Last week Apple debuted its highly-anticipated iOS 7 to an eager crowd at WWDC both in person and watching via live stream. The next-generation mobile operating system by the Cupertino electronics giant has proved to be a polarizing update for Apple, with tech pundits and users either holding Jony Ive’s flat new iOS 7 in high regard or favoring the more skeumorphic design once championed by the late Steve Jobs. Now that iOS 7 is in beta for developers, the reviews are starting to roll in.
Controversy has surrounded the development of iOS 7 for months, stemming from iOS Chief Scott Forstall’s ouster last year. Jony Ive has since headed the team with hopes of merging his design prowess with technical engineering. Techies became worried, though, when rumors began circulating about the new user interface and that Ive had to bring engineers working on OS X to then iOS team in order to ship to WWDC in time. Well, it certainly shipped and now the pros are weighing in.
Macworld: “iOS 7’s new design is a stunning change to the iOS infrastructure, with layered looks and minimalistic icons. But for those of you thinking, ‘Gee, I might pay $99 for that developer’s kit just to get a glimpse of that new OS interface,’ we’d suggest holding off. Sure, it’s nice catching glimpses of iOS 7 in the Apple keynote, in briefings, and around WWDC parties. But a first beta is still just that: a first beta. We’ve enjoyed what we’ve seen of iOS 7, for sure. But we’ll enjoy it even more in the fall, when all the finishing touches have been made and the operating system is ready for primetime.”
CNET: “As we said before, iOS 7 brings huge changes in the visual department, which is an important part of the way you relate with your tablet or phone. Yet the really substantial, game-changing new features are few and far between. That said, Apple has a history of keeping its most pulse-quickening news for its next iPhone and iPad announcements. For that, we will have to wait until this fall.”
The Verge: “Apple is showing that it can adapt, borrow, and tweak ideas from the competition, that it can expand what iOS feels and looks like as well as what it can do. The problem now is that it seems to be buckling a bit under the weight of an end-to-end redesign. I’m hopeful that in the next few months, as Apple ramps up for the introduction of new hardware at its fall event, some of the design and functionality issues that have yet to be addressed will be nipped and tucked.”
GSMArenac: “What’s important is that the OS doesn’t get in the way as was the case last year. iOS 7 is not only cool enough to keep people interested over the next months, but it also sets up properly for the launch of the new generation of iDevices in the fall. Apple’s done with buying time, and back to investing in the future. Let’s hope the hardware to come in a few months’ time will keep it up.”
