Thoughts on iOS 7?

[nattie]

Beta is out! I haven't installed it, but from what I've seen, I like it. It's a big change and it seems Android-y but I like it nonetheless. Everything just looks a lot cleaner. 
What are your thoughts on it?

[Guest Bennett]

Underwhelming. 
It seems like Apple is copying Android. 
What happened to Apple? Live wallpapers? That was accomplished by Android at least 3 years ago. So is Apple trying to catch up to from what Android was THREE years ago? Also the new music player layouts look very gimmicky and achieves nothing. 
This update really lacks any wow factor. 
Thank goodness I got the Samsung Galaxy S4. 

[orangeman]

This is a new start. Many developers will need to overhaul their old perfectly functional apps for iOS 7 and still maintain support for all previous versions. Extra work but it is purging of the old skeuomorphism that Jobs and Forstall liked but Jony Ive despised and moving forward. Skepticism and petty comments from the peanut gallery will always exist in the first iteration of anything.
Makes you wonder how far Jony Ive would have gone had Jobs gone with his vision early on; or what he could do given more experience in UI design and time. Remember Forstall was at the helm of iOS development for several versions and he was just let go October 2012. Ive had just about seven or so months to do a complete overhaul, more or less changing the iOS people have known since the very first iPhone to an interface with depth. Depth, not entirely flat and lifeless like Microsoft's Metro UI and a bit more interactive than Google's Maps for iOS, which has a great flat design. Transparency and opacity, the thin font (Helvetica fans rejoice!), subtle use of color, and interactive backgrounds; default system icons need a lot of work but otherwise, it is a change of pace and I expect that obvious and cumbersome gap between hardware and software to disappear in subsequent releases.
What one would get from Apple is a single design, thought through from the home button to the layers of data on-screen to the silicon hidden inside. The level of control needed to obtain the same level of finesse for every user (not just the rooters) on the Android platform goes against the core philosophy and business model of Google; Microsoft is not pushing Windows Phone visually and does not seem to see eye-to-eye with Nokia; RIM is somewhere in 2005. 

[Guest UnicornGummi]

Not a big Apple fan to begin with. All they do is copy everyone else. I'll just stick with my Android.  

[zantac_2]

ive only seen what has been shown on youtube and to me it still looks like an apple os. there are similarities between that and platforms from their competitors, but none id say is a direct attempt to copy whats available (except for maybe the web os multi-tasking feature haha).

its a shame that they are trying to eschew from skeuomorphic designs. thats what i liked about their os and have associated this as apples design core. at the very least, they should have kept the livelier icons.

[Guest jonogunn]

i LOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT

of course the beta is buggly and sluggish like crazy but it's a big step up for apple



And about all this apple copying android and all keep in mind that apple popularized this type of smartphone with nothing but a screen and icons. So if you really wanna talk about who copied who...


Also Nokia had a lot of the features found in any of the popular mobile OS these days anyways...

[Guest jonogunn]

zantac_2 said: ive only seen what has been shown on youtube and to me it still looks like an apple os. there are similarities between that and platforms from their competitors, but none id say is a direct attempt to copy whats available (except for maybe the web os multi-tasking feature haha).

its a shame that they are trying to eschew from skeuomorphic designs. thats what i liked about their os and have associated this as apples design core. at the very least, they should have kept the livelier icons.

[orangeman]

zantac_2 said: ive only seen what has been shown on youtube and to me it still looks like an apple os. there are similarities between that and platforms from their competitors, but none id say is a direct attempt to copy whats available (except for maybe the web os multi-tasking feature haha).

its a shame that they are trying to eschew from skeuomorphic designs. thats what i liked about their os and have associated this as apples design core. at the very least, they should have kept the livelier icons.

[zantac_2]

have they reached limitations where design is obstructing progress in functionality? im thinking, had they not introduced the revamping of the os there could be the possibility of inefficiencies if they decide to expand usability and hand gestures seen on jolla for example. though i hardly think this is the case as the new design is overall still affiliated to the current iteration. to me, its still very modern, simple and easy to use (granted the extent of my usage for the major platforms have been casual play only).

[orangeman]

I just looked at the Jolla demo and it feels like a different direction Ive is going towards. The windowed up-down-left-right system is chaotic and that whole system seems to depend on the user's fingers in constant motion. Jolla reminds me of that app Clear, which is neat but not always intuitive; cool concept but far from the compromise that needs to fit the majority. 

When you pick something up for the first time and already know how to do the things you want to do, that’s simplicity.

[Guest UnicornGummi]

jonogunn said: i LOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT

of course the beta is buggly and sluggish like crazy but it's a big step up for apple



And about all this apple copying android and all keep in mind that apple popularized this type of smartphone with nothing but a screen and icons. So if you really wanna talk about who copied who...


Also Nokia had a lot of the features found in any of the popular mobile OS these days anyways...

[orangeman]

UnicornGummi said: jonogunn said: i LOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT

of course the beta is buggly and sluggish like crazy but it's a big step up for apple



And about all this apple copying android and all keep in mind that apple popularized this type of smartphone with nothing but a screen and icons. So if you really wanna talk about who copied who...


Also Nokia had a lot of the features found in any of the popular mobile OS these days anyways...

[Guest flyhigh1030]

I like it, the fact that you can get the features you only could when you jailbreak, even before you jailbreak now so less stuff to install

[Guest NitsujN_RN]

The only Apple product I own is an iPad for work. I like iOS 6 as it is. 7 looks a little...off. However, hearing about the folder thing where there is no longer a limit to apps within a folder is great news. No more "Games 1, Games 2, Games 3, Games 4" etc

[Guest UnicornGummi]

orangeman said: UnicornGummi said: jonogunn said: i LOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT

of course the beta is buggly and sluggish like crazy but it's a big step up for apple



And about all this apple copying android and all keep in mind that apple popularized this type of smartphone with nothing but a screen and icons. So if you really wanna talk about who copied who...


Also Nokia had a lot of the features found in any of the popular mobile OS these days anyways...

[orangeman]

Flat design was popularized by Microsoft first, then Google slowly moved towards that design aesthetic. But this is based on typography and Swiss graphic style, in existence for decades so flat design is merely seeing a transition from paper to digital display. Nothing innovative. 
The major mobile operating systems have based themselves on a predecessor at some point. It's your double-standard and inability to properly attribute credit that is troubling.