Is Apple shooting itself in the foot by not innovating a new iOS redesign?

[sand_man]

iOS5 brought 200 new features some more prominent than others, I reckon added functionality vs a completely new form factor is the way to progress.

It's such an incredibly refined OS already, why tamper with it for the sake of change. Marketing??

I see it a lot in the franchised restaurant business. Perfectly good granite table tops replaced with wooden one's after a scheduled revamp!!

Doesn't make any sense and in Apple's example their UI is that granite table top...

 

[MasterHowl]

Same can be said about Windows 7.

ImageImage

Not a whole lot of change.

yup, still as bad!

 

[netdog]

And who says that Apple doesn't have an interface redesign in the pipeline?

 

[Calidude]

iOS5 brought 200 new features some more prominent than others, I reckon added functionality vs a completely new form factor is the way to progress.

It's such an incredibly refined OS already, why tamper with it for the sake of change. Marketing??

I see it a lot in the franchised restaurant business. Perfectly good granite table tops replaced with wooden one's after a scheduled revamp!!

Doesn't make any sense and in Apple's example their UI is that granite table top...

Features that should have been there at iOS3...

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And who says that Apple doesn't have an interface redesign in the pipeline?

As I said before, I'm hoping they do. Otherwise, iPhone sales will start to diminish.

 

[Abazigal]

I suspect it is not so much that Apple doesn't wish to, but can't or won't for some reason.

Simply put, it may run contrary to their "It just works" philosophy. Yes, a snazzy and jazzed up interface might attract more people to it initially, but unless the platform delivers, they will quickly become frustrated or disillusioned with it.

I will be using the apps more than admiring how pretty my home screen looks, so for me at least, I would go for functionality over form any time of the day.

 

[Calidude]

I suspect it is not so much that Apple doesn't wish to, but can't or won't for some reason.

Simply put, it may run contrary to their "It just works" philosophy. Yes, a snazzy and jazzed up interface might attract more people to it initially, but unless the platform delivers, they will quickly become frustrated or disillusioned with it.

I will be using the apps more than admiring how pretty my home screen looks, so for me at least, I would go for functionality over form any time of the day.

It's not about the looks, its about the functionality. iOS is too much of an app launcher, rather than a operating system. Look at what jailbreakers have done with the OS in concept rather than real world performance due to jailbreaking, and you'll see what I mean about what iOS is missing.

 

[Ayemerica]

Apple doesn't have to totally change their UI, they have to allow for better multitasking. When I had a Nexus S for a little while what i loved was the multitasking, quick tabs, quick pages it was great, but you can't over look the fragmentation of android.

 

[Calidude]

Apple doesn't have to totally change their UI, they have to allow for better multitasking. When I had a Nexus S for a little while what i loved was the multitasking, quick tabs, quick pages it was great, but you can't over look the fragmentation of android.

Exactly. They can keep the look but add dozens of little features to make you never want another phone again.

 

[jhead95]

Although iOS is built upon a 'simplistic' mindset, I am beginning to believe that this will not hold up against a generation that is beginning to consume content at unimaginable rates. People want immediate access to content. iOS seems to slow down this process just a little.

 

[Blakjack]

Let's be real here,

All Apple has to do is add a 4" screen and all this switching talk would go away!

The average consumer knows nothing about iOS 5 or Ice Cream Sandwich.

If that iPhone 5 were released like many of us thought, the past couple of months would have been completely different as far as this switching talk goes.

There still would have been some, but not to this magnitude. The iPhone is still king, no matter how many android phones are sold.

It still is the Mercedes. We already knew Android would eventually start outselling the iPhone. That was a given.

 

[ThatsMeRight]

Same can be said about Windows 7.

ImageImage

Not a whole lot of change.

You are absolutely correct that not much, really, has changed. It just looks much better and got some new functionality.

iOS needs this. Apple doesn't need to change the 'fundamentals' of iOS, but rather the look of it (look at Windows 95 and Windows 7 desktop above. The idea is the same, but Windows 7 has a fresh, new, modern look).

