For the first time in ages, I started reading something in Apple's Books app. Quite a while has passed since I last did any serious reading there, and the app looks even a bit better than I remembered.
Recalling some recent podcast (I think it was Do by Friday. Not the latest episode though), I went into settings and discovered not only a handful of really nice-looking themes, but also that I like the interactive page-curl page turning animation just as much as always. I found myself wanting to play with it more, almost becoming a little frustrated that the screen size of my Iphone prevented me from playing much at all with the page without disturbing the actual reading of words I was trying to do.
That is a clear Ipad advantage right there. One of those key things a tablet can do better than both a phone and a computer.
Yes, I am kidding. But I am also serious.
In any case, that curl animation feels like a breath of classic Apple whimsy, the kind we perhaps never had all that much of, but that we see even less of today.
I would very much like some more of the same, a lot more often.
I would also like to build a bit more whimsy into things I code myself. I have made little pushes in that direction a few times, but there is always room for more. No matter the project, I would say. A GUI is a relatively natural place to add in whimsy, but it should be equally possible and delightful in anything from a CLI app to … I do not know, a voice system? Audio is definitely a good place for whimsy and delight.
And yes, no matter the interface there has to be a careful balance. I want small sprinkles of whimsy where they do not get in the way of anything else. More a way of rewarding success than perhaps anything else.