shortformblog:
Some design agency spent a lot of time coming up with a rough concept of what iOS 7 probably isn’t going to look like. But let’s just say it looks kind of cool.
Some good stuff, some awful stuff. Overall, a “B”. Expect about 1,000 more of these as we inch closer to WWDC.
Update: John Gruber has some good thoughts on the video:
The shape of app icons is not going to change from round-cornered squares to sharp-cornered ones (or any other shape for that matter). Apple owns this shape; this shape says “iOS app” in everyone’s mind. It’s even printed right on the hardware home button of every iOS device. In fact it’s the only thing printed on the front face of every iOS device.
It’s not clear why so many people seem to think “flat” equates to “square”. Because Windows Phone tiles are square? If that’s the case, chalk something up to Windows Phone — while they may not be doing well in market share, they seem to have a pretty good presence in mind share, at least from a “flat” design perspective.
Mark Gurman:
iOS 7 is codenamed “Innsbruck,” according to three people familiar with the OS. The interface changes include an all-new icon set for Apple’s native apps in addition to newly designed tool bars, tab bars, and other fundamental interface features across the system.
Innsbruck is the capital city of the federal state of Tyrol in western Austria, known for its skiing. You may recall that all previous codenames of iOS builds have been named after ski resorts. iOS 6 was “Sundance”, for example.
Lots of good info from Gurman regarding Jony Ive’s iOS 7 design overhaul. Sounds like “flat” is indeed the new black.
iheartapple2:
iOS 7 Concept Video
Mock-up porn. But I like a lot of what I see here (though not all of it).
With the start of Apple speculation season officially underway, you’d be hard-pressed to find more juicy info than the stuff on this Branch.
Jessica E. Lessin for WSJ:
Some suggested that in Apple’s next mobile operating system, Ive is pushing a more “flat design” that is starker and simpler, according to developers who have spoken to Apple employees but didn’t have further details. Overall, they expect any changes to be pretty conservative. For the past few years, Apple has unveiled versions of its mobile operating system in the summer.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes…
This is all in-line with a couple of whispers I’ve heard. There will be some fairly significant changes to the design within some key apps and system-level elements, but overall, don’t expect a hugely different iOS.
Perhaps not entirely unrelated, the much-maligned Podcast app got a facelift today.
Just got a press release with the following:
…or writing about it in conjunction with the June 2013 release of iOS7 or the iPhone 5S.
What does this press agency know?!
And speaking of Siri, this part of Bianca Bosker’s deep-dive for The Huffington Post also stands out:
Only one of Siri’s three co-founders, Tom Gruber, remains at the company. Kittlaus left three weeks after Apple re-launched Siri in 2011, and Cheyer quit a year later. Apple’s Forstall, who introduced Siri at its first keynote and oversaw the company’s iOS software, was fired last year. Steve Jobs died the day after Siri debuted. And Luc Julia, who replaced Kittlaus as head of Siri, lasted just 10 months at Apple before leaving in 2012.
You have to wonder what that means for the future of the service. It still needs a lot of work and nearly everyone who was an original champion of the product is now gone. Does that mean it fades away over time, or does Apple “double down”?
This year should be telling. Will we see Siri truly open up in iOS 7 (as it used to be)? An API, perhaps? Or will it be more slow progress as Google speeds ahead?
Jean-Louis Gassée on the interesting timing of Steven Sinofsky’s exit from Microsoft:
But if we imagine a different reality, one in which Sinofsky stands before a big Mission Accomplished banner, where critics rave about the beauty, harmony, and impeccable polish of a Windows 8 that runs flawlessly on PCs, laptops, tablets, and Surface-like hybrids…do we think for a moment Ballmer would have shown Sinofsky the door?
Clearly, Gassée agrees with the hypothesis I put forth last week.
I also like his thoughts on where Apple could take app multi-tasking in iOS — yes, borrowing a page from Windows 8. One oddity of the fourth-generation iPad is that it’s almost too fast for current generation of apps. It’s hard to find one that can take advantage of the power offered up. But what about two apps running split-screen in a hypothetical iOS 7? This would also be one hell of a selling point for the larger iPad versus the iPad mini.
I’ll leave it up to someone else to figure out if/how that’s even possible with current screen resolutions and math.
Asked by Anonymous
It’s an interesting question. I think it’s safe to assume that iOS 7 was already well into development when the Forstall news was announced. Maybe Federighi tweaks some things as a result of taking over, or maybe that waits until iOS 8. I’m still betting we hear something around WWDC 2013.
OS X is unclear. Last year, Apple legitimately surprised with Mountain Lion. Do they do it again this year with 10.9? Are they working on OS XI?
