Apple's new direction for iOS 7 leverages technology to impress

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  • Reply 21 of 34
    caliminiuscaliminius Posts: 944member

    Quote:


    Originally Posted by stelligent View Post

     


    My first impression was very positive. I was swayed by the presentation. Everyone was so happy, funny and cocksure. And frankly, I wanted to like the new design. But I've been playing with iOS7 since then, and am quite surprised by the seemingly unfinished design. I am referring specifically to the icons. Some of them look like they were put together on Sunday night. Hell, the camera icon is different in different places. What's with the icon for Game Center? Maybe it follows the grid, but it does not follow any unified theme used in the design of others. What is the common design language between the icons for iMessage, Game Center, Camera, Photos and Music? Is there a common color scheme? Did the designer of the Newstand icon not talk to the others? Did the designer of the Weather icon actually open up and use the app? Did Ive or anyone else have a chance to look at the home screen before Monday morning?



     


    I completely agree about the icons. Many of them are just atrocious, Newstand being the biggest offender. Whose 5-year-old kid created that design? Granted, the current empty wooden bookshelf icon is just as hideous. The white background icons look really bad. And yes, there doesn't seem to be any sort of common design language between the icons and many don't scream out anything regarding functionality. What do colored blobs have to do with Game Center (yes, I know the app uses that bubble motif but nothing about it screams games)? What does the rainbow spiral art have to do with photos? Why do most of the icons have a gradient but some don't? At least the new Maps icon doesn't give directions to drive off an overpass anymore.


     


    And the first picture with the 3 iPhones side-by-side. The new design makes everything look washed out. It took me a while to realize what the design reminded me of: It looks a lot like Google's redesign of Gmail. I hope it all looks better in person because it doesn't really impress in static images. I'm glad they decided to steal be inspired by WebOS's card motif for app switching along with being able to swipe back (which was a feature I really missed when I switched from the Pre 2 to the iPhone 4S).

  • Reply 22 of 34
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    Looks like Android now. This is a good thing for usability most likely. I always found iOS hard to use and confusing. If the iPhone ever becomes the better product I'm ready to try it. Still, it doesn't look even close to a Samsung phone in terms of meeting my use case requirements though.
  • Reply 23 of 34
    kennmsrkennmsr Posts: 100member
    I consider Apple products premium products hand made and meticulously crafted. Now with the skeuomorphic design elimination it puts a Yugo interior in a Rolls Royce. I loved the look and feel of Hand tooled leather and three dimensional icons this new interface appears very sterile and cold compared to the warmth of the previous interface.
  • Reply 24 of 34
    thepixeldocthepixeldoc Posts: 2,257member
    I like Apple, I like iPhone - but it's all copied from other devices. When will they REALLY release something new?!

    Wrong... considering those devices copied from Apple first.

    caliminius wrote: »
    <snip: all wrong anyway>

    I'm glad they decided to steal be inspired by WebOS's card motif for app switching along with being able to swipe back (which was a feature I really missed when I switched from the Pre 2 to the iPhone 4S).

    You realize that the guy that created WebOS also worked at Apple on hypercard... which did the card metaphor first, right?

    aquatic wrote: »
    Looks like Android now. This is a good thing for usability most likely. I always found iOS hard to use and confusing. If the iPhone ever becomes the better product I'm ready to try it. Still, it doesn't look even close to a Samsung phone in terms of meeting my use case requirements though.

    With or without a new design... the iPhone is still way ahead of any Samsung phone in terms of ease of use and usability... by a huge margin.

    BTW: The use of Helvetica and the strict, open layout using white space is maybe something Americans are not used to. However it is the very basis of most of the design in Europe now for decades, and is known as "The Swiss School of Design" or simply "Swiss Style". It is taught in all major Art and Design Schools. Many would say it's home is in Basel, I however prefer the Dutch approach better.

    Jony Ive is well schooled in this, as it relates to immersive communicative design as a whole. I personally was expecting nothing less from him, and yes, he has added his "fingerprint" aesthetic style to the whole package. He is beyond reproach or equal as being the trend-setting craftsman designer of our age. Kids will be studying him (if they're not already!) in ever design school in the world some day.

    Also: no... neither Microsoft nor Google started the trend. The resurgence started around 2004-5 within the fashion, auto, telecom, and industrial/furnishings industries here in Europe. I'm 99% sure that Jony had many a long discussion with SJ... and head-butting with Forstall over their insistance on throwing kitsch onto his close to perfect industrial designed products.

