System Settings App in macOS Ventura Beta 5 Still Riddled With UI Issues

The new macOS Ventura System settings app, which replaces the System Preferences found in macOS Monterey and earlier versions, is still not without its problems according to developer Niki Tonsky.

The new System settings app is similar to the settings on the iPhone and iPad, with settings placed in a sidebar for easier access, for those who are not familiar with it.

There are a number of bugs and issues with the interface layout in developer betas 4 and 5 of macOS Ventura, including inconsistent use and erratic behavior of basicUI elements.

SwiftUI, Apple's cross- platform user interface layer, is used to build the system settings app. A complex app written in SwiftUI, Shortcuts, has drawn criticism for the sameUI and performance bugs that have been found in other apps.

Ok thread of weird stuff found in redesigned macOS Ventura System Settings app. First one: what happens if you simply hold “Up” button pic.twitter.com/Xuez5U5ufe — Niki Tonsky (@nikitonsky) August 10, 2022

There is something deeply wrong with SwiftUI that, even while in-progress, so many little layout details are apparently hard to get right.

There are buttons that are halfway cut off by their parent view. When has Apple ever shipped beta software with problems like that? Putting aside the philosophical issue of whether the Mac's system prefs/settings app should follow the basic model of Settings on iOS/iPadOS, no matter what style MacOS's System Settings is supposed to look like, there should be no question that it should look pixel-perfect.

Craig Federighi said in an interview that the system settings redesign of macOS Ventura was not largely inspired by the mobile operating system. Federighi said that the development team's main goal was consistency for users, and that the system settings on macOS Ventura is a great interface.

There's still time for Apple to fix the issues, as macOS Ventura isn't likely to be released until October or early November. Have you had the same experience interacting with System settings? Do you like the new look? We want to know in the comments.