iOS 7 was released, and the world succumbed to the apple of temptation.
Apple’s latest update, according to designer Jony Ive, “bring[s] order to complexity.” Gone are the outdated shadows and the old interface. The bold new look, complete with hundreds of new and improved features (iTunes Radio, a more human-like Siri, easier multitasking, etc.), has given the company a fresh face. “We were trying to create an environment that was less specific,” Ive explains in an interview conducted by the USA Today. “It got design out of the way… this is terribly important and at the heart of what we do,” he goes on, referring to the idea of manufacturing as a philosophy. “We care about how to design the inside of something you’ll never see, because we think it’s the right thing to do.”
Debuted on September 18th, iOS 7 was immediately a huge hit. Wi-Fi speed grinded to a halt as thousands of Apple users quickly siphoned up the update, hungry to see what was in store for them. For some, downloading took minutes. Others waited for hours. The Madison City School’s network, specifically, became so bogged down with downloads on the release date that they had to block access to it.
Was iOS 7 worth the wait? Worth the hype? Was it even worth the sluggish download speed?
There are some who don’t think so, calling the design “childlike,” as if they were handed a kid’s toy phone. Others, like digitaltrends.com, hate that “functionally, it’s almost identical [to other iPhone systems before it].” They say it “isn’t a game changer; it’s a much-needed facelift, with a tummy tuck for good measure.”
When asked for an opinion on the design, long-time Apple customer Eric Forrest instantly dove to compare the late Steve Jobs to the current designers at the company. “I miss the skeuomorphic interface that Steve Jobs promoted over the simpler interface promoted by Jony Ive. It’s a battle that people talk about on the internet. Jobs liked the authentic look and feel. Ive doesn’t.”
The update brings new alert sounds and ringtones, new methods of turning off apps, and a control center that makes multitasking almost effortless. An updated camera app blends rapid-fire photography with filters, much like an integrated Instagram. Siri can be assigned a male or female voice, and both are more “humanlike” than the previous version. Everything has been given an update and a color change, and the designers at Apple couldn’t be prouder.
“This right here is what I love about Apple,” Ive states, “this incredibly sophisticated powerful technology that you’re almost not aware of, it absolutely blows me away.”
Was the fruit ripe for picking, or did Apple fall farther from the tree than we’d hoped?