    Unfortunately, it took them both to leave before Jony Ive could realize his "complete design"... so don't think for a moment that "Apple" or Jony Ive "copied" anyone! He most surely hasn't taken his cues from ANY of the other designers most of you are familiar with in America. :rolleyes:

    Oh... and don't think I'm putting American designers down... not in the least. Certain styles like Grunge, Surfer-60's, Western-Chic, Retro-Rock, even Shaker Country-Plaid-n-Paisley have their place in my design book. Just not on a phone or tablet... and absolutely NOT on anything Jony Ive creates for Apple.
  • Reply 25 of 34
    thepixeldocthepixeldoc Posts: 2,257member
    If anyone is interested:

    You can see the Swiss Style timeline here (look at 1954 for an example of using overlapping color and dots) http://smearedblackink.com/swiss_style_timeline/

    Also... a great documentary entitled [URL=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0847817/combined]Helvetica (2007[/URL]) is worth anyone's time , let alone a must-see if you're a designer... or would like to discuss design. If nothing else, check out the trailer... and take note of the year it came out.

    Again, MS nor Google created this design movement. In fact Microsoft's attempt is downright amateur.
  • Reply 26 of 34
    thepixeldocthepixeldoc Posts: 2,257member
    One last post and I'm outa here:

    Apple has been using a generous amount of white space and Helvetica (and variants) i.e Swiss Design for years now in their advertising, packaging, website, manuals, and stores*, etc.

    How is it that people can't relate that to what Jony is doing with iOS, and bringing the whole design language full circle?

    If he's copying anything, it's what Apple has already been doing since the iPod came out... and I can't refrain from saying, absolutely copying NOTHING from anyone or anything else. He is "iterating and refining" Apple's style using tried and true design principles based on the Swiss style. Nothing more... and nothing less.

    *Added*
  • Reply 27 of 34
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by werdnanotroh View Post

    I like Apple, I like iPhone - but it's all copied from other devices. When will they REALLY release something new?!


     


    When people say things like this, I just imagine Jony Ive going, "Oh, shut up!", sounding exactly like Sean Bean in whatever movie that was… 

  • Reply 28 of 34

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by stelligent View Post


     


    The foundation is fine and well, and may actually pay off in the future. Currently, iOS7 doesn't have the unification and consistency you are talking about.


     


    My first impression was very positive. I was swayed by the presentation. Everyone was so happy, funny and cocksure. And frankly, I wanted to like the new design. But I've been playing with iOS7 since then, and am quite surprised by the seemingly unfinished design. I am referring specifically to the icons. Some of them look like they were put together on Sunday night. Hell, the camera icon is different in different places. What's with the icon for Game Center? Maybe it follows the grid, but it does not follow any unified theme used in the design of others. What is the common design language between the icons for iMessage, Game Center, Camera, Photos and Music? Is there a common color scheme? Did the designer of the Newstand icon not talk to the others? Did the designer of the Weather icon actually open up and use the app? Did Ive or anyone else have a chance to look at the home screen before Monday morning?


     


    I agree that it *looks* have laid a strong foundation. I agree Ive has not fallen flat on his face (but only if you think carefully about how little time he has had). I like where they are going but they sure aren't there yet. Man, they have lots of work left to do. This confirms all the rumors about iOS7 running *behind*. The fact that they do not have beta versions for iPad yet is further proof of this.


     


    I hope and believe this will look different by the time they ship iPhone 5S.





    I personally think they will be tweaking the look as well over the coming months because you are not alone in your assessment.  This is a new way of doing things for Apple because under Jobs, thing would not see the light of day until it was perfect.  This whole 'public beta - let's see how everyone reacts and adjust' style of doing things is very different for Apple but one that I think is good.

  • Reply 29 of 34
    mikeb85mikeb85 Posts: 506member


    iOS 7 reminds me alot of MIUI, which is a Chinese Android ROM that borrows alot of 'inspiration' from iOS, but also has Android design elements.  http://en.miui.com/features.php


     


    Most of the new elements in iOS 7 seems to have come from Android, with a small selection from WebOS and WP8... 

  • Reply 30 of 34

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Realistic View Post


    You either forgot the sarcasm tag or you just don't get it, The article clearly states a lot of the pieces aren't new but are put together in such a way that things are consistent and 'just work' together better.





