There have been numerous reports that iOS 7 will see a rather thorough overhaul of the interface, led by Jony Ive who late last year took over for the departed Scott Forstall. While Forstall had been instrumental in pushing skuemorphism,...
There have been numerous reports that iOS 7 will see a rather thorough overhaul of the interface, led by Jony Ive who late last year took over for the departed Scott Forstall. While Forstall had been instrumental in pushing skuemorphism, Ive is reportedly in favor of a flatter UI, with less textures. According to 9to5mac, their sources have said that iOS 7 is “black, white and flat all over.” Gone will be the heavy textures, replaced with a more simple, flatter design.
The interface has supposedly been through a succession of changes, so it’s entirely possible that elements that were being tested will not be on display at WWDC next month. Beyond this information regarding the UI, Mark Gurman cites sources within internal high-level meetings where Ive shared his reasoning for his dislike of skeumorphic UI elements. Ive believes these designs do not stand the test of time. With different Apple iOS applications having a vast difference in design, it could cause confusion among users.
It sounds as if iOS 7 will not be a simple tweaking of the interface, but rather a wholesale rethinking of the design elements that drives the operating system. Sources have shared the following changes:
Lock screen
The transparent bar at the top of the lockscreen will be changed to a flat black bar. No shine. If you password protect your iPhone, the new pin entry will display rounded black buttons with white text and borders. It’s a possibility that improved interaction with notifications using gestures through the lock screen.
War On Linen
The notification drop down will see the removal of the linen background, with Apple opting for gray/black with white text.
Apps Being Redesigned
Expectations are that most of Apple’s apps have been redesigned to fit this new commitment to a flatter design that uses black and white elements. Don’t however expect a complete loss of color. Apps could have a foundation of black/white, but use a highlight color.
iOS 7 appears to be heavy on design changes, but little is known with regards to new features, outside of the rumored integration of Flickr and Vimeo. Of course, that could change, as Apple has been known to add features upon the release of new hardware. Sources say that Apple’s employees are focused heavily on the iPhone version of iOS.
Apple is expected to introduce iOS 7 during the keynote at WWDC talking place on June 10th. While it’s not expected that we’ll hear anything on the hardware front, it’s widely anticipated that a new iPhone will be available in the September timeframe.
Source: 9to5mac Image: Simply Zesty
iOS 7: “Black, White and Flat” is an article from everythingiCafe.