“Among the many things that everybody knows about Apple which aren’t actually true is the notion that it only tells the world about products once they’re fully baked,” Harry McCracken writes for TIME Magazine. “In the case of operating systems–for Macs, iPhones and iPads–it always shows off new versions months before consumers can get their hands on them, when they’re still works in progress.”
iOS 7 is “the most dramatic change to a piece of an Apple platform since OS X showed up to replace the Mac’s original operating system in 2000,” McCraken writes. “With a stripped-down, layered interface spearheaded by Apple design god Jonathan Ive, iOS 7 practically demands that people form gut reactions about it, often before getting hands-on time.”
McCraken writes, “The thing is, as eclectic as initial reactions to iOS 7 have been, the vast majority, whether giddy or stinging, are reconcilable. It’s possible for iOS 7, in its current beta state, to be a design breakthrough and to feel rushed and inconsistent. In fact, from what I’ve seen of it, that’s what it seems to be: exciting, but scruffy in certain areas.”
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“Which isn’t that startling. We knew that Jony Ive is an exceptional designer. But Apple only announced the promotion that put him in charge of the iOS user experience a little over seven months before iOS 7 debuted at WWDC,” McCraken writes. “Given that the redesign is so sweeping, that’s just not enough time to make every major decision and nail down every little detail. That’s why this peek at the next version of iOS feels more raw than previous ones.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Apple redesigns widely criticized iOS 7 app icons – June 17, 2013
Why Apple’s iOS 7 is a masterpiece of design – June 15, 2013
Apple website mistake reveals alternative iOS 7 icons, with tweaks to Weather, Passbook, and more – June 14, 2013
How Jony Ive would redesign things from Coca-Cola cans to Star Wars posters – June 14, 2013
Whose iOS 7 icons are better, Sir Jonathan Ive’s or student designer Leo Drapeau’s? – June 14, 2013
