Do You Prefer iOS 7 Looks Over Previous iOS Versions?

[HomeInMyShoes]

My wife is appalled by it, plus the fact that most of her things disappeared with the upgrade that automatically happened when we wanted to load a CD of meditation exercises she got from her instructor. It was very helpful Apple.

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I also like the looks of my black iPhone 5 better than any of the 5S colors. Not that it really matters in my instance as I have it tucked away safe and sound inside an Otterbox Defender case.

Yeah, same here. I've been using an all-black iPhone kickstand/cover all along, so even if I do obtain a "space-grey" iPhone one fine day, I'll never get to see its grey backside!

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

My wife is appalled by it, plus the fact that most of her things disappeared with the upgrade that automatically happened when we wanted to load a CD of meditation exercises she got from her instructor. It was very helpful Apple.

Um... what disappeared. My phone was exactly the same, the only difference was the added Face Time icon, since Face Time is not a distinct app.

Everyone hates change... Oh, and the pic of the three apps, old and new...

Compass is miles better looking now, New Stand looks much better too... the Game Center, that's is a bit too cartoony, however, I never liked the felt green look of the old version either.

What I really like is, activation lock, background updating, multi-tasking screen, notifications on lock screen and slide from left as back gesture in all apps. I also like the fact that you can share to flickr now (and vimeo but I don't use that).

I don't like that the temp is no longer on the notification screen and the tweet/facebook buttons are gone either. But, now I can see my calendar and stocks and other stuff there too... so having to click on the forecast to see the temp is a trade off I guess I'm ok with.

The "flat" UI is much nicer to look at. The Facebook app looks so much better now... whenever I go into mint it is more shocking now how dated the faux 3D, rounded corners and shadowing look. Yes, I prefer the FLAT UI.

What do I miss from Android... mainly two things...

1. Widgets... hello, Apple WAKE UP!
2. The ability to layout of the home screens as I want, rather than have to deal with the flow layout.

Sure, it was nice in Android to be able to replace the keyboard, default text app and a few other things... but frankly the iOS keyboard is excellent as is iMessage.

BOb

[pilotbob]

As for phone colors themselves... I have a diztronic TPU case... I think it was like $9 and they have 6 or 8 colors. I chose black to match my black phone.

Although, with the poly carbonate iPhone 5C you probably don't need as much protection and could carry around the phone nekid!

BOb

Originally Posted by pilotbob

As for phone colors themselves... I have a diztronic TPU case... I think it was like $9 and they have 6 or 8 colors. I chose black to match my black phone.

Although, with the poly carbonate iPhone 5C you probably don't need as much protection and could carry around the phone nekid!

BOb

Actually I use my Otterbox Defender case for two reasons:

• To add bulk so a thin, slippery phone is holdable in my arthritic hand.
• To keep the iPhone from shattering if dropped. After all, drops will happen!

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I don't like that the temp is no longer on the notification screen and the tweet/facebook buttons are gone either.

Darn! I've never noticed that until now... I'll be missing them. ("Aborted swoosh" sound.)

I'm already missing the clicking sound when locking/unlocking the phone.

Fortunately, I don't use Apple's dumb default Mail app (I use Mailbox -- a true revolution), because that default app has just got even dumber. It now indiscriminately loads thousands of messages from your mailbox to your handheld device! It was possible to limit it to the 1000 most recent messages in previous iOS versions -- something I always praised as clever.

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Sure, it was nice in Android to be able to replace the keyboard, default text app and a few other things... but frankly the iOS keyboard is excellent as is iMessage.

I find the iOS keyboard layouts absolutely insufficient, especially in conjunction with a hardware keyboard (Bluetooth-connected). I developed my own custom keyboard layout for my own language (see here) years ago, I use it exclusively to type all my texts on all my Windows and Mac computers... but so far I've been unable to use that custom keyboard layout in iOS. Even if I jailbroke my iOS devices, I wouldn't know how to proceed. In iOS, we are still lacking easy keyboard layout customisation software such as Ukelele for Mac OS or MS Keyboard Layout Creator for Windows.

[Barty]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Indeed! Especially in the dark when you are suddenly blinded by a stupid white screen. I hope they add the option to change the Apple apps background colors.

Not only all the white space, but they use gray or blue text rather than black, reducing the contrast.

Most of the updated 3rd party apps are doing the same

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by Barty

Most of the updated 3rd party apps are doing the same

When it's a fad, it's a fad... At least according to the current (unrepresentative) poll results above, 47% of users hate the new trend... Whereas if you read professional review sites, you get the impression as if 100% of Apple users were ecstatically welcoming the new iOS look, as a "necessity", even.

It might be interesting to relaunch the same poll exactly one year later, to find out if we all get used to the fad by then.

[xendula]

Originally Posted by Faterson

When it's a fad, it's a fad... At least according to the current (unrepresentative) poll results above, 47% of users hate the new trend... Whereas if you read professional review sites, you get the impression as if 100% of Apple users were ecstatically welcoming the new iOS look, as a "necessity", even.

It might be interesting to relaunch the same poll exactly one year later, to find out if we all get used to the fad by then.

Can you imagine a whole year in pastels? Shoot me now! And I usually love pink.

There are a lot of "babyboomers" who own iPhones/iPads. (Babyboomers = USA generation born between 1946--1964.) I'm one of them. I guess Jony Ive doesn't understand that we no longer see up close as well as we did 30 effing years ago. Or more than likely, being artsy-fartsy he simply doesn't care because he thinks the look outweighs all other considerations. At any rate, I find the replacement of the easy to see UI buttons within apps with thin, grey and light blue text difficult to read, especially when the app is mostly WHITE. Didn't Apple fire the idiot who effed up the iOS Maps app? They need to fire Ivy, or at least demote him to Toilette Cleaner 3rd Class.

[Faterson]

They fired the guy (Scott Forstall) who was mainly responsible for the previous "classic" iOS look. Forstall was Jobs's guy, so it is unlikely we would ever get to see the radical iOS 7 re-design if Jobs were still alive.

Apple Maps are a disaster (yes, even in iOS 7 for my "neck of woods"), but it was a very late development towards the very end of Forstall's career at Apple.

Ivy is a Job's guy too, but Steve had enough sense to keep him occupied with hardware aesthetics design and kept him away from the software design.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Ivy is a Job's guy too, but Steve had enough sense to keep him occupied with hardware aesthetics design and kept him away from the software design.

I'm pretty sure Ive started on the iOS redesign while Job's was still around.

BOb

[Faterson]

Do you have any source for that, Bob? As far as I'm aware, Ive was only commissioned with software design by Apple in October 2012, following the Forstall firing. The botched iOS 7 design is pretty much what one might expect to get following a hurried 11-month development. It really reminds one of the similarly flawed, hurried Windows 8 design development.

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I guess Jony Ive doesn't understand that we no longer see up close as well as we did 30 effing years ago.

I don't find this to be a user age issue. To me, the flat fad -- with light-coloured, ultra-thin fonts on blindingly all-white, or insufferably dull all-grey backgrounds -- is just horrible design: regardless of whether a user is 80 or 8 years old.

To each their own, of course, but it appears that, at least initially, a significant proportion of iDevice owners might be put off by the flat fad. Even Miley Cyrus tweeted she hated the new iOS design, and I would not label her a typical senior citizen.