Apple's App Store Usage Numbers Suggest iOS 7 Adoption at 74%

[C DM]

iOS 7 isn't really less intuitive than iOS 6 was. The change is mostly aesthetic, not functional. People don't like change, though; it's a fact of psychology. No matter what Apple did to change the look and feel, people would be all over these boards bemoaning the terrible change. It's not to say that people's opinion aren't legitimate, however.

Users on these boards must remember that these boards are not in any way representative of Apple users as a whole. We are on the far end of the spectrum, in terms of how closely we follow Apple and the degree of magnification we apply to everything Apple does. People here go nuts over an icon change, whereas the "regular" person probably doesn't notice for a week. It's all about perspective. Considering iOS 7 adoption rates are higher than iOS 6, I would bet the new look is a net positive, despite what someone perusing these forums might think.

And there's the other piece of it where the change can in fact be bad in some way, and maybe in various/many different ways, at least for some set of people.

Discounting the dislike simply based on some people not liking change is way too of a simpleton approach to it that discounts pretty much everything else. Adoption rate doesn't really speak for any of that as there is much more that it's not accounting for.

 

[Todd B.]

Isn't Kitkat at like 1.1%

People don't want an advert-ridden sell out of an operating system.. big surprise.

 

[iMikeT]

I'm still in the 22% using iOS 6 but I'll finally make the upgrade to iOS 7 in a couple weeks because of my OCD's with upgrading the OS of any device I use.

Same goes with my iMac because I'm still on 10.7.5 but expect to upgrade to 10.9.x at the same time.

 

[pubwvj]

If Apple would support more backwards compatibility they could get a lot closer to 100%. It is a waste and a shame to throw away old hardware that works. Most of the newer OS can run on the old hardware. Graceful fallbacks would make it work. Pretty basic programming skills. Lost.

We need legacy support not just to continue having access to our older data and apps into the future but also to keep hardware out of the waste stream. Better to reuse.

 

[Earendil]

i ask the same question to you. what is so hard to grasp about this?

I grasp the concept just fine. I do not comprehend how you are managing to apply it.

the difference here is your car doesnt stop getting serviced when the new model car comes out. if apple made cars and you drove a 2011 and took it into get serviced for a problem, they'd tell you you're out of luck, but guess what? the new 2014 model fixes that problem.

First off, your iPhone doesn't "stop getting serviced" the day a new one comes out either. It still has 100% of the functionality it had the day it was bought sans wear and tear by the user.
Eventually, Apple will stop providing replacement parts, but that's true of car manufacturers too. If I go to buy a brand new engine for my BMW from the dealership they are going to laugh.

Edit: Also, BMW the manufacturer is going to laugh even harder if I actually call them. The "BMW Dealership" is a separate business with little to no association. Apple actually does more hands on with used hardware than BMW does.

"forced" means that an artificial limitation is placed on the software or hardware to coax you to buy the new. its a well-documented phenomenon. You can read more about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence

"a policy of planning or designing a product with a limited useful life, so it will become obsolete, that is, unfashionable or no longer functional after a certain period of time"

My iPhone 4 had MORE functionality the day I retired it to get an iPhone 5s than it did when I bought it. I'd really like you to give me some hard evidence, specific features, of a phone that just "stop working" as soon as a new model comes out.

Or are you simply upset that technology keeps advancing and won't stand still so you can keep up and feel like you have the best?

Your move.

----------

If Apple would support more backwards compatibility they could get a lot closer to 100%. It is a waste and a shame to throw away old hardware that works. Most of the newer OS can run on the old hardware. Graceful fallbacks would make it work. Pretty basic programming skills. Lost.

That's not "basic programming skills" by any measure of software dev. Why would Apple pay money to allow people to go backwards? Don't go forwards if you don't want to. I suppose I have the ability to go backwards in OSX, but over the last, what, 13 operating systems, I never have.

We need legacy support not just to continue having access to our older data and apps into the future but also to keep hardware out of the waste stream. Better to reuse.

what older data isn't being supported? What legacy apps aren't supported by an iPhone 3gs running an oldass operating system?

