With Apple’s annual WWDC conference fast approaching, the rumor mill has been working in overdrive with several reports ranging from a low-cost iPhone, to a new WWDC 2013 iOS app for tracking the event. However, arguably the biggest speculations have been swirling around iOS 7 and its striking lack of skeumorphics. A new leaked iOS 7 screenshot may confirm the flatter UI design by guru Jony Ive that many are saying is utterly unApple-like, though not necessarily for the worse. And with the iOS 7 release date rapidly approaching, the rumor mill is churning.
The rumors really began last year when VP of iOS Scott Forstall was ousted from Apple after disagreements with Ive, VP of Industrial Design for reasons then unknown. Its more apparent today after months of nonstop hearsay that one of the most significant disagreements had to do with the new user interface of iOS 7.
Ive has since headed the project and taken Apple’s signature mobile operating system in a direction not historically suited to Apple’s own tastes. Ive, a hand-picked Steve Jobs disciple, is ditching the glitzy, glossy, ‘skeumorphic’ design he and Jobs so much championed in the iPhone, iPad, and iPod, series for something completely opposite; a “flatter” design reminiscent of what Windows Phone is currently offering.
The notion behind this allegedly flatter design is complete uniformity across all stock apps, making the user experience that much easier. It’s thought Ive opted for a flatter interface with simple black and white foundations to give features and apps a more ubiquitous feel for the user.It hasn’t all been that simple, though. It was thought that iOS 7 wouldn’t even ship in time for the WWDC, but Ive was able to pilfer a few engineers from the OS X 10.9 team in order to keep its integrity and appear at WWDC.
The screenshot, though grainy and not confirmed, would add validation to any flat UI rumors already floating around. Stock app icons like Music, Photos, Mail, Safari, Messages, etc. could all be color coded with a white base while as well as a texture-less default background, though Apple users can expect panoramic wallpaper that pans as the homescreen is swiped. Similarly, Game Center has been stripped of green felt while Newsstand has been tweaked to remove the wood-shelf interface.
Despite the idea that Steve Jobs himself may not approve of where Ives is taking iOS 7, Apple rarely fails to make good on its promises for an experience that pushed technology behind the scenes to make navigation better for the user.
If the rumors and subsequent screenshot are correct, what do you think of the new face of iOS 7? Will it create a better or worse user-experience? Will you ditch your current handset in favor of an iPhone, or will you ditch your iPhone for a rival device?
