Appreciate the more in-depth info. I'd love to get your input about something that's been bothering me - what is your opinion regarding the iOS interfaces becoming more dumbed-down and simple, in the long run? From my (unprofessional!) point of view, it would seem that the combination of
- simple shapes and colors
- plenty of empty white space
- general discouragement of interface variety and ornamentation
would, in fact, stifle diversity and cause boredom with the UI among users much more quickly than iOS-6ish interfaces ever could. Not every developer has the resources or foresight to make an appealing and varied interface like the one OmniFocus 2 or the new Shazam.
iOS 7 Critiques
While the button metaphor was important moving away from physical devices in 2007, most iPhone buyers have now owned a touch device. For that reason I support the move to touch targets that resemble web links. I've always been fanatical about Helvetica and the advent of retina was begging for a lighter typeface. The early betas had an ultralight font that I actually preferred. When moving away from the button metaphor the biggest loss is discoverability. Eg I can tap "< Notes" but not "5:57 PM." Typically Apple and devs are using a medium Helvetica for navigation but I am seeing a few too many indiscernible glyphs.
I truly enjoyed moving through the OS and discovering new wireframe design language in icons. The Radio icon in Music is truly delightful (look for the notch in the antenna)! Of course, a few minutes in iOS 7 exposes the pixel the pixel imperfections listed above but I am confident they will be fixed in 7.1. All of the vector icons may be Apple showing its cards regarding resolution independence as we see more screen sizes.
Home screen icons are a mixed bag and due to their user-facing nature it is a very vocal discussion. While the creation of an app seems daunting, to normals the icon is a different story. "I just draw a square and put a picture inside." I quickly adjusted to the golden ratio grid system in iOS 7 and have been enjoying experimenting with revised icons. Look to the new Tweetbot icon for an example of the power of the grid. To me, the superellipse lends the icons motion and pairs especially well considering the degree at which we hold our iPhones and parallax.
Calendar is horrendous. Not a day passes that I don't experience a major navigational error. In year view Apple did a great job with touch targets but it still gives me pause to think I'll be able to tap a 14px x 14px circle! I've always been an advocate of white space to draw the eye, physical world and virtual benefit here but Calendar needs a tear down rebuild.
I am pleased to see the gold/silver border go the way of the Dodo; specifically game icons. On the other hand, a few stock icons commit the biggest faux pas, white/black space. Stocks, clock and Memos disappear into wallpapers anywhere close to white/black; instantly resembling Android home screen icons.
Its been four months since I installed iOS 7 and Im 100% sold on now. Its an extremely solid update for iPhone users (Apple shouldve delayed the iPad version another month). I thought the colors were too flashy at first, but after using it day to day, the new color palette is great. It really brings your iPhone to life, coming from the dull colors, drop shadows, and gloss effects of the previous versions of iOS. I am a bit sentimental about some of the more iconic skeuomorphic icons but largely find the reduction of icons to something more basic refreshing.
