Jony Ive Pushing for 'Flat Design' in iOS 7 Amid Greater Hardware-Software Design Collaboration

[bloggerblog]

If you wanna see the designs in action, look at your iPhone's keypad numbers in the phone app.

 

[prowlmedia]

I'd like to see a Siri API. App developers should be able to extend Siri's capabilities.

Yup..

"XBMC Remote - Play Latest episode of Walking Dead on Lounge TV"
or even
"Play music in the bathroom" - via airplay name surprised it doesn't do this already

 

[baryon]

I trust Ive to do whatever he wants, I'm sure he will design something awesome.

I just don't like the word "flat" because it reminds me of the Windows 8/Windows 95 (same thing) design, and I simply can't understand who at Microsoft allowed for such a design to go beyond the "what if we did this very radical thing and made Windows look uglier than it was 20 years ago" stage.

I love the current iOS design, and same for OS X. There are many inconsistencies in both (they're both torn between a modern and a slightly older style), but overall these are by far the most consistent operating systems compared to Windows, Android or Linux.

 

[teknikal90]

Relax, folks. If it's half as well designed as his hardware, it'll be amazing.

where are those people that were complaining about scuffgate and bendgate?

----------

I love the current iOS design, and same for OS X. There are many inconsistencies in both (they're both torn between a modern and a slightly older style), but overall these are by far the most consistent operating systems compared to Windows, Android or Linux.

how? on windows everything built in looks the same... on iOS, it jumps from app to app.

EDIT: WOW the forum detects when you make 2 posts in chain and merges them?? COOL!

 

[Andy-V]

I'm really surprised that so many people take this to mean it'll look anything like Windows Phone or Android. Apple wouldn't be seen dead making something that looks similar to those two.

 

[dugbug]

"more "flat design" that is starker and simpler"

Sounds like Windows 8 RT. Innovative.

Really? You went from flat design to rt? Why? Because the GUI in RT is relatively flat??


Apple could fail in 10 ways with ios7 and obliterate that rt nightmare

 

[Mr. C.]

I went from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion.

I almost fell from my chair when I opened Contacts. Please fix it for 10.8.4!

Ha. Try Address Book in Lion (and report back)!

Edit: I should really scan the previous comments first. #39 would've already summed it up.

 

[xdxdaustin]

so apple is basically going to remove features and copy windows 8 ?

Ive is going to kill apple, best thing they could do is kick his ass out and get someone else in to actually, you know, INNOVATE, instead of his wierd fixation on making everything into an unusable pebble.

That would literally be the worst possible thing they could do.

 

[tkermit]

Here's the kind of change we can expect. Look at the Passbook intro screen before the release of iOS 6.1 and after.Image

Looked better before. More contrast yet more subdued. Easier to read and parse. Less gaudy. More structure.

And what's with the "welcome" header? What function does that serve? :/

 

[buysp]

View attachment 403782

lol

 

[LagunaSol]

Image

No thanks. How would you like to be an app designer and have to represent your app with a single color (white)? Geez, even Newton app designers enjoyed more flexibility.

Looked better before. More contrast yet more subdued. Easier to read and parse. Less gaudy. More structure.

Definitely.

I don't think consumers in general are tired of the "look" of iOS at all. Just refine it and eliminate inconsistencies. Spend more time opening up the OS to cross-app functionality (Siri tasks to Omnifocus?) and more user flexibility (optional keyboard apps, etc.).

Apple doesn't need to go crazy and burn everything down.

 

[rGiskard]

I hope "flat" doesn't mean the low contrast monochrome icons and controls that featured in OS X lately. Very poor HI design.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

Here's the kind of change we can expect. Look at the Passbook intro screen before the release of iOS 6.1 and after.Image

While it might work great with other apps, I don't think it works with passbook. The current style looks more solid.

 

[Tar Sniffer]

I'm slightly nervous about Ive's influence on iOS. Forstall made mistakes, but overall I love his colourful, textured themes and icons that make iOS so attractive and fun.

Hopefully Ive keeps all that in place and only targets the outdated parts like pinstripes in Settings, and the tacky blue task bar in Safari.

 

[Miharu]

Isn't Jony Ive against skeuomorphs(sp)? Then my body is ready.

 

[mariocapo]

Woohoo, Johnny Ive is going to use Fiat design! Exciting. Oh what's that? FLAT? Ok, I have faith in Ive and Apple, but I'm not getting too excited just yet. Quit complaining, and wait and see.

 

[WhyWhyWhyWhy]

I hope the ugly iTunes 11 is not a harbinger of things to come!

 

[Bahroo]

The OS just needs a big touch up, redesigned Contacts,messagig, notification center, lock screen...more consistency across the OS aswell

 

[MrGuder]

I don't understand this article, what is a flat design??

 

[sidewinder3000]

I went from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion.

I almost fell from my chair when I opened Contacts. Please fix it for 10.8.4!

you should be glad you didn't move to Lion! that was really messed up. at least ML has the 3-column address view back, so that it's at least functional. sure, the "book" design is ugly and unnecessary, but the bizarre 2-column "flip to the next page" approach in Lion was almost unusable. thank heaven for small mercies.

that said, would love if we could evolve past the ultra-folksy "real world" look that mucks up both OS's (Find My Friends & iCal are two of the worst offenders).

not a fan of totally flat, like windows phone, but we could definitely simplify at little.

 

[WhyWhyWhyWhy]

I don't understand this article, what is a flat design??

Flat design is the ugly **** that Google and Microsoft push out. Boring, without attention to detail, plain text in different ugly colors, horrible icons, without emotion. The reason people feel happy using a Mac or iOS device is because the GUI is human. If the software becomes like the sleek, minimalist hardware, the overall experience will just leave people cold. Too much perfection can be a bad thing!

 

[maxosx]

I went from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion.

I almost fell from my chair when I opened Contacts. Please fix it for 10.8.4!

Precisely! Contacts and the Old Ripped "Paper Calendar" look so old and out of place it's just bizarre.

 

[SockRolid]

Ive is pushing a more "flat design"

YES.

Say what you want about what, exactly, skeuomorphism is or isn't.
Overdesign is overdesign. Period.

 

[the8thark]

Jesus. Complain complain complain. Why do you people even buy Apple products? He is incredible, and he's going to do a fantastic job with this. Just like he does with hardware. Faith people!

This.
The man is a über legend in his field. The best in the world bar none. He knows what he's doing.

 

[Ironclaw27]

Yes to this!