    Doesn't change the fact that the blinder wearing people on this site actually believe that Apple created all these 'new' features.  I think he was pointing out that these features have been in other phones already for a number of years and that he was looking for something new, not lifted and refined.


     


    The AirDrop concept is nice but the rest of the world knows it as Wifi Direct and it's been around as well.  iOS 7 is about incorporating features to keep up with the market but it is mainly about addressing users complaints about the UI design.  Hoping they change the default colours because I'm not that into pastels and I already ate my Easter chocolate.

  • Reply 31 of 34
    Apple's new design isn't exactly flat. I am not a fan of flat design and was really surprised when all the rumor sites were saying apple was going to adopt it. My problem with flat in general is that you loose visual cues like something is a buttons if they are too flat. Much of the flat design out there also looks cartoony like it was designed by fisher price. (People here think the new icons look like five years made them.) A couple of months ago I commented on a site that removing skeomorphism is not the same thing as flat. Apple's design is clean and simplified but it isn't flat. There is so much depth added to their concept like transparency and the 3D affect when you move the phone. Those buttons really stand out from the surface and there is little doubt they are buttons. On the new WWDC app buttons on the top still have depth with a very faint gradient. This is a HUGE improvement over anything Microsoft's Metro did.
  • Reply 32 of 34
    thepixeldocthepixeldoc Posts: 2,257member

    Doesn't change the fact that the blinder wearing people on this site actually believe that Apple created all these 'new' features.  I think he was pointing out that these features have been in other phones already for a number of years and that he was looking for something new, not lifted and refined.

    The AirDrop concept is nice but the rest of the world knows it as Wifi Direct and it's been around as well.  iOS 7 is about incorporating features to keep up with the market but it is mainly about addressing users complaints about the UI design.  Hoping they change the default colours because I'm not that into pastels and I already ate my Easter chocolate.

    What blinders... or are you talking about your own inability to open your friggin' eyes and possibly use your beloved Google to find out the very fact that none of the stuff in Windows or Android... or even Nokia of the 2000's is "new".

    Airdrop is NOT a concept. It is as you say, Wifi Direct that will actually work without jumping through hoops, "bumping", or egads... "squirting" on/at each other.

    It now has a universal understandable and usable name in public... that I would bet a Benjamin... others will try to emulate in one way or other to redefine... uh... squirting. :no:
  • Reply 33 of 34
    thepixeldocthepixeldoc Posts: 2,257member
    mikeb85 wrote: »
    iOS 7 reminds me alot of MIUI, which is a Chinese Android ROM that borrows alot of 'inspiration' from iOS, but also has Android design elements.  http://en.miui.com/features.php

    Most of the new elements in iOS 7 seems to have come from Android, with a small selection from WebOS and WP8... 

    Not a single one! Seriously.

    MUIIIUIIIUII: Get a load of that "inspirational" design. You really want to say that it's simply "inspired"? Really? :no:

    Specifically what "elements"? Most of the icons have appeared on an Apple device, packaging or literature for at least a decade, and some of them on toasters, coffee machines, and radios for 60 years or longer. Ever hear of a company by the name of Braun, Krupps or Blaupunkt? Didn't think so.
  • Reply 34 of 34

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jfkindc View Post



    Apple's new design isn't exactly flat. I am not a fan of flat design and was really surprised when all the rumor sites were saying apple was going to adopt it. My problem with flat in general is that you loose visual cues like something is a buttons if they are too flat. Much of the flat design out there also looks cartoony like it was designed by fisher price. (People here think the new icons look like five years made them.) A couple of months ago I commented on a site that removing skeomorphism is not the same thing as flat. Apple's design is clean and simplified but it isn't flat. There is so much depth added to their concept like transparency and the 3D affect when you move the phone


     


    How ironic, isn't it? With the world expecting Ive's take on flat and he gives us a 2.5D interface instead.


     


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jfkindc View Post



    Those buttons really stand out from the surface and there is little doubt they are buttons. On the new WWDC app buttons on the top still have depth with a very faint gradient. This is a HUGE improvement over anything Microsoft's Metro did.


     


    Like others, now that I have looked at it up close and personal, my enthusiasm has tempered a bit. In particular, I disagree that the buttons stand out. I'd say they stand out in some places but not in others. As someone suggested, this looks unfinished. The next 3 months will see few vacations for iOS engineers at Cupertino. They will be working overtime, fuelled by the inspiration from Cook's Designed in California video, coffee and Federighi's sense of humor.

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