Make it fresh. Make it modern. Make it 2012. Make it iOS 6.

Edit: and sure, iOS doesn't look bad at all. Anyone new to the iPhone or iPod touch will like it because it's all new and stuff. But if you give someone Windows 95 without ever showing him newer versions of Windows, than Windows 95 does fine too.

Edit 2
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Some other examples to make iOS 6 have a fresh look:

Add landscape springboard/homescreen
This might seem insignificant, but it really is huge. If iOS 6 brings us a landscape homescreen-support along with some other new UI elements, iOS 6 will really feel modern (even though the change is actually small)

Multitasking (iPad)
The current multitasking bar does fine. But that's it. It doesn't do great. It only does fine. If you think about it, the multitasking bar currently used is perfect for iPhone... but it's really terrible for iPad. The multitasking bar on iPad takes really little screen-space, and all the space above is useless. Apple could make a much better multitasking-experience on the iPad (by making use of the bigger screen).

Widgets on iPad
I think widgets on the iPhone would be messy, but I think widgets on the iPad would be great because of the big screen. Perhaps, widgets could be placed in a bar on the right (just like in Windows Vista).

Springboard
Redesign the springboard. Add (and change) some small UI elements. This way the OS will look fresh and new, while the changes are only small.

All the changes above are really small changes to the OS, but I believe they are important. The only 'big thing' is widgets for iPad... and heck, now someone probably will say how bad it is, well, guess what... you don't have to use widgets and you can disable them!

I also believe that Apple should make more difference between iOS versions for iPad and iOS versions for iPhone. One good example is multitasking (as I said above): make use of the bigger screen on the iPad! Make the iPad feel like a tablet, a small personal computer.

 

[VulchR]

I can't help but think there is a more elegant solution to accessing apps then navigating through pages and then folders. Also, the double-clicking of a mechanical home button to access multitasking is bound to cause a problem in the long run as the button suffers wear and tear, so there must be a better way of doing that. I'd also like Siri to mature for use in the UK and the iPhone to use its front camera to track my eye movements (for instance scrolling upward as my eyes reach the bottom of text on the screen, maybe even using hotspots that trigger actions when I gaze at them, creating 3D effects by parallax etc.).

Thus, there are a few GUI changes I'd like to see to enhance functionality, for elegant solutions to functional problems create excitement about technology, not style per se. Changing things simply for the sake of change would be silly...

 

[andiwm2003]

Exactly. They can keep the look but add dozens of little features to make you never want another phone again.

I think that is the point. Apple doesn't need to come up with a different UI paradigm but there are lots of things that don't work very well.

The fact
-that I need to go through 4 menues to switch of WiFi
-that I can't switch off these huge notification bubbles that tell me 7 WiFi hot spots are around
-that I still can't limit my iPhone to use only two defined WiFi networks and ignore all others
are good examples.

I also like the idea that a user can configure the interface with tiles of the most important functions for a super easy use of the main functions. The old timers of us remeber "AtEase" as interface for OS 7.

I hope Apple invents in this direction and in addition allows Apps that customize the interface. However knowing Apple being a control freak this is unlikely even now with Steven gone.

 

[Calidude]

Let's be real here,

All Apple has to do is add a 4" screen and all this switching talk would go away!.

And let's be honest, things like multitasking would benefit from a 4 inch screen.

 

[rdowns]

Is there any evidence to suggest there's a big exodus of iPhone customers switching to Android and Windows Phone 7 because they are 'bored' with iOS?

Of course there isn't. The kids who are "bored" with iOS don't have mommy's permission or money to get a new phone.

 

[daneoni]

Its not like iOS has been standing still since either.

iPhone OS 1.0

iOS 5

-that I can't switch off these huge notification bubbles that tell me 7 WiFi hot spots are around
-that I still can't limit my iPhone to use only two defined WiFi networks and ignore all others
are good examples.

Erm...isn't this toggle meant to afford you these functions?

