Big changes are afoot with iOS 7. In the past week we’ve heard from a series of Apple insiders saying that Jony Ive is ripping Apple’s mobile operating system apart and starting again.
Word is we’ll be getting a new ‘flat’ look, with the aim of ditching the skeuomorphic stylings of previous software design boss Scott Forstall.
That means less life-like apps and a more modern, cleaner approach.
Here are five features we reckon Ive needs to change in order to make iOS 7 a winner.
1 Game Centre
It’s hard to love Game Centre, even if you’re an iOS gaming fanatic.
That cluttered, casino table design feels about as un-Apple as it’s possible to get.
It’s truly bizarre when you consider it alongside some of Cupertino’s sleeker and sharper offerings.
Ive is apparently keen to make big changes to Game Centre and it certainly needs it.
Top of our wishlist: less Las Vegas gaming table, more Xbox Live-like looks, with gaming info front and centre.
2 Notes
Apple loves the idea of you binning your old-school pad and pen.
But it’s stuck with the same pad-like look for its Notes app since iOS first landed six years ago.
That awful Comic Sans-like font, the binder down the side, the ruled lines - it all feels so dated.
Ive must give this a clean, basic look, while also making it a proper competitor to apps such as EverNote.
3 Maps
Obvious, but Maps is still in need some serious attention.
This is more down to how Apple can bring in much-needed changes and make its service more accurate, all the while not treading on the toes of excellent offerings from Google and Nokia. Something clean and simple will do the trick.
4 Mail
Like Notes, Mail feels stuck in a time warp. Gmail and Mailbox for iOS are both much smarter solutions and look far less cramped and cluttered.
How Ive changes this on the iPhone will be interesting.
Will he bring in more swiping actions to make it feel more intuitive and more integrated? Surely Mailbox will ‘inspire’ him and his team.
5 Newsstand
Like Games Centre, Newsstand’s faux bookshelf design looks pretty naff and doesn’t fit in with the rest of Apple’s design.
Making it look more like a digital store, rather than a second-hand book emporium clad in cheap pine furniture would be a start.
Newsstand is big business for Apple and it can make it even bigger by giving it a complete makeover.