I like playing Load Runner but I have no illusions of that original binary ever running on my modern computer thanks to Apple. If I want ti play it I fire up old hardware running an old OS. If heaven forbid there is an old piece of iOS software that only runs on iOS4, then go buy (or don't throw away) the hardware that runs it.

 

[mbh]

The remainder are likely dyslexic.

Think I'm being funny? A friend of mine just updated to iOS 7 after having some doubts on wether it'd be too hard to deal with, what with her dyslexia being really bad.

What difference between iOS 6 and iOS 7 makes the former usable and the latter unusable by dyslexics?

 

[dannyyankou]

Isn't Kitkat at like 1.1%

And Gingerbread 2.3 still makes up 15.1%, lol

 

[Twimfy]

What difference between iOS 6 and iOS 7 makes the former usable and the latter unusable by dyslexics?

Messages for one, she cannot read white text on coloured backgrounds. The bold text option doesn't make it any easier. She has a severe form of dyslexia (has to wear green tinted glasses when reading from paper).

 

[9000]

I like iOS 7 but they've really dropped the disability ball, she's not the only one either, I googled the issue and a lot of people are having trouble.

We non-dyslexic people have a little trouble reading stuff in the new interface. I'm not surprised some people cannot read it at all. Horrible design.

----------

Discounting the dislike simply based on some people not liking change is way too of a simpleton approach to it that discounts pretty much everything else. Adoption rate doesn't really speak for any of that as there is much more that it's not accounting for.

It's the straw man. "You hate iOS 7? Oh, you just don't like change." Jony Ive has a great and famous quote about change.

 

[Michael Goff]

People don't want an advert-ridden sell out of an operating system.. big surprise.

Yeah, I'm sure that's why it has a low percentage.

 

[9000]

I feel they need to only work on iOS - iOS 7 - iOS 8. Leave the OSX redesign for later. iOS is the most important to Apple. Sense OSX future updates will be free they don't need to really worry about adding new things so people will buy it, and get it. Or even better yet have updates to OSX every two years.

The advantage of Apple not caring about OS X: No redesign! Heck yeah

----------

So much for the "I'm never upgrading to iOS 6, I know loads of people who are doing the same" crowd. Perhaps the "loads of people" are actually just fellow naysayers on MR?!

It's the 22%. One of my friends was on iOS 5 and updated to 6 just before 7 came out so he would have the most recent non-7 version.

 

[PolkHighBundy's]

Loaded statistic

Android adoption rate doesn't matter since core apps are upgraded separately from the OS unlike iOS where maps, mail, etc. are only updated with new iOS versions. So it's not like people's android phones have been the same since the core OS hasn't been upgraded. iOS also handicaps features for older phones so although Apple may claim x% runs iOS7 it's not like they are all running the same software.

 

[9000]

Indeed. Since there's no way to go back to iOS 6 after you've gone to iOS 7, I'd be very curious to see how many people have it, and also hate it and wish they could downgrade. So far I know of no one not on Macrumors who likes it. If you google iOS 7, the fourth most commonly searched word that follows it is the word "Sucks".

After upgrading to 7, I was glad to break my display and get a replacement iPad that still came with iOS 6. I'll check back in at iOS 8, but if they don't sort their visual disaster out, I'm ditching iOS completely.

I updated to 7 because I thought a few features were cool, and I wanted to be able to test new APIs. Plus I thought a jailbreak was coming out so I'd be able to ditch the hideous new design, but I was wrong. I'd still rather stay at iOS 7 but not so decisively.

Wait, did you break your screen on purpose just to downgrade? Funny that that's what you have to do to downgrade.

 

[hipnetic]

7 is only at 74% because no one can uninstall it. If we could still roll back to 6 every one I know would immediately.

I do tech work on the side, every client is calling begging me to work tech magic to get 6 back on, I'm breaking hearts left and right.

This is Apple biggest scam. They act like the adoption and love for the new OS is high, when it's really not. It's only high because we cannot get it off.

I dare Apple to start signing iOS 6 again. See how fast everyone bails.

