I agree, it's superfluous, ugly, and this brightness issue makes it unusable. Jony Ive would make a good Android designer.
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Jony Ive and the Future of iOS
- Thread starter BillyMatt87
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iOS isn't just phones anymore
I believe a lot of the changes are taking place because we now have iPhones, iPods, iPads, Apple TV -- iOS in the car and soon iWatch. They had to change things to accommodate all these different devices with different screens and functionality requirements, but yet still try and make them feel familiar.
I loved iOS 6 and was sad to see it go -- especially the polish of it. Not the crazy felt or overboard use of textures such as wood, but the polish of the UI buttons and use of certain apps. I do love iOS 7, but it's not quite there yet. Some UI elements are a vast improvement, some a huge setback. Text over icons is a huge mistake -- just try and look at the weather from the today screen. Trying to delete voicemails often results in a UI text button miss.
That being said, 7.1 fixes some of these issues and I believe iOS 8 will go further, incorporating more icons and dropping some of the text that was a mistake. However, this will also be with a look of having a unified experience between all the different iOS devices.
I agree with the tenant that OS X and iOS should not merge certain things. Look at how Microsoft screwed up Windows 8 trying to make one UI for everything. They completely screwed up the laptop/desktop experience (in terms of market acceptance). Preserving OS X, but taking the two to be more similar (where it makes sense) and interoperable will continue (please Airdrop between devices). But iOS in the car, Apple TV, iWatch/iPhone/iPad/iPod are different devices that will have a similar look and feel. To do that, we had to move beyond iOS 6. As sad as I was to see certain things go, it likely had to be done.
I think they can get the polish back. My biggest frustration with the current state of things is the text label buttons. They're too hard to use trying to touch target areas.
I believe a lot of the changes are taking place because we now have iPhones, iPods, iPads, Apple TV -- iOS in the car and soon iWatch. They had to change things to accommodate all these different devices with different screens and functionality requirements, but yet still try and make them feel familiar.
I loved iOS 6 and was sad to see it go -- especially the polish of it. Not the crazy felt or overboard use of textures such as wood, but the polish of the UI buttons and use of certain apps. I do love iOS 7, but it's not quite there yet. Some UI elements are a vast improvement, some a huge setback. Text over icons is a huge mistake -- just try and look at the weather from the today screen. Trying to delete voicemails often results in a UI text button miss.
That being said, 7.1 fixes some of these issues and I believe iOS 8 will go further, incorporating more icons and dropping some of the text that was a mistake. However, this will also be with a look of having a unified experience between all the different iOS devices.
I agree with the tenant that OS X and iOS should not merge certain things. Look at how Microsoft screwed up Windows 8 trying to make one UI for everything. They completely screwed up the laptop/desktop experience (in terms of market acceptance). Preserving OS X, but taking the two to be more similar (where it makes sense) and interoperable will continue (please Airdrop between devices). But iOS in the car, Apple TV, iWatch/iPhone/iPad/iPod are different devices that will have a similar look and feel. To do that, we had to move beyond iOS 6. As sad as I was to see certain things go, it likely had to be done.
I think they can get the polish back. My biggest frustration with the current state of things is the text label buttons. They're too hard to use trying to touch target areas.
That's a load of crap. When I used to read the forums at that time so many people were complaining about the UI being dated and stale. And it was. Looking at iOS 6 now gives me the same feeling as walking into a house that hasn't been renovated since the 70's. To me, the iOS 6 skeuomorphism and linen patterns are the same as wood paneling in a house.
To you, and probably many others, but it could be and is the opposite for many others still as well. Hard to say where the majority would be (or if that would really mean anything one way or another), but it's fair to say that there are a lot of people on either side of it.
You cannot be an expert at design haha. You can be very good and very bad. But just because one designer says iOS 7 is bad doesn't make them an expert (google confirmation bias kinda relates to this situation).
For example; I code and design an application (true story bro) I hate Androids Tron UI in 4.3, does that make me an expert? Nope. Does it make me good? Naw. Is it an opinion? Foe-show kiddo!
Also, I don't really recall wallstreet asking Apple to update its UI. I remember it being the users. If Apple listening to its users means Apple is doomed then you are kinda delusional #.
And to many others they actually aren't fond of the way the single address /search bar is setup in Safari now in iOS and would rather see two separate ones.
Jony Ive and the Future of iOS
Apple doesn't have to acknowledge a damn thing just because some designers and engineers hate ios 7! At the end if the day some will like it and others won't. I'm a software engineer myself and I try to look beyond the UI and consider functionality. In my opinion Apple have done a great job making the changes they have done in a short amount of time. I have further understanding how softwares are built and applaud Ivy and his designers/engineers for what they have done.
