Apple’s next version of iOS, iOS 7 is said to be taking a page right out of Microsoft’s design book and going ‘flat’.
With tickets for Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) selling out in under two minutes, there’s no surprise that there will be a lot of expectations this year from the Cupertino company, as there are every year. This year, besides the usual iPhone and iPad updates, there’s a lot of talk around iOS 7, codenamed Innsbruck.
We are hearing some word about iOS 7, which has been under wraps up until now. For starters, the departure of Scott Forstall means that the development of the next version of iOS was to fall under design guru, Jonathan Ive. Thanks to that, we’re hearing that it might ditch the gloss, shadows and the skeuomorphism look of the current icons for a flat, minimalist design. The “flat” design has really been catching up lately, with Google’s apps for iOS utilizing the design principle, and not to mention, Windows Phone’s and Windows 8’s entire Metro/Modern UI has always been a huge proponent of the flat look. In fact, many of the jailbreak themes for iOS have also relied heavily on a flat look.
The other aspect that seems to be a focus in iOS 7 is the ability to provide more information to the user in a single glance. Android uses widgets to do that, and has been a major plus for users of the Google made OS. Windows Phone’s Live Tiles are also good examples for glance-and-go information. Apple might take a crack at something similar, but in the form of full screen previews of apps that could fly out using a particular gesture.
Innsbruck will be getting an official unveil during the events of WWDC and should be just as exciting as the announcement of a new phone or tablet or portable media player. With a new team looking after the visual elements and Apple dedicated to revamping the operating system from the nightmare of leather bound calendars and yellow notes, things could be incredible exciting.
Source -ThinkDigit
