“While we don’t know when iOS 7 will make its debut, here’s what we do know: it will be the biggest reinvention of Apple’s flagship OS in years — perhaps ever,” Ben Parr writes for CNET.
“If Scott Forstall was skeuomorphism’s biggest advocate, then Jony Ive is its biggest opponent. Ive is well known for his appreciation of simplicity and flatness — neither of which describe iOS. But if recent reports are accurate, Ive is putting his stamp on iOS in a big way,” Parr writes. “iOS 7, which should make an appearance at Apple’s WWDC in June, will feature a flatter, ‘de-glitzed’ interface. It’s such a big overall that Apple is pulling additional resources to complete iOS 7 on schedule.”
Parr writes, “With iOS 7 set to take the iPhone in a completely different direction, the big question is this: how will users react? As Facebook has taught us, major changes to a popular user interface will always cause controversy and dissent. There’s no doubt that users will question Ive’s decision to drastically change a familiar interface with a foreign one. The initial backlash will not be pretty. MySpace taught us a more important lesson, though: if you don’t evolve, you die.”
Read more in the full article here.