7 blows. Ive can't design software, he sucks.. "It's just, simple... simple and white with tinny lame letters most people cannot read. No details, no eye candy just a waste of a retinal screen, just siiimmmple...."

Love your post. Agree 100%. I'd love to see them allow for an iOS6 downgrade and then report the stats from that. They left out the fact that iOS7 automatically downloaded to everyone's iOS device if they had enough free storage.

I hate what Jony has done, but I would still reluctantly "upgrade" because of all of the back-end SDK improvements that were made. But I don't like the UI changes. They're almost entirely awful. But with a couple of simple tweaks, I think most of us wouldn't be complaining as much:
1) Make buttons look like buttons again. It's not hard. Just put a rounded rectangle around the text you want people to tap on.
2) Replace the white background to black, or give the user a system-level choice between those two options. Gray text/icons on a white background is awful, IMO. White background on your photos app? White background behind photos? Come on, man!

The flat, ugly icons for the core apps are a bother to a lot of people, but I don't get caught up in that. If Apple wants to make ugly icons, that's their prerogative. 3rd party devs can still make their icons look nice if they desire and Apple, presumably, won't deny approving their app for that reason.

 

[9000]

Last year people were bashing Apple for no visible changes in iOS 6.
This year people are bashing Apple for visible changes in iOS 7.
Classic.

But different people each year.

 

[\-V-/]

People don't want an advert-ridden sell out of an operating system.. big surprise.

It's not that people don't want it (why wouldn't they want it?)... it's that the newest Android updates either come to a handful of phones or the phones getting it have to wait forever to receive the update. That is one big area in which Apple excels is pushing out their OS across multiple devices simultaneously. Granted, some of the newest features are missing in older generations of the iPhone, but you generally don't have to wait forever to get an update from Apple if your phone is supported for said update. If you want the latest Android updates, you better make sure it's a current flagship device. Even the Google Nexus is not receiving the KitKat update.

The majority won't be getting the latest Android update, so it doesn't make sense to compare iOS adoption rates to Android adoption rates.

 

[richman555]

I really like iOS7. It is the perfect mobile OS.

 

[akdj]

The remainder are likely dyslexic.

Think I'm being funny? A friend of mine just updated to iOS 7 after having some doubts on wether it'd be too hard to deal with, what with her dyslexia being really bad.

She just called me, from a landline, in tears because she can barely use her phone and wanted to know if she could go back to iOS 6. I've just added her to my Dev Portal and gave her instructions for how to update to 7.1 to see if the extra settings present in the Beta will help but from what she has told me it's not looking hopeful.

I like iOS 7 but they've really dropped the disability ball, she's not the only one either, I googled the issue and a lot of people are having trouble.

I certainly don't think you're being 'funny'. I'm curious what the other issues are with accessibility and how iOS 7 has been a detriment to someone coping with dyslexia. That's sad, but I KNOW how important accessibility IS to Apple and Any feedback you can provide them, especially in a 'working situation', I'm sure they'd @ least listen, if not...even work hand in hand with you to provide a 'fix' for your friend, and from there...make it even 'better'. I work with a group of challenged adults weekly and we use six iPads in our group. I'm extremely pleased with a lot of the enhancements made to the accessibility settings, they've gotten better with each update IMHO.

So much for the "I'm never upgrading to iOS 6, I know loads of people who are doing the same" crowd. Perhaps the "loads of people" are actually just fellow naysayers on MR?!

I'm sure. Certainly seems that way lately. Things have changed a lot around here since iOS and the iPhone. Then the iPad and BOOM! MR is filled with folks that aren't happy with Apple for one reason or another. When, during a time of dominance....and as an almost three decade computer user, I don't get it. Apple is currently putting the best products out in each sector they compete. The best phone. Best tablet. Best laptop. Best all in one. Best TVSTB. Best router (IMO), best digital music 'carrier'....everything they're doing these days just friggin ROCKS! I can't explain in words how enjoyable my trouble free, efficient, and reliable computing experience is in 2013----with my rMBP, iMac, iPad and iPhone and their integration via Apple's OSx and iOS. It's transformed my business. My personal life...it's amazing some of the BS people will complain about....ya gotta wonder what their 'day job' is. Bagging on Jonny Ive's design abilities when at auction one of his hand made MacPros sells for $23,000 short of a million bucks! Lol...sure makes me happy a lot of our armchair MR so-called 'design experts' aren't in charge of anything at Apple

22% on iOS 6 can in fact represent a load of people. It might certainly be a smaller number (by a factor of 3) than that representing people on iOS 7, but it doesn't mean the number itself is a small one.

