By Phil Dzikiy @phildzikiy ● Friday, March 22, 2013

Apple hardware and software designers are now collaborating earlier in the design process than before, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. While iOS designers were previously “cut out of the loop on specifics” regarding new mobile devices while a separate “stealth group” of software developers worked on prototypes, Apple’s mobile software team is now briefed about the prototypes earlier. Sources said Apple Senior Vice President of Industrial Design Jony Ive, who now sits in on those meetings, is pushing for a simpler, starker, more “flat design” for the next Apple operating system. Changes are expected to be “pretty conservative.”