Multi-Editorial: iLounge’s Editors on iOS 7

Unfortunately, iOS 7’s biggest problem is one of the first things you see on an iOS 7 device: the new Home Screen icons and folders. They’re being criticized from all corners, and for good reason. Some of them look so cartoonish and poorly balanced that you’ll want to hide them away, but you can’t escape from them—these icons represent the operating system’s core functionality. Apple pundits often claim that “everyone will just get used to” the company’s infrequent design mistakes, but bad Home Screen icons aren’t negotiable. They’re highly visible, and even more glaring in iOS 7, thanks to a jarring new icon-zooming special effect you’ll see on each return to Home. Bear in mind that icons are so key to Apple’s iOS marketing and device packaging that they’ll quickly become ubiquitous reminders of mediocre design unless they’re fixed. If they’re widely disliked, that’s bad news for Apple. Some current iOS users have said that they won’t upgrade to iOS 7 if it looks like this—“this” meaning the Home Screens—and for a company that prides itself on a 95% iOS 6 usage rate, that’s a huge potential issue… if you take the threat of non-adoption seriously. Will Apple fix the Home Screen in time for Fall’s iOS 7 release, wait for iOS 8 in late 2014, or act like nothing’s wrong? Given that the iPad version of iOS 7 hasn’t been shown yet, it looks like Apple is time-crunched, and might make tough decisions in the name of shipping something on time.

It’s also hard to argue at this point that iOS 7 is still a leader in mobile operating systems, at least on the surface level. Even casual users—people with no investment in competing platforms—are noting how many iOS 7 elements seem to have come directly from Windows Mobile, Android, and third-party interfaces, rather than one-upping them. As just one example, Apple’s new Weather app might as well have been the already-released Yahoo Weather app; they’re all but identical in so many ways. Some apps, such as Notes, have actually taken steps back in iOS 7. And other apps (Voice Memos, Nike + iPod) have disappeared, at least for now. My guess is that the iOS team is currently working so hard to redesign its past software that it doesn’t have the time to think about big leaps ahead. I hope that will change in iOS 8.

But perhaps we’re all getting a bit too wrapped up in the icons — which is excusable, because the Home Screen is a pretty big part of the iOS experience. I do prefer most other parts of the new UI to the current iOS experience. The Lock Screen is much nicer in iOS 7. Though I never had a major problem with skeuomorphism myself, I do prefer the new look of Notes, Calendar, and Calculator. The new Safari tabs are great. And that lovely Weather app — I’m such a sucker for weather apps. There is a part of me that wonders if, after using iOS 7 for a while, a look back at iOS 6 will make the old operating system seem chunky and clunky by comparison.

It goes without saying that iOS 7 will be easier and nicer to actually use, and the new features will be upgrades. And we’re using our devices, aren’t we? We’re not simply staring at the icons for hours at a time. At least, I’m not. So I’ll get over the icons. It’s not like I have a choice.

These graphical changes are overshadowing loads of new features being introduced to the operating system, many of which have been requested for years. Control Center, improved Multitasking, iTunes Radio, a redesigned Photos app, AirDrop; these are only some of the features I’m looking forward to using on a daily basis. Functionally, iOS 7 looks like it’ll easily be the best mobile OS Apple has ever released. Cupertino has continued to intelligently integrate features that make the overall experience of using the iPhone better.

I truly believe that come October or November, once iOS 7 has been out for a month or two, and the initial shock has worn off, this discussion will mostly disappear. Whether or not people like the changes, they’re going to get used to them. That’s not to say they don’t matter, but for the most part, it’s what happens when Apple makes big changes. The most interesting thing to see in the meantime will be the reactions of “normal” users, those who don’t necessarily follow the news or watch the keynote address. What are they going to think when they follow the prompt to update their iPhones, and see something completely different once the process is complete? I doubt people will ditch their iPhones because of it, and overall, I don’t see the system being in any danger. It’ll definitely be a discussion for sure, though, and likely a loud one.

While I’m not entirely sure whether I completely hate the new design or simply haven’t allowed myself to become adjusted to it, I think this is going to be Apple’s biggest issue with making such a sweeping, dramatic change. People like familiarity, and this just “feels” far too different. It doesn’t matter if everything works in the same way as it did before, and every icon is in the same place—I suspect the fact that it “feels” so incredibly different is going to alienate much of Apple’s real consumer base. I’m not talking about bloggers and tech enthusiasts who are always after the next “shiny new toy,” but everyday users who have become comfortable with their iPhones during the six years in which iOS remained largely visually unchanged. Consumers who have been on the fence about remaining with the iPhone may be given an excuse to look elsewhere, and even those loyal to the device are going to feel uncomfortable at best with these changes, and may resist the iOS 7 upgrade, thus creating the sort of fragmentation that Apple likes to proudly tout iOS devices as NOT having.