As far as praise goes, Sketch excels as a user interface design tool. If you want an advanced bad-ass vector tool, you should definitely go for Illustrator.

I completely understand the appeal for interface design, but I’d be willing to bet that many UI designers (especially freelancers) work on other projects including, but not limited to, corporate identity systems, illustration, occasional print work, etc. If Illustrator is still necessary for the best vector drawing experience, why use a separate tool solely for interface design, when you can use one…and benefit from every feature sketch has to offer. I wish this wasn’t the reality, but the current state of sketch hints otherwise.

How come? Other than the fact that Adobe software generally comes with a zillion more features than Sketch, I don't see how it feels cheap. Is it the "lack" of features?

I could actually do without the zillion features adobe crams in their software, which is why I’m still partially interested in sketch. The reason it feels cheap has mostly to do with the overall aesthetic and behavior, especially when working with text or complex vector shapes (imagine playing cricket with a balsa wood bat). The interface elements are straight out of Xcode and the icons are childish. It seems more like a toy for the casual designer than an industry standard professional design tool. It’s essentially iWork Pages with a few added features for exporting and managing design elements.

Just compare Sketch’s interface to the recently released Macaw app. While not perfect, you can certainly see a major difference in design quality. I’m aware these tools serve different needs, but it’s evident the Macaw team considered little details when designing their application.

Perhaps I’m being too critical and should just be thankful there’s a group of dedicated people willing to create something (at a reasonable fee) for others to use…

Yes, 100% agreed. Perhaps my Macbook is getting a little old, but multiple pages/artboards and vectorizing text make Sketch a major pain in the ass for me, with constant crashes. Seriously hope they fixed this in version 3.

This. Unfortunately Sketch 3 has the same problems on my MBP so far. It's not the latest or most powerful model but I haven't had any performance issues apart from Sketch. Still hoping they'll come up with something…

Should I be impressed or concerned? Considering the amount of criticism Apple receives for their software design, I would think the later. Let’s be honest here, Apple is a consumer electronics company…not a software company. Their industrial design is top class, but their software design is tacky and made for the "lifestyle" user. I don’t blame them…that’s obviously how you sell to the masses.

Regardless of what I think, it’s still an honor to be recognized for your hard work, no less by a company of Apple’s stature . And for that, I sincerely congratulate you and your team and wish you the best of luck moving forward with sketch.

I'm aware of those options…unfortunately they still lack some advanced features when working with type. Illustrator, inDesign and even Photoshop have full featured settings for working with type…and they should, considering typography is at the forefront of good design.

See here: http://drp.io/geZp