Details on Jony Ive's 'Very, Very Flat' Design for iOS 7

[brewcitywi]

iOS7

A few months ago, there were many posts saying that Jony Ive better have a major impact on iOS7. Now, when we hear a rumor of just that, and there are posts saying that it will look too much like windows, or that it doesn't solve Apple's recent problems with new innovation.

If interface design looks as amazing as the product design, I think we will see both visual progress and some unexpected software innovation to accommodate the new interface.

 

[mocenigo]

DO NOT LIKE!! WHAT???

Have you seen the new UI?

No, but maybe he was paid by a korean company whose name begins with "S" ;-)

 

[Mike MA]

Very exciting indeed!
Now, hurry up and do the same to OS X.

My thought as well, but latest news dealing about the focus on pro users and application handling don't seem promising.

 

[wovel]

So they are copying Windows 8 Phone? Just great.

Last I checked, people LIKE gloss and shine.

Who did you check with?

 

[the8thark]

Ive has your back covered. He seems to be very interested.

Image

Seriously Cook, Ive and Grohl look old in that photo. Seriously old.

 

[geox]

meh

toning down textures is one thing. but FLAT would be sterile,too clean and boring .. kinda like Metro lol

Brushed Metal in Jaguar OSX was probably the best UI theme that Apple came up with

 

[mrholder]

Just as long as it looks totally different than Android or Windows OS. Not so sure I will like a flat design. I'm ok with the way it looks now.

 

[sparks9]

I got great confidence in Ive. Bring it on.

 

[the8thark]

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/iphone_5_finger_tips_guide.pdf
That is included in EVERY iPhone box.

Gee you're lucky.

When you buy an iPad (I bought a 4th Gen) this is all you get. One card.

 

[mocenigo]

In Ives I trust.

Charles Ives?

 

[wovel]

Just look at the current iOS music app, that's what it'll look like. That is what Ive is trying to accomplish, a flatter, cleaner, simplistic look that carries an elegance and modern look to it. Then go to the "Videos" app. The Music app looks cleaner and more Apple like, the older "glossier, bubblier" apps now look dated.

I think it's going to look amazing, there hasn't been one thing I haven't liked about Ive's designs yet, this coming from a designer. I trust he'll guide the team to create a refreshing, modern iOS.

The video App has been broken for a while anyway. I hope they give it a complete re-write. (Just try and use it with a largish collection and home sharing). I agree the look of the music app is much better.

I'd rather be talking about a new Iphone than a cosmetic change to an OS.

Probably in the wrong thread.

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Zero of these mentioned above have been a problem for me and i'd like to believe am not alone.

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But I thought iPhone 5 was the last iPhone carrying SJ signature, no?

Likely true. Keep in mind that every iPhone since the original has faced similar criticism. Oh just adding 3g , thats not really an upgrade. Retina Display pfft.

 

[Neodym]

[...] implement a feature where when you open an app, you can access a list of all documents in the device which that app can open [...]

That's not the best solution, privacy-wise.

So is the absence of a proper multi-user functionality, privacy-wise...

 

[mixinmaster]

Here we go again

I smell another Final Cut Pro type fiasco in the making... i dont know about every one else but i like the overall design and realism the OS has with the exception of a few apps that stick out like a sore thumb (e.g. gamecenter, compass) other apps that need a heavy face lift are the unused video app news stand weather calculator and even Mail apps. The icons shouldnt change much and should not have the "minimal all look the same" type approach a la microsoft mode that would be absolutely terrible. but if this article is reffering to a refresh kind of like the Podcast app got then im all for it!

 

[wovel]

In general I think I'm starting to accept that Apple is not going to give me what I want with iOS 7. I don't want a new aesthetic look. (Although I have no problems with them changing that up). What I want is customization ability! They are shunning the "techies" and early adopters of the phone that made them so popular in the first place for the grandmas and tech idiots who can pick the phone up and use it. Again, I have no problem with that, but give some of the rest of us the ability to make the OS behave how we want. I should be able to put the newsstand app in a folder for #$%# sake without having to trick the OS.

I'm at a proverbial crossroad with my iPhone. I feel slightly stuck in the ecosystem as I have a macbook pro and iPad (which I love them both), but I don't love my iPhone. I'm honestly considering everything from the Blackberry Q10 (yes, thats right) to a Galaxy Note 2/3 at this point.

Interesting conclusion to come to without a single piece of reliable information.

 

[subsonix]

Seems to me where there's smoke there's fire. John Gruber, Rene Ritchie and now 9to5Mac have all reported this. And we haven't heard anyone deny it. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple is leaking some of this on purpose.

