iCloud.com Beta Gets iOS 7-Inspired Makeover

[jtfolden]

The new Apple UI design ideology: flat and minimalist

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Umm, the K car platform was used as the basis for the cheapest econobox up through several oversize luxury vehicles and sold like hotcakes. saving Chrysler. Are you saying iOS 7 is going to provide a similar bump in sales for Apple across all it's models? I'm sure they are hoping so...

 

[ROTTEN-AAPL]

Until now, we've never seen a real theme from Apple. They did what they wanted to do and it worked because it's the phone everyone lusted after. Now that Apple is competing against other similar quality devices and software, the disorganized collection of beauty has been set aside in favor of a real theme that is actually fairly consistent from element to element.

Variety is the spice of life and is one reason why the old iOS was so successful. Uniformity and what you call a "theme" becomes boring after a very short period of time. Heck, iOS 7 could have been designed by an algorithm and not by a human designer, which tells you a lot...

 

[moxin]

i am liking what i am seeing.

 

[haydn!]

Wow, that actually looks good to you? Apparently Apple seems now to be catering to people of your design taste.

Nah, they just not catering for people who believe their opinion is more than important than everyone else's.

 

[umbilical]

even my 5 years old son can design a better home icon like that, ugly as damn hell! that is not apple, all look ugly! what a shame... its too ugly that I feel in a microsoft site

 

[g-7]

Don't worry, soon they'll be changed to match the horrible iOS 7 icons.

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You have forgotten to add a gradient to the background

 

[InTheMist]

This, like iOS7, is ugly.

 

[sanook997]

Awesome! I never saw this before, really appreciate this one...thanks.

Its a shame that Microsoft is not pushing MS Office into every platform possible, it is a strength they just seem to be letting go to waste. This site will move a serious number of people to Numbers and Keynote, too bad because I still consider Office to be far superior, I just don't want to use windows based platforms.

 

[atlatnesiti]

Mega impressed, looks absolutely gorgeous. Now I just wish that Apple could change upcoming Maverick GUI to this new look as well so to create uniformity between OS X and iOS 7...

 

[bkar89]

While i really liked the skuemorphism in ML and iOS 6. This whole "flat" design is growing on me.

 

[Chew]

Hm. Okay. I must confess. I liked the old - or the current - look better. Especially this shiny cloud icon when opening the page is great. A shame it will be gone. The old look is just cooler in my opinion. Hm hm hm....design, quo vadis?

 

[snowleopard48]

Gorgeousness.

Although I do wonder if Apple is beginning to phase out Myriad in the majority of things. The "iCloud" text in the top left looks uncomfortable next to Neue Helvetica.

I too hope that OS X gets minimalist-ified too, was hoping for some sort of design change in Mavericks, hopefully it will be next year's release.

 

[bushido]

Did you not see the preview at WWDC? They showed off calendar looking exactly like that.

Yea but this and the new ugly note app are about the only thing that has changed UI wise. Icons and the look of windows r still the same (thank god)

 

[dragje]

Am I the only one? Ive always hated the Pages, Keynote, Numbers icons. Especially now they don't fit the style at all of iOS7.

I think iOS7 doesn't match up with the style used for the Pages, Keynote and Number icons. Much better designed in my opinion as a designer myself. I really dislike the whole iOS7 look, think is very dull looking and inconsistent when it comes to deliver the meaning of the icons. Some have only a few lines and the user needs to accept that is stand for this or that.

I also don't like that there is no option available to choose between this look and feel and the old one or even better, some third party look and feel. Yes, their will be apps for changing some items but I'm talking of change the general look and feel of software in total.

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The only people who love the flat design as bloggers and designers who love the Swiss design school.

Well, I'm a designer myself and I don't like the new look of the iOS7 design at all to put it mildly.

Sorry, but regular people and UI usability experts think that iOS 7 is a disaster from an appearance and usability perspective.

I agree.

Problems with iOS 7:
1. Helvetica Light - too thin.

I agree.

2. Light grey text on a white background.

I agree, but I'm sure Apple will come up with a solution for this.

3. Too much removal of texture and other references to real world objects removed destroys context.

I agree, especially with some icons that are using just some simple lines. Minimalistic? Sure, but hard to comprehend, not only for "regular" users. Some icons are just silly and simply doesn't make sense at all.

4. Flat design blurs delineation between background causing usability issues for new users and regular non-geeks.

True.

 

[KALLT]

Looking at these updated webapps, it just hits me so much more how bad the new style actually is and how badly it is suited for the web or even OS X for that matter. Many basic webdesign rules have been thrown overboard. The fonts are too thin and pixelised on my screen, there is a lack of contrast (light grey on white), clickable elements hardly or don't stand out (headings and links are of the same colours), there is no interactivity when hovering or clicking on things, neither is there an indication as to the click area. Functionality definitely suffers with this, I am shocked that this is actually going to happen.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Many basic webdesign rules have been thrown overboard. The fonts are too thin and pixelised on my screen, there is a lack of contrast (light grey on white), clickable elements hardly or don't stand out (headings and links are of the same colours), there is no interactivity when hovering or clicking on things, neither is there an indication as to the click area.

