iOS 7's identity crisis
Ok, so, after the iOS 7 preview I was on twitter and most people were pointing out how much it looked like Windows Phone (or the artist formerly known as "Metro" in general).
So, I looked into it. And I'm surprised at the response. Perhaps it is just the WP fan boys wanting to accuse Apple of stealing something the company they adore did first. But frankly, I didn't get that opinion. At least not overall.
Let me start by saying, the lock screen and the phone call screen look like wholesale rip-offs of WP. But heck, certain OEM specific Android flavors stole this long before Apple did. Doesn't make it "right", but it does make it a tad less surprising and disappointing. And the multi-tasking also looks like a rip-off, though I think Apple added some features that make it "better". Better is in quotations there because, the better comes from the functionality to allow you to close apps from the multi-task screen. And that makes it dubious because Windows Phone does a much better job of managing apps and memory and so you shouldn't need to close apps. That, however, had not stopped the masses from complaining about it to no end. So, Microsoft would do well to implement such functionality despite how much of a waste it would be.
And lastly would be the weather app. That thing couldn't be more Metro if Microsoft designed it themselves. I would argue that the Apple weather app makes better use of the Metro design language than the Windows 8 and Windows Phone apps do. Which is also to say that while Apple claims that they have been consistent throughout the OS... they haven't.
And this leads us into the differences. iOS (from what little I've seen) is only rivaled in its similarities to Windows Phone by how different it is. It is an OS that is at once both different and the same as the prior version. The launch screen is the same archaic grid of tiles there from day 1, and this couldn't be more different than Windows Phone. They have clean lines and solid colors and a focus on typography in some places like in most of the email app, and then in other places they abandon that entirely and seem obsessed with bubbly icons and transparency such as the on screen settings you pull up from the bottom.
Basically, it doesn't feel like there is any real design language going on here... or rather, in terms of design languages the OS is trying to be bilingual, and rarely succeeding at either.
I didn't find the prior incarnations of iOS to be inconsistent. In fact, I found it to be wholly consistent, if a bit dated. This new versions suffers from something I indicated as a major problem for Apple a long time ago... they stopped with their planned obsolescence (at least in its purest form) since they now have too many legacy customers and can no longer afford to truly break free of their past. They can't adopt a new design language, or they would be doing what Microsoft did with Windows 8 and potentially driving away their user base. And at a time when Android is eroding that user base already I think they are simply playing as safe as they need to.
Apple, from the looks of it, is trying to slowly migrate in the direction of a new design language instead of the Microsoft approach of simply ripping the Band-Aid right off. I suspect that by iOS 9 it might actually be a consistent experience... but by then it will already be dated.
The bold, innovative Apple that created the iPhone and the iPod would have no qualms with saying iOS is dead and introducing and a new and truly innovative OS (they did it over and over again with iPods and other products). The Apple of today (and even while it was still under Steve Jobs) is not that same Apple. Success brings burdens and responsibilities. If they ran a risky gambit and it didn't pan out they would need to cut jobs, disappoint manufacturers, anger shareholders and ultimately undergo a turbulent period which might even affect their brand and image. I don't fault Apple. I understand where they are coming from. But that doesn't make this half-hearted change any less disappointing.
So, I looked into it. And I'm surprised at the response. Perhaps it is just the WP fan boys wanting to accuse Apple of stealing something the company they adore did first. But frankly, I didn't get that opinion. At least not overall.
Let me start by saying, the lock screen and the phone call screen look like wholesale rip-offs of WP. But heck, certain OEM specific Android flavors stole this long before Apple did. Doesn't make it "right", but it does make it a tad less surprising and disappointing. And the multi-tasking also looks like a rip-off, though I think Apple added some features that make it "better". Better is in quotations there because, the better comes from the functionality to allow you to close apps from the multi-task screen. And that makes it dubious because Windows Phone does a much better job of managing apps and memory and so you shouldn't need to close apps. That, however, had not stopped the masses from complaining about it to no end. So, Microsoft would do well to implement such functionality despite how much of a waste it would be.
And lastly would be the weather app. That thing couldn't be more Metro if Microsoft designed it themselves. I would argue that the Apple weather app makes better use of the Metro design language than the Windows 8 and Windows Phone apps do. Which is also to say that while Apple claims that they have been consistent throughout the OS... they haven't.
And this leads us into the differences. iOS (from what little I've seen) is only rivaled in its similarities to Windows Phone by how different it is. It is an OS that is at once both different and the same as the prior version. The launch screen is the same archaic grid of tiles there from day 1, and this couldn't be more different than Windows Phone. They have clean lines and solid colors and a focus on typography in some places like in most of the email app, and then in other places they abandon that entirely and seem obsessed with bubbly icons and transparency such as the on screen settings you pull up from the bottom.
Basically, it doesn't feel like there is any real design language going on here... or rather, in terms of design languages the OS is trying to be bilingual, and rarely succeeding at either.
I didn't find the prior incarnations of iOS to be inconsistent. In fact, I found it to be wholly consistent, if a bit dated. This new versions suffers from something I indicated as a major problem for Apple a long time ago... they stopped with their planned obsolescence (at least in its purest form) since they now have too many legacy customers and can no longer afford to truly break free of their past. They can't adopt a new design language, or they would be doing what Microsoft did with Windows 8 and potentially driving away their user base. And at a time when Android is eroding that user base already I think they are simply playing as safe as they need to.
Apple, from the looks of it, is trying to slowly migrate in the direction of a new design language instead of the Microsoft approach of simply ripping the Band-Aid right off. I suspect that by iOS 9 it might actually be a consistent experience... but by then it will already be dated.
The bold, innovative Apple that created the iPhone and the iPod would have no qualms with saying iOS is dead and introducing and a new and truly innovative OS (they did it over and over again with iPods and other products). The Apple of today (and even while it was still under Steve Jobs) is not that same Apple. Success brings burdens and responsibilities. If they ran a risky gambit and it didn't pan out they would need to cut jobs, disappoint manufacturers, anger shareholders and ultimately undergo a turbulent period which might even affect their brand and image. I don't fault Apple. I understand where they are coming from. But that doesn't make this half-hearted change any less disappointing.
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