 

[MacDawg]

I'm not sure how you become bored with an OS
Aren't the apps what you use?
But then again, I am not a teenager who fiddles constantly with their phone
I use the iPhone because it is stable, it works and it does everything I need
It is a bonus that it is stylish, but that is far from important to me

You say you hear more and more about folks bored with the simple iOS
What I hear is how much smoother and refined it is over Android
There is always the cry, "but have you seen the next version of Android? or the next device?"

Doomsday predictions about the iPhone have always been around
If it doesn't have more RAM it is doomed
If it doesn't have more storage it is doomed
If it doesn't have a faster processor it is doomed
If it doesn't have a bigger screen it is doomed
If it doesn't have an improved iOS it is doomed

Yawn

Same is said of the Mac and OS X

Yawn

Buy what meets your needs and don't worry about Apple's future
Let them take care of that

 

[matt90036]

Its not like iOS has been standing still since version 1 either.

iPhone OS 1.0

iOS 4/5

Erm...isn't this toggle meant to afford you these function?

I'm completly opposite to the OP. I am a windows person and usually I love to be able to customize OS, hack it, etc. BUT I love my phones plain and simple. I have never owned a smart phone in my life but as 3G Internet is becoming cheaper I thought I would buy an iPhone.
I did quite a bit of research and iPhone 3GS is best fit for me, despite 4S being the same price. I love the fact that it's simple, when I'm walking fast, running or driving I just see the icon I have to click and that's it. There is no 10,000 widgets on the screen, 1 million notifications or other settings popping out. I would actually prefer the 1st generation iPhone with fewer of the damn built in apps.

 

[ThatsMeRight]

Its not like iOS has been standing still since either.

iPhone OS 1.0

iOS 5

Erm...isn't this toggle meant to afford you these functions?

You are of course correct that there have been (some big) changes in the UI over the past few years, but the problem is: it happens slowly. It have been small steps over and over again. If we would still have the exact same UI as in 2007 and tomorrow Apple would release iOS 5 as we know it now, than the update would be amazing. But it isn't, because there are only one or two changes in some very small UI-elements every iOS update. And two changes doesn't feel like new.

 

[sneaky butcher]

ios needs something i've heard a few of my iphone friends say it feels a bit "boring" now.

they brought in a decent notification system eventually. I think they need to give the option of home screen widgets & more customization.

I think smartphone users are becoming more sophisticated and more demanding. Apple needs to be aware.

 

[syc23]

Well a car steering wheel is still round. Shall we change it then?

 

[andiwm2003]

..................
Erm...isn't this toggle meant to afford you these functions?

uhm....no.

this is what leads to those stupid huge bubbles asking me what network I want to join while all I want is se the google map that is now covered up.

only if one of the networks is a known network it joins automatically. however when you walk or drive through a big city there are always 20 unknown networks around and the big bubble comes up. only way to stop it is to switch wifi off.

Well a car steering wheel is still round. Shall we change it then?

uhm...no.

look at the lower left. KID FTW!

 

[lordofthereef]

People claiming that there have been only minor changes to OSX and Windows over the past decade really aren't seeing the big picture. Sure, KEY FEATURES that people love are going to stay the same, but if you think these OS's are as they were in early 2000 I am not sure there is anything to discuss here...

 

[Thetonyk123]

I'm noticing that more and more people around me in the teen to 30 age group are mentioning they are getting "bored" of how iOS works right now.

Some people may chalk this up to simple attention deficit disorder on the part of our youth, and I don't doubt that to be true, but people are actually making good points about how the iOS interface is too simple and non-cohesive, and they are talking about Windows Phone or Android looking more how a phone interface should behave.

And when you think about it, you sort of wonder why Apple, a company that has put so much emphasis into design in its hardware, hasn't done the same for the OS.

Is Apple afraid to look like it's copying Android if it does a redesign of iOS? Is Apple afraid of losing people if they have to re-learn iOS again? Shouldn't iOS have been redesigned back with iOS 3 instead of letting Windows Phone and Android introduce new design concepts to their customer base?

No. be patient for this though

 

[Invincibilizer]

100% agree

iOS is too boring, it needs something new.