iBooks. Now that it will be a blank white page...

[cualexander]

Fortunately, iBooks isn't baked into the OS. Therefore, we can simply refuse to update it. The current version seems to work just fine with iOS 7.

That works, unless you forget to immediately turn off automatic updates of apps. Oops. There goes iBooks.

 

[LordQ]

I love change, when it's a change for the better. Shoot, I was so excited for iOS 7 that I installed the beta on my only iPhone. Probably a foolish thing to do, but I just couldn't wait. And on the whole, I love it.

However, I don't like change for the sake of change. If a change enhances the user experience, I'm all for it. But if the change is merely to reflect current fashion trends and if it degrades the user experience in the process, I don't like it.

I'm all for removing unnecessary ornamental clutter, but not all skeuomorphism is bad. Some apps lend themselves to skeuomorphic representation, and others really don't need it. I think that iBooks is one app that benefits from a skeuomorphic interface, and I hope they don't change it just to be fashionable.

Totally agree... For example, as I said, I loved the yellow notepad on the notes app because of the "meaning" behind that skeumorphic design, yellow colour is less aggressive on the eyes than a plain white sheet of paper.

All I'm saying is that as a whole, iOS 7 is beautifull without all the clutter and ornamentation but yeah, some things should've stayed and tweaked a little.

 

[Night Spring]

A problem I'm having with iOS 7 is that I'll open an app, lock the screen, and come back a few hours later, and unlock the device, having in the meantime forgotten which app I was in last, and I get a white screen, and have no idea which app I'm looking at. This was somehow never a problem with iOS 6 -- no matter which app opened, I could immediately recognize it from how it looked.

 

[efice32]

I love the page turn animation in iBooks. I love the shredding animation in Passbook app. I love the page curl in Maps. I love the shiny buttons. Skeuomorphism is fun. Everything I love about iPhone is going away.

The idea that skeuomorphism won't stand the test of time is absurd. Things on the screen have to look like something. Things that are hard to imagine as a physical entity are hard to relate to and are hard to figure out. It can look like something from the past (reel to reel in the old Podcasts app), something from the future (Time Machine on OS X) or even something imaginary. The alternative to physical is abstract. It is hard for ordinary everyday people to figure out abstract interfaces.

This is the beginning of the decline of Apple. The question of can Apple still be Apple without Steve Jobs has been answered. And the answer, sadly, is a resounding No.

The parallax feature of iOS 7 is cool. And so is the rain and snow in the weather app that looks like real rain and snow. But this is realism. They removed the old realism such as leather and torn pages and then added it back in spades in the weather app. No restraint whatsoever. Apple designers have lost their way without Steve Jobs.

It is skeuomorphism that made the iPhone a darling of consumers around the world. Skeuomorphism frees technology from the shackles of inscrutable "computer interfaces" and makes it accessible to ordinary everyday users.

The iPad calendar for example, is something that you can show to people who have never seen an iPad before, and they don't see a computer interface. They see a calendar. The instant recognition triggered by skeuomorphism causes the interface to disappear.

The human brain likes both the comfort/pleasure of tactile feedback and the predictability of behaviors implied by familiar appearances (affordance and metaphor). Steve Jobs leveraged these brain responses to the approval of Apple's customers. Steve Jobs understood more than anyone else how to make technology accessible to ordinary everyday users.

This is very well said and I respect your points. In the spirit of open discussion, allow me to make the counter-point...

Professional graphic designer here (I can prove it, if anyone feels the need for me to). Personally, I think iOS 7 is a huge step in the right direction. There's not anything objectively "right" or "wrong" about skeuomorphism, it's just a matter of taste. However, there's a sector of the design community (myself included) that believes in honesty in design.

One of Dieter Rams principles of good design is "Good design is honest." This means that the design doesn't claim or appear to be something that it isn't. The Calendar app in OSX Mountain Lion, for example, is not a leather-stitched calendar with ripped out pages. It's just pixels. We all know that. By making it look like a physical object that it isn't, it's inherently disingenuous.

Originally skeuomorphism was used to indicate functions. People weren't familiar with a digital calendar, so it was made to look like its real-world analog so it would be instantly understandable. This is still illustrated in even the everyday vernacular of a computer environment. Like calling the "desktop" a desktop. It's not actually a desktop, of course.

The problem is, when you design something to look like its real-world analog, you limit yourself largely to the functions of that real-world analog. In iOS 6, look at Contacts on the iPad or the Reminders app. They're stuck looking like an address book and a notepad to the point that any features beyond what a physical address book or notepad can do becomes extremely difficult to implement in a natural way. By fully committing to skeuomorphism, you limit the innovation and features possible in the app.

