What Apple said
10 June 2013. Apple’s developer conference, WWDC. They didn’t open with a long feature list. They played a film. Jony Ive talked.
“There is a profound and enduring beauty in simplicity, in clarity, in efficiency. True simplicity is derived from so much more than just the absence of clutter and ornamentation. It’s about bringing order to complexity.”
Jony Ive · Apple Newsroom · 10 Jun 2013
“We tried to create an interface that is unobtrusive and deferential, one where the design recedes and in doing so actually elevates your content.”
Ive · WWDC design film · 2013
Apple’s own site put it shorter: iOS 7 is simple on purpose. They took away the fancy bits. New icons. Thin writing. Blur and glass for depth. Not fake wood.
Craig Federighi showed the swipe-up menu, the app cards, and AirDrop on stage. The look was still Ive’s job.
11 Jun 2013
“iOS 7 looks like it was designed by fairies and unicorns”
@alexburns_
11 Jun 2013
“ios 7 looks like jeremy scott took over apple”
Twitter that week
11 Jun 2013
“omg ios 7 ... cant wait now ... amazing out of this world :)”
@vasseclick
11 Jun 2013
Flat is fine, but I kind of missed the old 3D plastic.
@Mekyzeroone
18 Sep 2013
“Just got iOS 7 👌😁”
@rhayvon_
23 Sep 2013
“ios7 is so much better! What do you guys think? :)”
@AustinMahone · 6k likes
29 Sep 2013
“I love this new Slow Load feature that came with iOS7. Anytime I want slower, all I have to do is open an app.”
@KeahuKahuanui · 200+ likes
2 Oct 2013
CNN listed five common problems after the update. Battery. Freezes. The usual mess.
@CNN
11 Jun 2013
“L'iOS7 c'est vraiment moche pour les messages.”
@Pi0ggia
24 Sep 2013
“iOS7 more like iOS 7% battery left 😒”
@ashjasinski
24 Sep 2013
“decided to update my phone with #ios7 ..it's so slow and such a copy of androids #terrible #apple”
@ginaleehindle
24 Sep 2013
“Everyone complains about how iOS 7 battery sucks but it charges wayyyy faster too”
@SpencerDuhamel
iOS 6
iOS 7
Phone
Green has meant “phone” forever. The old one looked shiny and 3D. The new one keeps the green and the shape, but drops the shine. Same idea. Less polish.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Mail
Old Mail sat on a photo of sky. Clouds behind the envelope. New Mail is just a blue square and a white envelope. Still means mail. No outdoor photo shoot.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Safari
Safari is still a compass for the web. The old one looked like a real gadget you could pocket. The new one is just the dial. Same job. Less jewellery.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Music
Old Music was orange and chunky. It felt like a little object. New Music is pink and flat. You still open it to play songs. The plastic-player vibe is gone.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Messages
The green bubble still means messages. Old one was shiny like candy. New one is flat. Inside the app, the chat bubbles go flat too.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Calendar
Old Calendar looked like a real desk calendar. Red day stamp. Paper texture. New Calendar is a white square with today’s day and number. The phone draws the real date for you.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Photos
Old Photos was a yellow sunflower. A photo of a flower. New Photos is a rainbow flower. Still “your pictures.” Different drawing.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Camera
Old Camera looked like the real lens on the back of the phone. New Camera is a simple grey shape. Still means take a picture. No pretend screws.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Weather
Old Weather put the temperature right on the icon. New Weather is just sun and cloud. Open the app if you want the number.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Clock
The clock hands still move. That part stayed. Old face looked fancy. New face is simple. Same time.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Maps
Old Maps showed a road sign. New Maps is a flatter road sign. Maps had a rough year before this. A nicer icon did not fix the maps.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Videos
Videos is still a film clapper. Old one looked metal. New one is flat teal. Same meaning.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Notes
Old Notes looked like a yellow paper pad with a funny font. That was the one people pointed at when they said skeuomorphism. New Notes is still yellow-ish, but simpler. Open it and you get a white page and normal letters.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Reminders
Old Reminders looked like paper on a desk. New ones are a white card with coloured dots. Still a to-do list. Just less stationery.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Game Center
Old Game Center looked like a green casino table. Wood edge. Little game pieces. New one is shiny bubbles. You still get games and scores. No table.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Newsstand
Old Newsstand was a wooden shelf full of magazines. New one is just magazine covers. No shelf. Later Apple removed Newsstand completely.
iOS 6
iOS 7
iTunes Store
iTunes Store is still a purple music note. Old one was shiny. New one is flat. Same shop door.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Stocks
Stocks is still a chart. Old one was blue. New one is black with a white line. Same job. Quieter frame.
iOS 6
iOS 7
App Store
App Store is still a blue A. Old one had sky behind it. New one is flat blue with a pencil. The store is still the store.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Passbook
Old Passbook looked like tickets stuffed in a wallet. New one is just the ticket picture. No wallet. Later it became Wallet.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Compass
Old Compass looked like wood and brass. New Compass is a black dial. Still points north. Less camping-shop energy.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Contacts
Old Contacts looked like a little address book. New Contacts is a grey person. Still your list of people.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Calculator
Old Calculator looked like a real plastic one. New one is flat. The orange buttons stay. You still do maths.
iOS 6
iOS 7
FaceTime
FaceTime is still a video camera. Old one looked metal. New one is green and flat. Still means video call.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Settings
Settings is still gears. Old gears looked like metal. New gears are flat grey. Open it and you get plain white lists.
iOS 6
iOS 7
Voice Memos
Old Voice Memos was a microphone. New one is a sound wave. Same app. It still records your voice.
Messages
Chat bubbles went from jelly to flat. You still text people the same way.
Notes
Yellow pad and funny font gone. Plain page and normal letters. This is still the app people joke about.
Game Center
Green casino table gone. Flat screen instead. You still see scores and friends.
Music
Music player got flatter too. Matches the new pink icon.
Calendar
Leather look gone. Red words on white. You still check the month.
Settings
Still a list of settings. No shiny metal bars. No stripey background.
Do people miss it?
Some do. Not the dead battery. The look.
People still post the old Game Center table like a cute photo. The yellow Notes pad shows up in “remember when” threads. Nobody wants the bad Maps back.
What stuck from iOS 7: flat icons, the swipe-up menu, app cards, blur. Phones still use those ideas. They do not put casino felt back on the home screen.
So people miss the funny old icons. Not the whole old phone.
19 Sep 2012
iOS 6 comes out. Last big “fake real things” look.
29 Oct 2012
Old design boss leaves. Ive takes the software look.
10 Jun 2013
Apple shows iOS 7. Ive film.
18 Sep 2013
iOS 7 goes live with the new iPhones.
26 Sep 2013
Quick fix for lock screen holes.
22 Oct 2013
Battery fixes for a lot of people.