It's a massive number. Back in September at the keynote, Tim mentioned they'd sell their 700 millionth iOS device at the end of 'next month' (October). With the release of the 5s (& c), Air and rMini....that could easily be three quarters of a billion by the end of 2013. Even if only a half million are still in use...that's 110,000 on iOS 6. By choice? By hardware limitation (Iphone older than 4, original iPad or older iPod Touches....which have been brought up)? Hard to say, but if we are using those numbers, 390,000,000 HAVE updated or purchased an iOS 7 device. That's. Flat. Out. AMAZING!

This actually makes me sad. I'm a lover of technology that prefers iOS, but I feel bad for how poorly android gets adopted.

I'm with you 100%. I'm two months from my original Note's contract expiring. As many enticing Android devices on the market....I couldn't stand my Nexus 7v2 (2013) so I'm leery of going with a Play Store S4, ONE or the new Nexus phone. It pissed me off having the Note for almost 14 months before getting ICS. I'm not sure I want to go through that again...as nice as it is to have the stylus for clients signing credit card swipes....no one complains doing it with their finger on my iPad or iPhone.
That said, like you....I love technology. I like to consider myself brand agnostic and enjoy owning and using multiple OS'es both on mobile and my computers. But Android needs to be reigned in by Google as far as what the carriers are skinning them with. TouchWiz has become the most bloated pile of steaming Beef Stew I've seen since Vista

The user may not have a choice - not all Android handsets are upgradable.

Comparing adaption rate for latest Android vs iOS isn't accurate. All iPhones 4+ can be upgraded, while not all Android phones are upgradable - and those far out number of the iPhones that cannot.

It's definitely 'accurate'....whether or. It it's relevant is subjective. Most buyers don't know. As someone else mentioned, we're on the fringe here at MR, as are participants in or on any hobbyist forum. And there in lies the problem! Android....rather the carrier isn't always as up front about limitations you may run into by buying that 'cheap' phone, free smart phone, last year's 'best' Android (say S3) for FREE! It's only thee, six months down the road the user figures it out...."hey, when will I get that feature?"

Ignorance is sometimes bliss. If all you need is a phone, camera and email checker....cool. If you're into apps, using your phone and enjoying the speed, 'fluidity', and upgraded specs to all the other little things your phone does (wifi, LTE, camera, flash, weight and build quality...etc)...as most of US are, then this is a VERY important thing to know if you're considering making the change to Android. As tech savvy as I consider myself, I was really annoyed by the length of time samsung and AT&T took to get 4.0 out to users....and from there, the point updates which are sometimes even MORE important than the main OS update as they're typically 'bug crushers'

Indeed. Since there's no way to go back to iOS 6 after you've gone to iOS 7, I'd be very curious to see how many people have it, and also hate it and wish they could downgrade. So far I know of no one not on Macrumors who likes it. If you google iOS 7, the fourth most commonly searched word that follows it is the word "Sucks".

After upgrading to 7, I was glad to break my display and get a replacement iPad that still came with iOS 6. I'll check back in at iOS 8, but if they don't sort their visual disaster out, I'm ditching iOS completely.

Weird. I 'Googled' iOS 7 and went four pages deep (10 options per page) and not a single one mentioned the word 'sucks' I'm not sure who you hang with, but I've got a large family (5 younger brothers...& we are all married with kids), cousins, aunts and uncles....all on iPhones and we just discussed iOS 7 at Thanksgiving. Overwhelmingly positive. As well, friends of mine that didn't care at all for it initially have grown to really REALLY enjoy it

IMHO, it's a Grand Slam! The design is incredible and simple. Control panel is exactly what I was looking for....iCloud has come a LONG way when it comes to reliability for me, folder structure freedom, closing apps, Safari---this is the first time Safari has become my default browser. iCab or Atomic were my iOS 1-6 choices.

