Random Apple Memory
After iOS 6 proved a bit of a let-down, iOS 7 went completely flat. Adam Banks remembers why
iOS 7: when things went flat for Apple. Plus, what to expect next issue…
Unlike many Silicon Valley rivals, Apple is not known for a high turnover of senior executives. Seven of its current managers, including CEO Tim Cook, have been at the company for a total of 140 years. So the industry was shocked when its Vice President of mobile software, Scott Forstall, left suddenly on October 29 2012, a month after the launch of iOS 6.
There were plenty of possible reasons: two of iOS’ latest features, Siri and Maps, had disappointed users, and a book by
Fortune journalist Adam Lashinsky had suggested Forstall had his eye on Cook’s job. But his departure came to symbolize the end of a trend in user interfaces: skeuomorphism, the illustrative imitation of previously functional structures. Since the first iPhone, Apple’s mobile software had featured highly detailed graphics. As screens got bigger and sharper, the designs became more intricate. Notes had a yellow paper background with ruled lines. iCal showed the torn-off edge of an imaginary page. The Podcasts app beautifully but pointlessly depicted a reel-to-reel tape recorder. According to FastCompany, the stitched leather effect seen in several apps was based on the interior of Steve Jobs’ private jet.
It may have been Jobs, in fact, more than Forstall, who championed the excessively literal mimicry. Either way, with both gone from Apple, hardware chief Jonathan Ive took over responsibility for software design, and iOS 7 appeared with a new “flat” look. It immediately drew criticism for abandoning even the most basic visual cues, such as indicating which items were tappable. But this was more of a tectonic shift than a personal battle. Microsoft’s Windows 8 had already adopted flat graphics, and Google’s Material Design followed. Forstall, less predictably, went on to co-produce a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical about a dysfunctional family. Make of that what you will.