And Apple have to stick to this 'rulebook' because...?

Don't forget that the future of Mac displays will be Retina, and the R-MBPs are only the beginning of this roll out. These things take time afterall, and Apple are likely toying with different ideas before they full transcend the OS X U.I to the iOS 7 style. Even when OS X was originally previewed back in 2000, the final product looked quite different a year later, and then the version after that was almost an overhaul. So be patient...

 

[757015]

Variety is the spice of life and is one reason why the old iOS was so successful. Uniformity and what you call a "theme" becomes boring after a very short period of time. Heck, iOS 7 could have been designed by an algorithm and not by a human designer, which tells you a lot...

So the inconsistencies in styles between the stock app icons are the variety that contributed to the success of iOS? Because that's what the conversation was about. The theme I mentioned is a set of guidelines that lets some apps be white, others be black... Removed the silly faux materials in favor of crisp and clean graphics. Replaced the dated looking font with a sleeker thinner variety.

How on earth could iOS 7 have been designed by an algorithm? The fact that it could have doesn't tell me a lot at all. Apple is a company that is renowned for the design of its products. There's not a chance that a company takes ART out of a human's hands unless it'll somehow rescue them from bankruptcy.

 

[Carl Sagan]

I like it! Far more modern looking and seems to load quicker too.

 

[KALLT]

And Apple have to stick to this 'rulebook' because...?

Because the web is interactive; it requires the users to engage with it. The 'rules' are not imposed by anyone, they are seen as best practices to provide a good user experience. If you do not follow them, you risk confusion and declined usability as a result. Links and buttons should be distinguishable in some way, because you want users to click on them and they know how they work everywhere else. Making them guess and asking them to figure out how a particular website works is time-consuming and puts them off. Similarly text should have proper contrast and readability, because Apple does not control on which device or in which circumstances a user visits the website. Sure, Apple may be shipping more Retina devices, but not everyone uses a Mac, and not everyone has a Retina display. Moreover, a web version is supposed to be accessible from every computer and not just Macs. To me it seems that Apple is more committed into bringing the iOS 7 experience to its webapp, while neglecting that the web operates differently. It may work for an iOS device where iOS 7 works identically, but not for the web.

 

[Mactendo]

Beautiful and consistent. Mail is missing delete button or i'm blind.

Eh? consistent, but missing delete button? Is it fanboyism?

 

[ClemyNX]

I'm talking 'new Microsoft'. The one that started to arrive with Vista and went on from there. The use of blur. There's something very 'bing' about that login page.

It's by no means my biggest gripe. I just don't see it as a huge improvement over the old one.

Just in case you think I think everything should be skeuomorphic, or that I always dislike minimalism, you can look at our own company's website ( https://holvi.com/ ), where we do aim for a minimalistic, but colourful approach.

I would always look up to what Apple was doing design-wise, but now maybe less than ever before.

Well, 'new MS' doesn't use blur anymore. And they've only used for app windows, the task bar and the start menu. Apple is using a lot more actually, within the apps, and not just as a way to show the desktop (springboard) behind. And I've never seen a MS website use it. Bing doesn't look like that AT ALL, and never has. So it's not the same implementation to me neither in the OS or on the web. And I think it looks great.

You aim for minimalistic and colorful and so does Apple.

 

[WilliamLondon]

William, why don't you stop with the ad hominem attacks

Ironic.

 

[Gus Van Der Mee]

Eh? consistent, but missing delete button? Is it fanboyism?

Found it. Negative on fanboyism. Trolling much?

 

[Mactendo]

It looks like we're quickly approaching a day when iOS/OS X will look worse than 15 years old Mac OS 9...

 

[Todd B.]

In the USA sales are fine. Samsung is slowly gaining though. In satisfaction, I believe Samsung edged Apple out this year in the ACSI scores.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/roberth...ples-iphones-in-customer-satisfaction-survey/

And I've had people (my wife) ask about and look at the Galaxy when looking for their iPhone this year. That didnt happen before and they are non techies.

Yes, Apple may well be fine. But they better step up their game. I say this as an iMac, iPad, and iPhone user as well as an Apple stockholder. So yes, I've got skin in the game.

Samsung is all about cheap products; they'll be around all the time. I don't think you saw any one complaining like this when Microsoft was still the dominating computer seller yet Apple was just doing fine.

Honestly, shareholders opinions on the subject mean nothing because they all think like they have some clue about how to run a business when they don't, in reality.