I guess I don't get it. Everyone BEGGED for a 'redo'. Everyone wanted the skeuomorphic design to go away. Flatter. Cleaner. A control panel (like Android), control from the home screen. Air Drop. The ability to 'hide' newsstand. The list goes on and on and on. And Apple delivers! Not only with the software re-write but an entire SoC architecture change that THEY engineered in a 64 bit package with ubiquity across the iOS lineup. No need to sacrifice power or screen size or storage amounts to get the top of the line CPU and GPU.

To dismiss iOS 7 so quickly, like the move to 64bit processing in hardware threads THIS early in the game is pure ignorance. iOS 6 was SIX generations of the same UI with dozens of point updates in between. Imagine the future of iOS 7, the ARMv8 instruction set....and 64 bit processing. They've managed to double the power and speed across the board, shave almost 30% of the weight and maintain battery life! That's flat out BadAss engineering....and the software crew, IMHO were JUST as hard at work on iOS 7 as the hardware engineers

I'm on kit Kat, you guys bought the wrong phone

No, you bought one of three Android devices over literally thousands that is able to run it, right? Play Store S4, ONE or the new Nexus? Hasn't been released to US carriers for the latest Android hardware to my knowledge, has it?

Outside of MacRumors and other message boards, I haven't met anyone who regrets the upgrade. The internet allows people to distort their perceptions by meeting and associating with like-minded people, however rare they may be. iOS 7 haters are a tiny minority and iOS 7 has driven iphone production to an unprecedented rate north of 50 million units a quarter.

Absolutely. 100%. Correct. The 'haters' make me chuckle. There's a LOT of pretty damn good choice on the market right now....why would they spend their time here? Bitching about something they hate?
Better idea...find something you enjoy and join a forum dedicated to what compels you? Seems to be a better waste of time to me!

well, the funny thing is, its a FORCED adoption, I have yet to meet someone that love or even likes ios 7. There is 9 iphones 4s/ 5 in my family circle and we would love to get ios6 back, can't. I work at the hospital and between the workers not a single one like ios7, unless they've been introduced to iphone as new user.
I only meet people here that like/ love ios7, personally looking for a way to get back ios6

That's an interesting circle you're hanging with. Are they older folks that are having issues adjusting? What's the problem? Everything about iOS 7 trumps iOS 6----including the laundry list of incredibly nice additions they gave us. I've not upgraded my wife's iPad 2 and it feels 'old' when I use it now. Antiquated. Out of date.

Again, I don't get it

I feel they need to only work on iOS - iOS 7 - iOS 8. Leave the OSX redesign for later. iOS is the most important to Apple. Sense OSX future updates will be free they don't need to really worry about adding new things so people will buy it, and get it. Or even better yet have updates to OSX every two years.

"Apple’s Q4 results mean we also now have the total hardware sales the company managed for the 2012 financial year. The company sold an amazing 125.04 million iPhones, 58.23 million iPads, 18.1 million Macs and 35.2 million iPods. To put that in perspective, it sold only 72 million iPhones across all of FY 2011.

Apple also sold around 32 million iPads in 2011, 17 million Macs and 42.6 million iPods. The FY 2012 numbers make for a 74 percent increase in iPhone sales year over year, an 81 percent bump in iPad sales, a 6.5 percent jump in Mac sales and a 17 percent drop in iPod sales. Clearly, the growth is in Apple’s iOS devices, with smartphones and tablets making up a growing piece of its overall hardware picture, which isn’t surprising given device performance over the past few years."