Really Wall Street dude
? Apple made the changes because ios 6 was way dated!
Apple doesn't have to acknowledge a damn thing just because some designers and engineers hate ios 7! At the end if the day some will like it and others won't. I'm a software engineer myself and I try to look beyond the UI and consider functionality. In my opinion Apple have done a great job making the changes they have done in a short amount of time. I have further understanding how softwares are built and applaud Ivy and his designers/engineers for what they have done.
Really Wall Street dude
? Apple made the changes because ios 6 was way dated!Apple doesn't have to acknowledge a damn thing just because some designers and engineers hate ios 7! At the end if the day some will like it and others won't. I'm a software engineer myself and I try to look beyond the UI and consider functionality. In my opinion Apple have done a great job making the changes they have done in a short amount of time. I have further understanding how softwares are built and applaud Ivy and his designers/engineers for what they have done.
Really Wall Street dude
It's not necessarily the UI designers/engineers they should be listening to, it's the customers. You know the people who played a huge part in Apple's success and remained loyal to the company because they used always produce beautiful and high quality products/services.
As I've said before, I know several people with iPhone and they hate the update and wish they could revert back to iOS 6. It's not the change per se, it's the change for the sake of change. Since iOS 7 was put out on a rushed schedule and Apple knew it wouldn't be complete for WWDC let alone the September launch, they should've held off on a redesigned iOS until 8 or 9 and just made an iOS update that would be essentially a skeumorphic-free version of iOS 6 and everyone would be happy.
Everyone was bitching about iOS being stale but never Mac OS X, I wonder why is that. Mavericks is still the same design overall (just cleared of most of the skeumorphism). Mavericks's design and UI is perfect and I hope Jony Ive doesn't butcher the Mac OS. If anything iOS should look more like Mac OS X at this point.
I am sorry, I strongly disagree. I think it was a change for the sake of renewing an old boring/tiring design!! And I guess you were around before iOS7 and and aware how much criticism Apple received about iOS having the same look for years?? You surely can imagine what would have happen, had Apple come up with with an iOS 7 looking just the same as the previous 6 versions??
iOS 7 being good or bad design is a different matter. What am trying to say is that Apple had to make changes to an aged iOS UI because people were screaming for it.
Yeah, I know that. I just don't know how is that relevant to what you have quoted.
Because, to quote you, people were screaming for it. Mac users were screaming for Apple to change the iOS UI design. They wanted a new UI. Any UI was "better" than the old stale iOS 6 UI. Apple listened and gave them what they screamed for .… LOL
And clearly, the reason why there are plenty of iOS7-hate threads like this one, is because there is a huge legion of Apple fans that think that iOS7's UI is a steaming pile of dog poo. Looking back at iOS 5 and 6, those iOS versions were never criticized for their UI design in the way that iOS7 is so controversial now. They might have been criticized for other things like bugs, or lack of advanced features, but they were hardly bashed for fugly UI design.
And while it may rile many of the Apple loyalists here (my MacRumors posting typically leans pro-Apple a majority of the time), I'll opine that while Jony Ive is still a great asset at Apple, he really needs to be re-assigned back to just designing the hardware. That's what he does best. Over at software UI design, his 'aesthetics' (taste or whatever you call it) is pissing off a good deal of Apple's fan base. He needs to be re-assigned.
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And sometimes, the small but not insignificant vocal minority are the ones that were right all along.
Like the "small vocal minority" here on MacRumors that had been screaming for Apple to get its act together a couple years ago to embrace (the option of making) larger-screened iPhones.
They will be vindicated when a larger-screened iPhone 6 arrives. They even have every right to gloat and say "I told you so" if it so happens that iPhone 6 sells incredibly well.
I don't believe people who want a larger screen iPhone are a small minority. I really believe they are majority. At least based from what I have read. And every new iPhone have sold incredibly well compare to the former version so when and if that happens, it won't necessary be all due to the screen enlargement.
yea, they are probably the same ones using snow leopard and cant accept change even for the better. safari now is much better than in ios6.
Or they are largely the ones who have practical reasons for it like the simplicity of having a different keyboard layout for two different bars based on what they are for, for example. Not everything is about some sort of blind allegiance to something "just because".
The tweaked keyboard is a considerable improvement as well as the darker icons for Messages, Phone and FaceTime. However, the changes made to the phone app are completely unnecessary and hideous.