For example, what if the compass app still looked like a physical compass? It'd be pretty hard to put the inclinometer in it like in iOS 7. Compasses don't have those, normally, yet it's not worth having its own app just for that. You can see the conundrum.

Also, when you commit to skeuomorphism as en entire design philosophy, it invites laziness. Find my Friends is the most egregious example of this with it's faux leather and stitching. What is the real-world analog that Find my Friends is referencing? If anyone can legitimately answer that question, you deserve a job at Apple. The truth is, it's not designed after anything in the real world. It's a purely digital creation. So, if it's not helping the user understand the purpose of the app, why does it look like that? No one really knows except Forstall, but I would argue it's out of laziness. "Oh we have this new app. What should it look like? Let's just do the leather and stitching again."

"Flat" (as people are calling it) is simpler. Not necessarily easier, but simpler. Simple isn't easy. Simple requires constant refining and paring down of the unnecessary and the clutter. iOS 7 is the groundwork for innovation in the future. iOS 6 felt like it was reaching the upper limits of what could be done with the previous UI design and rules. With iOS 7, it's just the beginning.

This is all, of course, just my opinion and any of you are invited to disagree with it.

 

[zerostar]

This is very well said and I respect your points. In the spirit of open discussion, allow me .... it.

I totally agree, good post man.

 

[cualexander]

This is very well said and I respect your points. In the spirit of open discussion, allow me to make the counter-point...

Professional graphic designer here (I can prove it, if anyone feels the need for me to). Personally, I think iOS 7 is a huge step in the right direction. There's not anything objectively "right" or "wrong" about skeuomorphism, it's just a matter of taste. However, there's a sector of the design community (myself included) that believes in honesty in design.

One of Dieter Rams principles of good design is "Good design is honest." This means that the design doesn't claim or appear to be something that it isn't. The Calendar app in OSX Mountain Lion, for example, is not a leather-stitched calendar with ripped out pages. It's just pixels. We all know that. By making it look like a physical object that it isn't, it's inherently disingenuous.

Originally skeuomorphism was used to indicate functions. People weren't familiar with a digital calendar, so it was made to look like its real-world analog so it would be instantly understandable. This is still illustrated in even the everyday vernacular of a computer environment. Like calling the "desktop" a desktop. It's not actually a desktop, of course.

The problem is, when you design something to look like its real-world analog, you limit yourself largely to the functions of that real-world analog. In iOS 6, look at Contacts on the iPad or the Reminders app. They're stuck looking like an address book and a notepad to the point that any features beyond what a physical address book or notepad can do becomes extremely difficult to implement in a natural way. By fully committing to skeuomorphism, you limit the innovation and features possible in the app.

For example, what if the compass app still looked like a physical compass? It'd be pretty hard to put the inclinometer in it like in iOS 7. Compasses don't have those, normally, yet it's not worth having its own app just for that. You can see the conundrum.

Also, when you commit to skeuomorphism as en entire design philosophy, it invites laziness. Find my Friends is the most egregious example of this with it's faux leather and stitching. What is the real-world analog that Find my Friends is referencing? If anyone can legitimately answer that question, you deserve a job at Apple. The truth is, it's not designed after anything in the real world. It's a purely digital creation. So, if it's not helping the user understand the purpose of the app, why does it look like that? No one really knows except Forstall, but I would argue it's out of laziness. "Oh we have this new app. What should it look like? Let's just do the leather and stitching again."

"Flat" (as people are calling it) is simpler. Not necessarily easier, but simpler. Simple isn't easy. Simple requires constant refining and paring down of the unnecessary and the clutter. iOS 7 is the groundwork for innovation in the future. iOS 6 felt like it was reaching the upper limits of what could be done with the previous UI design and rules. With iOS 7, it's just the beginning.

This is all, of course, just my opinion and any of you are invited to disagree with it.

Why does it have to be an all or nothing thing though? I like my yellow notepad and iBooks shelves and Newsstand app doesn't even make sense at all without it, in my opinion, versus just a folder. The other apps, like a browser, I do prefer it to just show the web content. Can there not be cases where you can have it in some apps and some apps not? I see your points and you make valid ones, I'm just curious from a design perspective if you've ever done a mixed design or is it generally frowned upon?

 

[CrAkD]

I love the page turn animation in iBooks. I love the shredding animation in Passbook app. I love the page curl in Maps. I love the shiny buttons. Skeuomorphism is fun. Everything I love about iPhone is going away.