Apple's computer division on its own would make the Forbes Top 100...@ 18+ million Macs, even at an average on the low, conservative end....@ say $1250 (figuring in low price 11" Airs and stock 13" MBPs as well as $3,000 iMacs and rMBPs), they made 22billion, 500million (18 million computers) with an average profit margin around 30-40%, let's say 30...be conservative, they're making about $7bil in profit. Everyone else's computer shares are falling. Desktops. Laptops. Across the board. Apple had a couple even or slightly off quarters this year after 20 quarters in a row of growth! The rest of the industry, going the other way...and keep in mind this year, Apple held out on releasing new Macs til just a month ago or so with the exception of the MBA Haswell update.

Not to diminish their iOS numbers. You're correct. Their astronomical.....but Apple continues to revolutionize the industry with things like HiDPI displays across the board, thunderbolt and PCIe storage, phenomenal post purchase support and a killer OS without the need to pay for updates, security software....others are paying attention. Intel injected $300,000,000 into the ultra book market so the Windows OEMs would do what Apple did with the success that was and is the Air

Sorry, but numbers of those running iOS 7 (especially when you factor in that new devices come with it by default, restoring your device for any reason will install it for you by default, Apple downloading the update automatically to your device and prompting you in places to install making it rather easy for a typical user who doesn't ever really think much about updates or anything like to almost automatically just tap on the install option) do not really relate to how good it is, how many people are having issues with it, how many people would switch to a previous version if they had the choice, etc.

I think you missed the point. It's not a satisfaction survey. It's an adoption rate and new OS update exposure in terms of percentage of devices in comparison with other mobile OS builders and their adoption rate of the latest update

There HAVE been plenty of satisfaction surveys though. Look around at TUAW, MacWorld, ARS, even comment sections like Anand's review. As well, updated reviews as folks have become accustomed and acclimated to the new UI.

7 is only at 74% because no one can uninstall it. If we could still roll back to 6 every one I know would immediately.

I do tech work on the side, every client is calling begging me to work tech magic to get 6 back on, I'm breaking hearts left and right.

This is Apple biggest scam. They act like the adoption and love for the new OS is high, when it's really not. It's only high because we cannot get it off.

I dare Apple to start signing iOS 6 again. See how fast everyone bails.

7 blows. Ive can't design software, he sucks.. "It's just, simple... simple and white with tinny lame letters most people cannot read. No details, no eye candy just a waste of a retinal screen, just siiimmmple...."

If you're a 'tech' guy....AND you're disrespecting Ive, you're NOT a tech guy. Period. There are ways to 'go back'. It's not forced. You didn't have to out it on (unless you bought the 5s, Air or new mini).

'Every client is begging you to do magic....'????
Do you seriously believe WE believe that?

And 'simple' as you're using it is extremely, EXTREMELY hard to code. But....you're a 'tech guy' right? So you knew that....I'm sure. A simple, fluent UI as powerful as iOS is with the app development community backing it.....with more software available for the device than ANY device in HISTORY...that my friend is a WIN! Through and through.

I didn't bash. I thought the changes to 6 were perfect, but why was 6 so good... oh wait thats right they had someone at the time who knew what they were doing....

No...because it was six years old and had six years of big fixes, additions (including cut and paste, remember that bitch in 2007?) & a UI that didn't change one iota in those six years

And there's the other piece of it where the change can in fact be bad in some way, and maybe in various/many different ways, at least for some set of people.

Discounting the dislike simply based on some people not liking change is way too of a simpleton approach to it that discounts pretty much everything else. Adoption rate doesn't really speak for any of that as there is much more that it's not accounting for.

This. Is. An. Adoption. Rate. Survey. Period. One article. Nothing more. Nothing less. Google iOS 7 satisfaction survey, maybe you'll find what you're looking for

 

[hipnetic]

But different people each year.

Yes, this is a pet peeve of mine. 10 people complain about X and ask for Y. Next year, company changes X to Y and 10 *DIFFERENT* people complain and say they preferred X. Then some schlub posts, "Hey, everyone complained about X last year and now you're complaining that you don't have X anymore." Derp.

 

[smartalic34]

And there's the other piece of it where the change can in fact be bad in some way, and maybe in various/many different ways, at least for some set of people.

Discounting the dislike simply based on some people not liking change is way too of a simpleton approach to it that discounts pretty much everything else. Adoption rate doesn't really speak for any of that as there is much more that it's not accounting for.

