Purported iOS 7 screens may show flat effects of Jony Ive's influence
Skeuomorphism appears to be on the way out in the newest version of Apple's iOS platform, as a new screenshot claims to show iOS 7 with aspects of the much anticipated "flat" design aesthetic brought in by Sir Jony Ive.
The shot, while blurry, shows what is alleged to be an unreleased version of iOS running on likely an iPhone 4S or iPhone 4. The build does not appear to bear any massive changes to the user interface, but a close look shows that the icons are less complicated than they are in current builds of iOS, and a reconstruction of the images by iDownloadBlog shows why: they are missing a layer of gloss.
Many app icons in current builds of iOS ? including the App Store, Music, iTunes, Compass, Clock, Safari, and others ? feature a layer of gloss, a translucent layer over part of the icon that makes it appear to "pop" with a three-dimensional effect. The purported new build of iOS, though, abandons this effect, giving all of Apple's stock icons a unified, "flat" look.
The flat look is said to be one of the pet projects for Apple design head Jony Ive. Made head of not only hardware design but interface design in the wake of Scott Forstall's ouster, Ive is reported to have immediately begun pushing the software and hardware teams at Apple to begin working more closely.
Supposedly one of the first things up for reworking was the "skeuomorphic" aesthetic ? epitomized by things like the Calendar app's faux stitched leather interface or the green felt table in Game Center ? seen throughout iOS. Ive's guidance, though, has also led to the disappearance of some other aspects of the operating system.
The Weather icon appears to no longer have a static display of 73 degrees as its temperature. Also, the Settings and Reminders app icons may lose their borders, as they are the only two among Apple's 24 stock icons that include a defined border. The Game Center icon, too, has seen significant changes, and now appears to feature a much simpler design.
Apple is scheduled to reveal the newest versions of not only iOS but also Mac OS X at next week's WWDC.
The shot, while blurry, shows what is alleged to be an unreleased version of iOS running on likely an iPhone 4S or iPhone 4. The build does not appear to bear any massive changes to the user interface, but a close look shows that the icons are less complicated than they are in current builds of iOS, and a reconstruction of the images by iDownloadBlog shows why: they are missing a layer of gloss.
Many app icons in current builds of iOS ? including the App Store, Music, iTunes, Compass, Clock, Safari, and others ? feature a layer of gloss, a translucent layer over part of the icon that makes it appear to "pop" with a three-dimensional effect. The purported new build of iOS, though, abandons this effect, giving all of Apple's stock icons a unified, "flat" look.
The flat look is said to be one of the pet projects for Apple design head Jony Ive. Made head of not only hardware design but interface design in the wake of Scott Forstall's ouster, Ive is reported to have immediately begun pushing the software and hardware teams at Apple to begin working more closely.
Supposedly one of the first things up for reworking was the "skeuomorphic" aesthetic ? epitomized by things like the Calendar app's faux stitched leather interface or the green felt table in Game Center ? seen throughout iOS. Ive's guidance, though, has also led to the disappearance of some other aspects of the operating system.
The Weather icon appears to no longer have a static display of 73 degrees as its temperature. Also, the Settings and Reminders app icons may lose their borders, as they are the only two among Apple's 24 stock icons that include a defined border. The Game Center icon, too, has seen significant changes, and now appears to feature a much simpler design.
Apple is scheduled to reveal the newest versions of not only iOS but also Mac OS X at next week's WWDC.
Comments
Getting rid of the gloss wasn't top of my priority list for UI change. I hope there is more in the actual apps.
Camera icon is WAY better.
Weather icon is balanced nicely but doesn't seem to fit in.
Safari icon looks too busy.
The neon green on the Phone icon is too much.
Music icon looks kind of weak; too small.
Scrapping the border on Settings looks great.
Really?
You had to make this detailed INFO GRAPHIC just to explain that it's not glossy anymore?
C'mon...
I see absolutely nothing wrong with this. No UI gloss, still richly colored and deeply detailed. I want a more pronounced drop shadow, but that's me.
If real, I love it.
It would be nice if the Weather app displayed dynamic content like the current temperature, like Calendar shows the current date.
It could be possible that this is an earlier build. Things change even during the beta process.
I don't see what the big deal is about this. So, some of the Apple icons will look slightly different? That's hardly a huge OS overhaul. If there are some great new features in iOS7, then fine, but I don't really give a crap about these icons at all. Do I really care if an icon has a gloss layer or not?
I hide some of the Apple apps in folders, the ones that I don't use. And I'd imagine that most people's screens are covered with third party app icons, which can be anything from glossy and colorful to dull and boring. Is Apple going to demand only "flat" icons from now on, even from third party developers? I doubt it. I fail to see how Apple changing some it's own icons will drastically change the look or feel of iOS.
I look forward to some new features in iOS7, but I can't get excited over a few icons.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpamSandwich
What kind of idiot can't take a sharp photo these days?
The photographer was using an Android phone.
It would be nice if the Weather app displayed dynamic content like the current temperature, like Calendar shows the current date.
Even nicer would be to delete it altogether if I don't want it on my iPhone.Quote:
Originally Posted by Apple ][
The photographer was using an Android phone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slurpy
Subtle changes, but definitely looks more refined. I like it.
You have to keep in mind this is likely phony.