The idea that skeuomorphism won't stand the test of time is absurd. Things on the screen have to look like something. Things that are hard to imagine as a physical entity are hard to relate to and are hard to figure out. It can look like something from the past (reel to reel in the old Podcasts app), something from the future (Time Machine on OS X) or even something imaginary. The alternative to physical is abstract. It is hard for ordinary everyday people to figure out abstract interfaces.

This is the beginning of the decline of Apple. The question of can Apple still be Apple without Steve Jobs has been answered. And the answer, sadly, is a resounding No.

The parallax feature of iOS 7 is cool. And so is the rain and snow in the weather app that looks like real rain and snow. But this is realism. They removed the old realism such as leather and torn pages and then added it back in spades in the weather app. No restraint whatsoever. Apple designers have lost their way without Steve Jobs.

It is skeuomorphism that made the iPhone a darling of consumers around the world. Skeuomorphism frees technology from the shackles of inscrutable "computer interfaces" and makes it accessible to ordinary everyday users.

The iPad calendar for example, is something that you can show to people who have never seen an iPad before, and they don't see a computer interface. They see a calendar. The instant recognition triggered by skeuomorphism causes the interface to disappear.

The human brain likes both the comfort/pleasure of tactile feedback and the predictability of behaviors implied by familiar appearances (affordance and metaphor). Steve Jobs leveraged these brain responses to the approval of Apple's customers. Steve Jobs understood more than anyone else how to make technology accessible to ordinary everyday users.

Scott Forstall is that you!?

 

[cualexander]

Scott Forstall is that you!?

Hahaha. That would be hilarious!

 

[Apple_Robert]

Scott Forstall is that you!?

Props for the Bulldog avatar. Great dogs. Love the English Bulldogs.

 

[CrAkD]

Props for the Bulldog avatar. Great dogs. Love the English Bulldogs.

thanks man. he's mine thats Ralph.

 

[efice32]

Why does it have to be an all or nothing thing though? I like my yellow notepad and iBooks shelves and Newsstand app doesn't even make sense at all without it, in my opinion, versus just a folder. The other apps, like a browser, I do prefer it to just show the web content. Can there not be cases where you can have it in some apps and some apps not? I see your points and you make valid ones, I'm just curious from a design perspective if you've ever done a mixed design or is it generally frowned upon?

It doesn't have to be. Apple just decided that they wanted it to be. They clearly wanted consistency in the UI look and feel and decided that a non-skeuomorphic UI gave them more flexibility long-term. Thus they chose to make everything that way. Whether that's the right decision or not is debatable, but that's the direction iOS is headed.

 

[Gogurt48]

This is very well said and I respect your points. In the spirit of open discussion, allow me to make the counter-point...

I agree with you in general, and I really like the simple approach that Apple is taking with iOS 7. However, since the topic of this discussion is iBooks, I'd like to talk about that app. There's a certain pleasure in reading a book, beyond just the enjoyment of a good story. It's nice to take a book off the shelf, sit down with it, hold it in your hands and turn the pages.

When ebooks first came out, I loved being able to carry a small library in my pocket, but I missed the physicality of handling actual books. My first ebook reader was an app on the old Palm Tungsten E. Its interface consisted of a list of books that you could tap on with the stylus. The selected book would open. It was just a screen full of text. A tap at the bottom of the screen would open the next screen full of text. You could read a book that way, and I did, but it was kind of a sterile experience.

Then my Palm Tungsten E died and I found that they didn't make them anymore. So I got my first Apple device, a third-generation iPod Touch. When I saw iBooks, I was thrilled. I loved the little bookshelf with the little book covers on it. I loved the page-turn animation and the sepia-colored "pages". That app created an atmosphere with its skeuomorphic interface that approximated the reading of a physical book. The interface added to the pleasure of reading.

In my opinion, if they strip that out and create essentially a more stylish version of the old Palm ereader, something valuable will have been lost.

 

[whocaresit]

I love the page turn animation in iBooks. I love the shredding animation in Passbook app. I love the page curl in Maps. I love the shiny buttons. Skeuomorphism is fun. Everything I love about iPhone is going away.

The idea that skeuomorphism won't stand the test of time is absurd. Things on the screen have to look like something. Things that are hard to imagine as a physical entity are hard to relate to and are hard to figure out. It can look like something from the past (reel to reel in the old Podcasts app), something from the future (Time Machine on OS X) or even something imaginary. The alternative to physical is abstract. It is hard for ordinary everyday people to figure out abstract interfaces.