But what did Apple really change here? The icons and the fonts/text. That's about it. Sure, there are minor usability changes (pulldown for search, etc.) but for the most part, Apple just threw a fresh coat of paint on things.

 

[9000]

all i can think of when i read these stories is "how many iDevices went in the landfill so people can get the new hot stuff?"

nobody ever counts forced obsolescence when factoring how "green" companies are.

It would be stupid to throw away the old iPhone instead of selling it or giving it to someone. Who does that? If people are actually doing that, which I doubt, then it's not Apple's fault.

Besides, do you know how TINY a phone is? It's such an insignificant amount of waste (for those people who supposedly throw away iPhones) when you consider everything else someone would throw away.

 

[proline]

Could be spun either way--those kinds of numbers speak nothing of how good something is and whether or not people truly want it in the context of not being able to switch to anything else once they have it.

You could make the "not being able to switch" argument about the people who upgraded during the hype of the first couple days. Since then however, people have continued to upgrade. Those are people who took their time and got to see what their friends thought about it.

You can also compare iOS 7 adoption to iOS 6 adoption. Neither allowed downgrades but iOS 7 is out ahead.

Finally, you can look at iPhone production which this quarter will be a new record in the 55 million+ range. The iPhone 5S and 5C, were they running iOS 6, would never have driven sales to that level- there would have been a huge amount of negative publicity about stagnation and all that. Could Apple have made some other radically different look that was even more popular? Perhaps, but chances are the current crop of whiners wouldn't have liked that either.

Long story short, iOS 7 is used by 100 million+ people who chose to install it or buy very expensive hardware that comes with it. It's very well received.

 

[9000]

But what did Apple really change here? The icons and the fonts/text. That's about it. Sure, there are minor usability changes (pulldown for search, etc.) but for the most part, Apple just threw a fresh coat of paint on things.

No, not just that. The whole layout of every stock app. All the borderless white design. The totally new UI design for all the things in the API like UISwitch that third-party apps use. By the way, just changing the colors can make a huge difference, and the generic icons in the apps (system-wide, even third-party apps) really matter.

 

[hipnetic]

I guess I don't get it. Everyone BEGGED for a 'redo'. Everyone wanted the skeuomorphic design to go away. Flatter. Cleaner.

No. "Everyone" *didn't* "beg" for that. Some people did. Know the difference or name names and give us a list of 10 people (that should be easy) who "begged" for Apple to lose the skeumorphic design and then later complained about what Apple (Jony Ives) did.

As I mentioned in my last post, there were *some* people who hated skeumorphism, and there are *different" people who are today complaining about the UI changes in iOS7.

FWIW, I don't think the issue is the supposed lack of "skeumorphism". There's still skeumorphism. The old design had some tackiness (e.g., green felt, stitched leather) that few defended. So I don't think there are too many people that are opposed to making things less "tacky." But I don't think there were many people a year or so ago "begging" that everything be made "flatter." Please provide proof of this claim.

I posted this already, but I think the biggest problems with iOS7 are fixable, but I worry that Ives will be too stubborn to change them. The sea of white (background) is just a horrible UI decision. Related to this, is the poor contrast (gray text on white background, yellow text on white background, etc.). Having buttons that just look like text (no button-like rounded rectangle border) is an awful idea, too. The change in fonts to a 1-pixel-thin font is also a usability/readability concern. Fix these three things (maybe I'm forgetting something else) and I'd bet you that very few people would be complaining.

 

[proline]

If Apple would support more backwards compatibility they could get a lot closer to 100%. It is a waste and a shame to throw away old hardware that works. Most of the newer OS can run on the old hardware. Graceful fallbacks would make it work. Pretty basic programming skills. Lost.

What on earth are you talking about?? iOS 9 works on >92% of all iPads EVER MADE. It runs on >90% of all iPhones EVER MADE with the remainder all models announced before July 2009. Apple's "backward compatibility" is downright phenomenal and far exceeds Google or Microsoft. If you want a real joke though, take a look at BB- the majority of the phones they sold TODAY cannot be upgraded to BB10.