garnered a 4.0 note on Google Play and it must be recognized that, within what fits the design is not as bad as you might expect from a government app. Even so, its design could well pass for that of an app that you would use in an LG Optimus 3D in 2011, and it almost works at the same speed as the mobiles of then.
Tax agency
Lottery results
Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, or SELAE, has two applications published on Google Play. The first one is LoteriasPro with a score of 2.7 and a multitude of angry users in the reviews and the second is Loterias Lite, with a score of 2.2, updated this year but still using the pre-Marshmallow permit system (Android M was released in 2015).
The application is functional and with it you can see the results of the latest giveaways, as long as it does not close unexpectedly when opening it as reported by various users. In any case, the process is anything but a feast for the eyes, with low resolution images, superimposed texts and a somewhat confusing navigation.
State Lottery and Betting Results
Official Madrid Metro
For many years the Madrid Metro did not have an official application on Android, until it finally did in 2013. Seven years later, the application remains largely the same, for better or worse.
Again, we have a functional app, though the way it works is far from optimal. Frequently the application hangs “updating information” and the map of the subway, which should be one of the main functions, is basically a poorly viewed PDF.
Official Madrid Metro
CRTM – TP Card
Without the intention of making blood on public transport in Madrid, the official application to check the balance of the transport card was last updated in March 2019, but its interface could well be from 2009.
It’s not just the top bar with barely legible red lettering, but the rest of buttons and interface elements, dressed as antediluvian Android, and in addition, several users report that the latest versions have problems when reading cards.
CRTM – TP Card
Pixlr-o-matic
Pixlr-o-matic is one of the few apps on our list that has more or less reason for having such an outdated interface. Basically, it carries frozen in time since 2012, receiving a few updates later, but keeping its interface.
The funny thing is that Pixlr-o-matic had an interface of its own at that time and that’s why has aged better than other apps more modern but with an older look. Of course, when you open it on a modern mobile you get a warning that “it may not work well.”
Pixlr-o-matic
The AEMET Time
The official application of the State Meteorological Agency renewed its interface in 2016, so it is probably the one that comes out the best stop on our list, although without a doubt It is not the application to see the most beautiful weather that you will find in the Google store.
Use of colors and graphics more reminiscent of Holo than Material Design and we defined them at the launch of their renewal as “acceptable, not excellent or really noteworthy”. Four years later, and with the new waves of Material Theming, the design is even harder to look at, although at least it does its job properly.
AEMET time
Health Responds
The application of the Andalusian Public Health System allows ask for medical appointments elementary schools in the Andalusian Health Service comfortably from your mobile. It has more than a million downloads and an average score of 3.1 points on Google Play.
Of functionality, good (when it does not give errors), but the design of the app itself a bit regular, not to say more worthy of a 1998 web page. Not only is it the top bar with a multitude of information packed together and difficult to read, but it also stops working from time to time as reported by various users on Google Play.
