In the classic story, the emperor’s court praises the beautiful new outfit. The spectacle goes on until the common folks have the courage to speak up.
iOS 7’s first test is past. The tech press is excited about the new look. It’s what they wanted – something different.
The design community’s reaction is more mixed. Several of the essays I’ve seen on Medium express concern.
In the fall, the consumer will speak. They won’t do it on blogs. They’ll do it with their wallets.
I love Apple. My hope is if we all provide enough honest feedback, Apple can fix what needs fixing, and iOS 7 can be a very successful release.
Know Thy Customer
The people who gave Apple it’s billions could have chosen Android or Windows Phone. But they didn’t.
They voted with their wallets and chose iOS, because they liked it better than the alternatives. They liked the way it looked and felt. It made sense to them in a way the others didn’t.
If what they were looking for was a flat and text-heavy UI, they would have bought Windows Phone. But they didn’t. They bought the rich, inviting, and easily accessible visual experience that was iOS.
Change is always risky. But building the opposite of what people have voted for with their wallets? That’s a very bold move.
iOS doesn’t just belong to Apple. It belongs to the millions who use it every day. We spend a substantial percentage of our lives in front of an Apple screen. We also spend a good chunk of our paycheck on them.
If the experience loses its rich and premium feel, customers may opt for a less expensive smartphone or tablet the next time around. And that would be a disservice to everyone: customers and shareholders alike.
Good paradigms are durable. They are not polarizing, or subject to the whims of personal taste. They are not driven by fancy or fad. They are crafted not merely of pixels, but of precision logic.
Let’s look at an example.
Selective Focus
Simplicity comes not from shunning all ornamentation, but from careful management of a user’s focus.
The tricky thing about focus, is that it changes depending on what you are trying to do. To read an e-mail, you need to focus on its content. Once you’ve read it, the focus switches. Now you’re looking for the controls that let you navigate somewhere else.
In iOS 6, the top and bottom bars are a different color scheme from the content. This difference is essential. It’s a mode switch for the mind.
It lets you:
- Ignore the functions when you’re looking at content
- Find the functions fast when you need them
In iOS 7, this ability to selectively focus is broken. Everything is white. Your brain must parse it all at once: the status bar, the top bar, the content, and the bottom bar.
While Apple has aimed to make things simpler for the user, they’ve actually done the opposite here. Mental complexity has gone up.
Flat designs can still offer selective focus. The new note-taking app Vesper is a good example: a blue top bar groups functions together and separates them from the content below.
Another more subtle example is Mailbox. This shows it doesn’t take much, just some subtle tonal differences and a bit of gradient.
Defeating Complexity
Complexity comes from competition.
The simplest possible screen contains a single visual element. As you pack more things onto a screen, your focus becomes divided and complexity sets in.
But it’s not just about numbers. It’s about how loud the different visual elements are. It’s about whether they cooperate together, or try to shout over each other.
Imagine you’re a teacher in a classroom full of kids all yelling: “it’s my turn!”. Now imagine the same classroom, where one kid is speaking and the other kids are quietly raising their hands.
You can focus on what the speaker is saying, and at the same time notice that other choices that are available.
Slide to Answer
Great design communicates the ways it can be used.
When someone is calling, time is of the essence. In iOS 6, the slider instantly and intuitively communicates how it should be used. You don’t have to think about it.
iOS 7 replaces these visual cues with secret handshakes. The reasoning is that once you know how to ride the bike, you can discard the training wheels.
What Apple is missing is that these visual cues aren’t training wheels. They are subliminal clues that allow us to operate with minimal thought and maximum speed.
iOS 7 takes away this satisfying and intuitive experience – and to what end? The user gets nothing new in the bargain. Instead, the user is asked to jump through extra mental hoops. These hoops may be small, but over time they will add up.
Where 7 Shines
While there are usability issues with the new look, there are some clear wins in iOS 7.
The springboard now provides a stronger sense of where you are. The new animated transitions, multitasking, and easier access to controls are all steps forward. I also think the use of transparency has great promise as a UI paradigm.
For Jony
No one can question your courage. You’re taking chances and working hard to make a great thing better, and I believe this effort should be celebrated.
No one will mourn the loss of green felt, leather stitching, or turn of the century compass. But not all buttons and physical cues are bad. Flat isn’t the goal. Simpler to use is.
Flat is a tool to get there. But like a chisel used for sculpting a masterpiece, you can go too far… and chisel away something important.
Design is a conversation. You’ve made a bold statement. And now the question is: are you listening for the answer?
Author’s Note
iOS 7.1 brought back the affordances, and along with it, my confidence that Apple listens to its customers. I’ve written more on this here:
