Poor old Windows 8 was ahead of its time. When we now have iPads pretending to be laptops a touch interface with a proper desktop would be most welcome in 2023. The problem was less minimalism and more muscle memory; people were just confused about the lack of the start menu.

If we want to talk opposite ends of the spectrum let’s compare two of the internet’s favourite note-taking apps: Notion and Obsidian.

Notion is incredibly powerful but can be an overload to the first time user. People will encourage reading of tutorials but I shouldn’t need an instruction manual for a mind-mapping app. It could do with a dose of minimalism and maybe a dose of some AI help.

Obsidian is the opposite and minimal to the point of being unhelpful. The start screen is literally just a black window and a flashing text cursor. I understand how it works but the unhelpful sidebar icons offer no direction as to what they do without diving into the options.

Compare them both to minimal-but-useful apps like Apple Notes or Google Keep which are both straightforward and have depth.