Haven't you ever noticed massive rumors that in retrospect turned out to be false?

Anyhow, there may well be something to it, but if you look at the headline it's not only flat, but 'very, very flat', ie obvious link bait, that implies that the changes are extreme.

On the other hand, look at the history of Mac OS back to the original Macintosh and changes have been incremental between OS versions, I guess not to risk to scare half their user base away in one update.

 

[mixinmaster]

hhmmm in second thought

Random thought.. combining this rumor with others we've read.. could the "flatness" combine with a matching color iphone (kind of how windows metro and nokia) i think apple would be able to pull this off much better than competitors... although i still dream of the day they add a themes catgory to their store where we can purchase a whole bundle of theme ringtones and system sounds to transform a phone we hold for years and make it exciting again lol

 

[jimmirehman]

I think Ive is the last and only chance Apple has at remaining the great company we have come to love/hate. If anyone should be spearheading the company's biggest product and the OS that runs it, it should be him and only him.

 

[wovel]

I liked the tape-recorder in the Podcast app, and I also like the flipping of pages in iBooks. I hope they won't discontinue the paper-flipping-feature.

The paper flipping actually serves a purpose. It shows you when you are making the gesture correctly. There was no point to the tape recorder.

 

[sseaton1971]

Android's UI is just as easy to use, yet offers more versatility and control. App updates are straightforward, so I have no idea what you're talking about. Set apps to auto update, set apps to only update manually; as well as a few options to tell it when to update or not.

And that is why you like Android and I don't. It is a personal preference, obviously. I don't like how there are multiple app panes, even when there are no apps present. I don't like how wordy the system preferences are and how there might be multiple clicks for certain settings.

Android is for you, and it is not for me. I could say a similar thing back to you: "Android is unnecessarily cluttered and confusing. I have no idea what you are talking about."

 

[thebeans]

Yuk

Yeah, the 6 year old glossy buttons and text messages look horrbile. On the other hand I don't want it all flat, something in between, so the buttons would look like buttons, which improves UX. Also if the UI goes well with the 3rd party app icons like now, that will be great.

Strange how much people differ on this. To me, when I see my co-workers Android phones with their text windows open I tend to think they are quite ugly. All flat with bright, over-saturated cartoon like colors. I MUCH prefer the look of text windows in iOS. So for me I don't think that would be an improvement at all. Actually, I don't think this is what is meant when they refer to flatness. I believe many folks are going to be very surprised. And, of course, lots of folks will bitch and gripe because it is not different enough.

 

[Eadfrith]

Kind of bad for Apple imo. It means they're taking design cues from Microsoft the worst design team in the industry. And Microsoft should sue the crap outta them.

Flat doesn't have to mean bland like Microsofts metro UI.

 

[milo]

Was New Coke the one with vanilla flavor?

Nope, that was Vanilla Coke (not sure if it still exists, but it was pretty good). New Coke was basically changing the recipe to taste more like Pepsi.

 

[bumblebritches5]

One question I have is does this approach toward the UI free up resources? For example, the old Podcast app had the ability to show the "tape deck" which invariably cost something in terms of processor and/or memory, if only in the size of the app itself. By removing some of these elements, will they be able to make the OS and their own apps more efficient, smaller, faster, etc? They have the technology......

Like it or hate it, the Windows Metro UI was at least an attempt to do something different in the mobile space. Android may have taken different routes with the rest of the OS, but nothing major in the UI department. I think Apple got complacent.( Since Android is copying our UI, well then it must be good.) Microsoft at least showed that someone actually did "think different."

Yes, it clearly will save RAM and CPU cycles, that's pretty much the reason Vista and Leopard WENT all crazy with the gloss and ****, to show off how powerful they and their hardware was.

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For the record? When/if iOS gets widgets? I want all the Apple haters to go to this post before they claim Apple is "copying" android.



Click the link, and look at this image from 2005

Image

The birth of the iOS "App" and Widgets...

"Widgets" are a waste of time, screen space and power, nobody wants them and they've been dead since 2007, at the latest.

 

[bozzykid]

Zero of these mentioned above have been a problem for me and i'd like to believe am not alone.

I'm sure you are not alone. But there are a lot of people who have used other platforms and realize how outdated iOS is. iOS is no longer as cool as it once was. Like it or not that is a issue for Apple long term.

 

[LeandrodaFL]

The death of iOS...whats wrong with Apple? I sugest everyone get a iOS device now and a macintosh now too btw, we may not like the future