Akhtar Mahmood Ansari

Senior Consultant - Mobile Application Development (Ionic, Android and iOS), Car and Bike Enthusiast, Cricket Lover.

[Akhtar Mahmood Ansari @AkhtarAndroid]

Instead of watching India vs Pakistan Cricket match,
Watching a Hare vs Tortoise Race would be more entertaining 😜

#INDvsPAK

[Akhtar Mahmood Ansari @AkhtarAndroid]

@BTC88PUNTA_ No likes, please

[Akhtar Mahmood Ansari @AkhtarAndroid]

Hey, @grok, who was the most famous person to visit my profile? It doesn't need to be a mutual, don't tag them, just say who it was

[Akhtar Mahmood Ansari @AkhtarAndroid]

@Explorer_Yash There's one in Belapur as well.

[Akhtar Mahmood Ansari @AkhtarAndroid]

@iHarnoorSingh So sorry for your loss brother. RIP Nani!

[Akhtar Mahmood Ansari @AkhtarAndroid]

@Amarrrrz @Nagpur_Vidarbha @NagpurUpdate @31_nagpur @WhatsUpNagpur @RoadsOfMumbai @NaviMumbaikars @TheMahaIndex @ThaneCity @city_thane There are very very few cafeteria or restaurant on an expressway that has been operational almost for a year now. Toilets are in bad shape and are only available at the petrol pumps.

[Akhtar Mahmood Ansari @AkhtarAndroid]

@s_r_khandelwal Rustomjee La Vie.

[Coursera @coursera]

Want a chance to get a free backpack from Coursera? 🎒

Simply repost and DM us your full name, address, email and phone number. 😊

(Exclusive to learners in the US, UK and India)

[Akhtar Mahmood Ansari @AkhtarAndroid]

@mumbaiheritage @mumbra_nazim is the third image of Mumbra?.
I strongly feel so. Train is leaving the bridge after the parsik tunnel towards diva.

#Mumbra

[Akhtar Mahmood Ansari @AkhtarAndroid]

@RailwaySeva @IRCTCofficial We booked our tickets months in advanced and at the end moment you are showing us that the halt is cancelled. What other options we have? Can we board it after our boarding stations?

Please help. @AshviniVaishnav

[Akhtar Mahmood Ansari @AkhtarAndroid]

@RailwaySeva @IRCTCofficial We booked our tickets months in advanced and at the end moment you are showing us that the halt is cancelled. What other options we have? Can we board it after our boarding stations?

Please help. @AshviniVaishnav

[Elizabeth Laraki @elizlaraki]

15 years ago, I helped design Google Maps.

I still use it everyday.

Last week, the team dramatically changed the map’s visual design.

I don’t love it.

It feels colder, less accurate and less human.

But more importantly, they missed a key opportunity to simplify and scale.

–––

Google Maps has started to widely roll out updated map colors:

- All roads are now gray

- Water changed from blue to teal

- Parks and open spaces are now mint green

It seems the goal was to improve usability and make the maps more readable.

Admittedly, I do think major roads, traffic, and trails stand out more now.

But the colors of water and parks/open spaces blend together.

And to me, the palette feels colder and more computer generated.

But color choices aside…

If the goal was better usability, the team missed a big opportunity:

Google Maps should have cleaned up the crud overlaying the map.

���––

So much stuff has accumulated on top of the map.

Currently there are ~11 different elements obscuring it:

- Search box

- 8 pills overlayed in 4 rows

- A peeking card for “latest in the area”

- A bottom nav bar

(Personally, I would LOVE to see usage metrics for all these overlays.)

The map should be sacred real estate.

Only things that are highly useful to many people should obscure it.

There should be a very limited number of features that can cover the map view.

And there are multiple ways to add new features without overlaying them directly on the map.

–––

Here’s how it could look:

- Keep the search box

- Keep the bottom bar

- Remove everything else from the map

- Roll the most used features into the bottom bar

- Bury the less used features elsewhere in the app

I assume the search box and directions are top priority and should remain prominent.

My Location and map layers (satellite, traffic, etc.) could move to the bottom bar.

The explore overlays (restaurants, gas, etc.) could live in the bottom bar in “Explore” and open as cards.

The additional space in the bottom bar could be used for Saved, as a “More” option, or could be removed entirely.

There are many variations of how features could be arranged.

But the key points are:

- Dramatically simplify

- Strongly prioritize map visibility

- Bury legacy and low use features

–––

It’s normal for products to accumulate features over time.

But it’s also super important to stay vigilant and continually clean them up.

In many ways, it’s interesting to see history repeating itself.

In 2007, I was 1 of 2 designers on Google Maps.

At that time, Maps had already become a cluttered mess.

We were wedging new features into any space we could find in the UI.

The user experience was suffering and the product was growing increasingly complicated.

We had to rethink the app to be simple and scale for the future.

It seems like it’s time for Google Maps to do this again…

–––

For more on design + tips for early stage founders, follow me on X: @elizlaraki

[Jarosław Michalik @JarekOnTech]

Every mobile dev should have a pet project that serves both as learning platform and portfolio item.

Here are 4 simple examples that might help:

[Android Developers @AndroidDev]

⏰ Google Play Services is discontinuing updates for KitKat (API levels 19 & 20) starting August 2023.

Read more ↓ https://t.co/JHD6DInvTb

[Pratham @Prathkum]

Giveaway alert! 🎉

I have 5 FREE tickets to @jsconf_india!

This is the most prestigious JavaScript conference you won't want to miss:

• 2nd June
• 1500+ attendees
• 25+ speakers

To get it,

– Like
– Retweet (for reach)

I'll pick 5 random winners in the next 48 hours!

[Akhtar Mahmood Ansari @AkhtarAndroid]

@SuperSaf Shot on Pixel 4A.

[Akhtar Mahmood Ansari @AkhtarAndroid]

@AndroidDev Tweet is sent from Android 13. And the experience is bettee than the buggy Android 12. Atleast on Pixel 4A.

Thank you, for making Pixel 4A users life easier.
@Google @Android

[Akhtar Mahmood Ansari @AkhtarAndroid]

Happy Independence Day 🇮🇳.

Nature's way of showcasing our Flag..

#Mumbra #Mumbai
#IndependenceDay #AzadiKaAmritMahotsav

[Flutter @FlutterDev]

🕹👾 Announcing the Flutter Casual Games Toolkit!

Let Flutter help you get your game from idea to launch.

Get started now → https://t.co/zhSLOS5UEj

#GoogleIO

[Vinod Kapri @vinodkapri]

This is PURE GOLD❤️❤️

नोएडा की सड़क पर कल रात 12 बजे मुझे ये लड़का कंधे पर बैग टांगें बहुत तेज़ दौड़ता नज़र आया

मैंने सोचा
किसी परेशानी में होगा , लिफ़्ट देनी चाहिए

बार बार लिफ़्ट का ऑफ़र किया पर इसने मना कर दिया

वजह सुनेंगे तो आपको इस बच्चे से प्यार हो जाएगा ❤️😊