This is the beginning of the decline of Apple. The question of can Apple still be Apple without Steve Jobs has been answered. And the answer, sadly, is a resounding No.

The parallax feature of iOS 7 is cool. And so is the rain and snow in the weather app that looks like real rain and snow. But this is realism. They removed the old realism such as leather and torn pages and then added it back in spades in the weather app. No restraint whatsoever. Apple designers have lost their way without Steve Jobs.

It is skeuomorphism that made the iPhone a darling of consumers around the world. Skeuomorphism frees technology from the shackles of inscrutable "computer interfaces" and makes it accessible to ordinary everyday users.

The iPad calendar for example, is something that you can show to people who have never seen an iPad before, and they don't see a computer interface. They see a calendar. The instant recognition triggered by skeuomorphism causes the interface to disappear.

The human brain likes both the comfort/pleasure of tactile feedback and the predictability of behaviors implied by familiar appearances (affordance and metaphor). Steve Jobs leveraged these brain responses to the approval of Apple's customers. Steve Jobs understood more than anyone else how to make technology accessible to ordinary everyday users.

Kudos. Very well said.

 

[MVallee]

I don't mind if the wooden shelf goes but I would like the page animations to stay. It makes it feel more like reading. Also I hope the sepia option stays, I find the white too harsh to read with.

Slightly off topic but it would be nice if they would add a text to speech function built right into iBooks instead of having to use Voice Over. Voice Over works alright, except you can't lock your screen, if you turn your device it says "landscape orientation" and messes up your place, plus it interrupts your reading to speak all your alerts. It would be nice to have it implemented in a more hassle free way.

 

[Carlanga]

I love the page turn animation in iBooks. I love the shredding animation in Passbook app. I love the page curl in Maps. I love the shiny buttons. Skeuomorphism is fun. Everything I love about iPhone is going away.

The idea that skeuomorphism won't stand the test of time is absurd. Things on the screen have to look like something. Things that are hard to imagine as a physical entity are hard to relate to and are hard to figure out. It can look like something from the past (reel to reel in the old Podcasts app), something from the future (Time Machine on OS X) or even something imaginary. The alternative to physical is abstract. It is hard for ordinary everyday people to figure out abstract interfaces.

This is the beginning of the decline of Apple. The question of can Apple still be Apple without Steve Jobs has been answered. And the answer, sadly, is a resounding No.

The parallax feature of iOS 7 is cool. And so is the rain and snow in the weather app that looks like real rain and snow. But this is realism. They removed the old realism such as leather and torn pages and then added it back in spades in the weather app. No restraint whatsoever. Apple designers have lost their way without Steve Jobs.

It is skeuomorphism that made the iPhone a darling of consumers around the world. Skeuomorphism frees technology from the shackles of inscrutable "computer interfaces" and makes it accessible to ordinary everyday users.

The iPad calendar for example, is something that you can show to people who have never seen an iPad before, and they don't see a computer interface. They see a calendar. The instant recognition triggered by skeuomorphism causes the interface to disappear.

The human brain likes both the comfort/pleasure of tactile feedback and the predictability of behaviors implied by familiar appearances (affordance and metaphor). Steve Jobs leveraged these brain responses to the approval of Apple's customers. Steve Jobs understood more than anyone else how to make technology accessible to ordinary everyday users.

very nice, I agree! Shame you don't post too often!

and TS yes, I also like the ske on ibooks and the yellow notepad on the notes app
Hell I still use the fake stickies in Dashboard! Love them!

----------

A problem I'm having with iOS 7 is that I'll open an app, lock the screen, and come back a few hours later, and unlock the device, having in the meantime forgotten which app I was in last, and I get a white screen, and have no idea which app I'm looking at. This was somehow never a problem with iOS 6 -- no matter which app opened, I could immediately recognize it from how it looked.

lmao, that is funny and sad at the same time and I can relate.

 

[Solomani]

Very well said (the whole thing). iOS 7 looks good on paper but when it's in your hand it doesn't stand out from the crowd. Sad to see it go this way.

It's what the Masses wanted. The Masses screamed at Apple to change the iOS interface, and to throw out Skeumorphic design altogether. I remember when the vast majority of MacRumors users actually celebrated the firing of Scott Forstall (then Apple's Father of Skeumorphism). I don't think anyone bothered to defend him.

Apple listened... and look where we end up. Skeumorphism is being phased out, and now we have this oh-so-wonderful FLAT design. And we just know how well received and much-loved this new FLAT design is, huh.