iOS 7 to dump Skeuomorphic UI for a very, very Flat design

By Darshik Jariwala - May, 1st 2013

As expected, ahead of the upcoming WWDC event June 2013, the details have started to leak. Unlike the Steve Jobs era, where quite a few important announcements somehow managed to remain the secret, that is no more the case. Tim Cook is not to be blamed, a lot of things have changed over the years and these things are bound to happen. Some details concerning the highly anticipated iOS 7, which is going to be announced in the WWDC event (Considering there are no delays), have been leaked.

 

A new UI for iOS 7

The leaked details suggest that iOS 7, which has been codenamed, “Innsbruck” will evade the skeuomorphic design and for an interface which will be very, very flat; says 9to5mac. The skeuomorphic design practically retains the original structure of the actual physical object, for eg. the Notes application or a Voice Recorder. The skeuomorphic design has been over-used and users and critics alike have been demanding changes. The Flat UI on the other hand emphasizes on simplicity and unlike skeuomorphic UI, doesn’t resemble the structure or design of the actual object.  The perfect example would be Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system, which uses Metro / Modern UI.

Basically, you can expect iOS 7 to not have either the skeuomorphic design or the leather finish backgrounds seen in apps like Game Center, Reminders and Voice Recorder. The loyal iOS device users should be prepared to embrace a completely new design overhaul, which is its first by the way, ever since the iPhone was launched. All the changes in iOS 4, 5 and even 6 have mainly been functional and none of them touched the UI.

With the ouster of Senior Vice President for iOS Scott Forstall last year, iOS is now being spearheaded by Sir Jony Ive who is Senior Vice President of Industrial Design for Apple. Sir Ive has been responsible for designing many Apple products like the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and even the Mac PC. The designs have not only been widely appreciated but have also won him many awards.

According to 9to5mac, the new interface will also include changes in the built-in Apple native apps’ icons. Other changes may include new tool bars, tab bars designs. The rumors leaked before suggested that iOS 7 UI change will be system-wide. As of now, the people inside Apple (guys from Ive’s team probably) who are using the latest iOS on their iDevices, have been reported to have polarizing effect on the devices to protect it from the other people who might (Obviously!) want to sneak on to it.

Many iOS users, who are too used to the current design, may find it difficult to adapt to the changes. Apple, however, will particularly make sure that UI change does not in any way affect its ease-of-use which justifiably remains its USP to this day. The change that iOS 7 brings may also affect some of the existing apps in its store.

 

The upcoming WWDC event

The WWDC event logo further stems up the rumor with its lightweight text and quite flat interface design. This may seem a little far-fetched but it’s really not. Apple always leaves a hint of what-to-expect in the event invitee’s logo which it reveals.

Taking into account Sir Jony Ive’s track record with Apple, the consumers’ and the critics’ expectation are sky-high and hopefully we will not be disappointed. With more than a month to go, many more stories are sure to be followed, stay tuned.

Source: 9to5mac

Photo Credit – Marco/Flickr