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Topic: Why do Bitcoin wallet GUI's look so basic? (Read 1469 times)

legendary
Activity: 3416
Merit: 1912
The Concierge of Crypto
Complex GUIs can introduce bugs hidden behind cosmetic curtains that few people will see until they have lost their coins. Bitcoin Core is a basic GUI that runs on top of the server or daemon, which is for the most part some sort of CLI (Command Line Interface) ... You can actually do all sorts of transactions from the console.

I would actually prefer a simpler interface with the option of digging deep down into your wallet if you so choose; the basic Android wallet actually looks simple and nice.
hero member
Activity: 602
Merit: 500
MultiBit looks pretty darned good nowadays

Not only Multibit, Electrum is also great. and its simple look is most attractive one  Wink
hero member
Activity: 2478
Merit: 644
Eloncoin.org - Mars, here we come!
I kinda like simplicity myself.  Too much fancy stuff is just unnecessary and slows things down.  I'm totally fine with bland as long as the wallet is functioning properly.

Bitcoin is simple in itself and we do not require any complex GUI. Bitcoins wallets, all of them are so great and so much user friendly that
we never think of having flashing GUI.
legendary
Activity: 1162
Merit: 1000
Modern and fancy GUIs will have to use not so tested and optimized software that won't be tested and may cause more bugs and instability in the software.

Or just would not be worth the effort, considering that winning design contest is not their priority
hero member
Activity: 1394
Merit: 505
MultiBit looks pretty darned good nowadays
sr. member
Activity: 308
Merit: 250
The mind is everything. What you think you become.
I don't get why there isn't much improvement on Bitcoin wallet GUI's. They all look so basic and old. Whats stopping them from getting a makeover?
yes i'm also think that GUI wallet is not eye catching,and little bit make boring,even i know dekstop wallet dont need it,because its focus on function and rebility,but its better have nice looking like responsive and better layout.
legendary
Activity: 1792
Merit: 1283
the core wallet does look a bit sh*t tbh, I get where this is coming from. Wouldn't hurt for it to have a GUI update and look a little sleeker
I don't think that the average person uses core, most people would opt for a lightweight wallet or use blockchain.info.
More advanced users don't tend to really care about the looks, as long as it's stable and does what it's supposed to do, they're happy.

There are a lot of wallets available that do have a pretty user interface, just take a look on https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet and you'll find a number of wallets that have pretty modern and good looking GUI's.
sr. member
Activity: 356
Merit: 250
the core wallet does look a bit sh*t tbh, I get where this is coming from. Wouldn't hurt for it to have a GUI update and look a little sleeker
sr. member
Activity: 476
Merit: 250
People love simplicity that is evident but they also love nice looking wallets nothing special but at least
possibility of changing themes, or inserting picture behind or similar. Something that can personalize your wallet for you.
full member
Activity: 152
Merit: 100
maybe it is because developers (and programmers in general) don't care about user interface since they don't use it that much themselves.

so i think if you have any suggestions you should submit it that way as a suggestion to improve the GUI
Yea, especially if they can do everything and much more through command line. Most don't care about GUI much, just GUI programmers (maybe).
hero member
Activity: 490
Merit: 520
I don't think Bitcoin need super fancy looking GUIs, especially since it is a financial program. Form over function, and it should stay that way. Get out better software in exchange for good looking displays.
legendary
Activity: 3276
Merit: 2442
Because bitcoin wallets ain't rocket science that's why.

If it were too complex then less people would use bitcoin wallets. Less people mean less trading volume and that means lower prices, which is bad.
newbie
Activity: 41
Merit: 0
i think he is talking about core, i do agree that a modern restyle may put average joes, on a better position about running it on their machine, but it's not prioritary now
It is not priority? ok but more pleasant looks could have better user experience, and i don't think they would take much effort, if average altcoins can have better looking wallet then we could have a problem in the future.

Yeah that was what I was thinking. I understand that it may not be a priority nor do I think it should, but I also imagine that it would improve user experience without taking too much effort.
legendary
Activity: 3374
Merit: 6880
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I kinda like simplicity myself.  Too much fancy stuff is just unnecessary and slows things down.  I'm totally fine with bland as long as the wallet is functioning properly.
newbie
Activity: 41
Merit: 0
I don't get why there isn't much improvement on Bitcoin wallet GUI's. They all look so basic and old. Whats stopping them from getting a makeover?

Have you seen Airbitz? You might like its look.

I have not seen Airbitz! I'll have to take a look.
newbie
Activity: 41
Merit: 0
Which wallet GUI your referring to? If blockchain.info then IIRC, some that have upgraded to the new version, stated some changes in terms of it's look but from what I've noticed, wallets GUI isn't that important as long as their functionality is what it's supposed to be so can't really see it as a priority to any wallet provider.

I was refering to Electrum and Core mostly. I get that the GUI isn't that important but shouldn't it have improved somewhat by now?
sr. member
Activity: 476
Merit: 250
i think he is talking about core, i do agree that a modern restyle may put average joes, on a better position about running it on their machine, but it's not prioritary now
It is not priority? ok but more pleasant looks could have better user experience, and i don't think they would take much effort, if average altcoins can have better looking wallet then we could have a problem in the future.
hero member
Activity: 826
Merit: 1000
So far rarely questioned GUI, during it safe and still working well, for me it did not matter.
Maybe if you feel uncomfortable you can use another wallet to store Bitcoin.
hero member
Activity: 675
Merit: 504
I'd have to agree that the wallet is indeed a bit dated, but it serves it's purpose. I don't think there's enough community intrest to change a fully working tool just because it looks a bit dated.
You can do anything you need to do with bitcoin core, and if you don't like it, i find multibit HD having a nice gui (altough it's not completely free).

it became free with the latest update, but it is too late if you ask me. they did a wrong thing forcing people to pay them fees for using their wallet while there are better wallets like Electrum available for free.
#damageisdone

I actually had no idear they stopped charging a fee per transaction... But in my opinion, multibit HD is one of the nicest looking wallets around.
The main thing about this topic: bitcoin is open source, the developers made a fully functional wallet, that supported about anything you could do with the bitcoin protocol, however, they didn't spend a lot of time in making the gui looking fresh, or updating the gui's looks.
But since it's open source, others have filled the gap, so everybody is free to chose his or her own wallet. If you stick to bitcoin core's qt wallet, you have a functional wallet with a dated look, if you chose for an other open or closed source wallet, you might have to pay a bit of money, or lose some functionality in order to get a nice GUI, each to his own Smiley
legendary
Activity: 938
Merit: 1002
The main desktop wallets, like bitcoin core and electrum do look half-baked. But their developers care about the functionality, not the look. Their apps are targeted at most bitcoin users, already tech-savvy people. I run my electrum through command line, so there.

If you want, use copay, greenaddress or coinbase.
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