I have to jump on the love iOS7 looks bandwagon... here are my reasons:
I have always JB'd when I had the 4/4s and the types of icon packs I used? MINIMALIST... usually plain black or white icons, all matching. (glasklart and iBlack were the 2 I used)
My problem with prior iterations of iOS were not so much the built in apps icons, but 3rd party devs putting crappy looking icons that didn't look like they matched. And then everything looked just too busy and confusing and sometimes even 'cheap'.
With iOS 7 we are now seeing many 3rd party apps following the theme of the flat icons (maybe because they are easier to create?) and now icons just flow better and match without having to JB and theme them in Winterboard.
Also, having simple and flat minimalist icons actually makes it visually easier to immediately pick out individual apps among others.
...this is my 2 cents worth, and I am actually a graphic artist
I actually love the milk glass semi-transparent overlay look! To me that is very futuristic.
Futuristic and Minimalist = Much needed change. It was time to declutter!
Look at ALL the operating systems these days... they have all gotten away from busy looking, 3d, mish mash icons and have ALL went to flat, easy on the eyes and minimalist looking icons. (Windows 8 tiles are a good example).
I have always JB'd when I had the 4/4s and the types of icon packs I used? MINIMALIST... usually plain black or white icons, all matching. (glasklart and iBlack were the 2 I used)
My problem with prior iterations of iOS were not so much the built in apps icons, but 3rd party devs putting crappy looking icons that didn't look like they matched. And then everything looked just too busy and confusing and sometimes even 'cheap'.
With iOS 7 we are now seeing many 3rd party apps following the theme of the flat icons (maybe because they are easier to create?) and now icons just flow better and match without having to JB and theme them in Winterboard.
Also, having simple and flat minimalist icons actually makes it visually easier to immediately pick out individual apps among others.
...this is my 2 cents worth, and I am actually a graphic artist
I actually love the milk glass semi-transparent overlay look! To me that is very futuristic.
Futuristic and Minimalist = Much needed change. It was time to declutter!
Look at ALL the operating systems these days... they have all gotten away from busy looking, 3d, mish mash icons and have ALL went to flat, easy on the eyes and minimalist looking icons. (Windows 8 tiles are a good example).
Actually, I think that award would go to this. From the genius Scott Forstall himself:
********
I've sat and read snippets of this forum and a lot of other opinions about iOS7 over the past few months, and I must say there are a lot of people with some serious life issues. The more I read in fact, the less of an opinion I actually have.
The whole point of an operating system is to be non-instrusive, like OS X, it's not really there, just a container for the Apps I use. I like that, as it's not effecting my work or getting in the way of the things I want to do. Superficial issues with icon colours etc really are a matter of subjectivity and if you can see beyond all of that, iOS7 really is a step up from iOS6. We'll never get an OSX and iOS merge because what would be the point? They're both used in completely different ways for different purposed.
It's fair to say most people don't like change, one bit, unless it's revolutionary. But mobile technology now works better in our modern lives, and although still clunky, it does what it's supposed to do. A lot of people on here sound like my grandparents when we got them a new TV. Why do I need a new one, the old one worked fine? Things move on, sometimes they take a step backwards to make giant leaps forwards, but mostly technology becomes more integrated into our lifestyles and over 'just works'. Is that boring or actually a really good thing? I haven't had to reset my iphone in about 6 months. How many other phones manufacturers can say that?
I've sat and read snippets of this forum and a lot of other opinions about iOS7 over the past few months, and I must say there are a lot of people with some serious life issues. The more I read in fact, the less of an opinion I actually have.
The whole point of an operating system is to be non-instrusive, like OS X, it's not really there, just a container for the Apps I use. I like that, as it's not effecting my work or getting in the way of the things I want to do. Superficial issues with icon colours etc really are a matter of subjectivity and if you can see beyond all of that, iOS7 really is a step up from iOS6. We'll never get an OSX and iOS merge because what would be the point? They're both used in completely different ways for different purposed.
It's fair to say most people don't like change, one bit, unless it's revolutionary. But mobile technology now works better in our modern lives, and although still clunky, it does what it's supposed to do. A lot of people on here sound like my grandparents when we got them a new TV. Why do I need a new one, the old one worked fine? Things move on, sometimes they take a step backwards to make giant leaps forwards, but mostly technology becomes more integrated into our lifestyles and over 'just works'. Is that boring or actually a really good thing? I haven't had to reset my iphone in about 6 months. How many other phones manufacturers can say that?