When it comes to providing a good, it's not about who does it first. It is about who does it best. Attention to detail and enhancing the user experience of the everyday user is what sells in the tech world. Apple understands this. They understand that simplicity is [simply] great. See what I did there?
Simplicity is the idea that Windows seemed to have with Windows Phone 8. Now the critics will all be saying iOS is ripping off Windows just like they've been ripping off Android since, well, forever. Take a closer look and iOS 7 is most certainly not a WP8 knockoff. That isn't Apple's style. Examine the entire user experience, not just the things that are immediately visually eminent. Windows tried to be too simple. But too much simple leaves the user frustrated and creates a disconnect between your device and you. Early impressions tell me that Apple has found "Just the right amount of simple." If that shouldn't be a slogan for this iOS, I don't know what should be. It creates a brainchild from the simplicity that makes up WP8 and the simple, albeit boring, outdated, but very effective, iOS 6. It is simple, and it is elegant. Boy, is it elegant.
That elegance is really going to shine in the use of gestures and the layering within the operating system. Where WP8 often created a disconnect between the user and the experience, iOS7 keeps you locked in. Gestures have had phenomenal success in apps like Tweetbot, Clear, and Mailbox. They make using a phone fun again. Layers appear over current content in a frosted glass sort of way that still loosely allows the atmosphere of what you are doing in the background, creating a cohesive effect that ties together everything you're doing.
While we got a lot of stuff we asked for (better multitasking, lock screen notifications, Control Center, AirDrop, better weather, no folder/tab limitations) we are still missing a few things. Actionable notifications are something that should have gone in years ago. You shouldn't have to leave what you are doing to reply to a message. For this reason alone I will still be jailbreaking as soon as I can. A way to manage files (similar to Dropbox) built in natively would have been great too.
Another area I worry about is a disconnect between iOS 7 and Mac OSX Mavs. Apple spent a lot of time and energy unifying the iOS/Mac experience. They brought a lot of the things that make iOS great and ported them to the Mac on a larger scale. iOS 7 is going to force them to start completely over with that, should they decide to do it at all. I guess they have to leave something for iOS8 and OSX Warriors/Kings, right?
That elegance is really going to shine in the use of gestures and the layering within the operating system. Where WP8 often created a disconnect between the user and the experience, iOS7 keeps you locked in. Gestures have had phenomenal success in apps like Tweetbot, Clear, and Mailbox. They make using a phone fun again. Layers appear over current content in a frosted glass sort of way that still loosely allows the atmosphere of what you are doing in the background, creating a cohesive effect that ties together everything you're doing.
While we got a lot of stuff we asked for (better multitasking, lock screen notifications, Control Center, AirDrop, better weather, no folder/tab limitations) we are still missing a few things. Actionable notifications are something that should have gone in years ago. You shouldn't have to leave what you are doing to reply to a message. For this reason alone I will still be jailbreaking as soon as I can. A way to manage files (similar to Dropbox) built in natively would have been great too.
Another area I worry about is a disconnect between iOS 7 and Mac OSX Mavs. Apple spent a lot of time and energy unifying the iOS/Mac experience. They brought a lot of the things that make iOS great and ported them to the Mac on a larger scale. iOS 7 is going to force them to start completely over with that, should they decide to do it at all. I guess they have to leave something for iOS8 and OSX Warriors/Kings, right?
Not only does Apple know how to create a high quality product, but they know how to market it. Who gets you more excited for products than Apple? Not Windows, not Google/Samsung/HTC, not Blackberry. Jony Ive just gets you excited for iOS 7 with his own passion for putting out a great product. You can hear his own excitement as he goes over what went into creating such a different experience.
While Ive might be the mastermind behind the design, Craig Federighi oversees implementation of his design into iOS and emerged as the star of the show. Tim Cook has done his best to bring the buzz created by Steve Jobs back to Keynotes, but there is something not quite the same with him. Federighi had charisma. He got you excited about the product being offered with excellent demos highlighting the biggest upcoming features. If you haven't watched the Keynote, take some time for it (or at least get the highlights off YouTube).
Ive and Federighi really came through on this one. iOS was fun in 2007 because it was a completely new concept. No one had dared to make a touch screen phone, and the basic gestures and user interface that came along with it were amazing -- in 2007. The longevity of iOS was stretched probably two years longer than it should have been, but that is only going to make this rebirth sweeter to both current iPhone users and new users alike.
While Ive might be the mastermind behind the design, Craig Federighi oversees implementation of his design into iOS and emerged as the star of the show. Tim Cook has done his best to bring the buzz created by Steve Jobs back to Keynotes, but there is something not quite the same with him. Federighi had charisma. He got you excited about the product being offered with excellent demos highlighting the biggest upcoming features. If you haven't watched the Keynote, take some time for it (or at least get the highlights off YouTube).
Ive and Federighi really came through on this one. iOS was fun in 2007 because it was a completely new concept. No one had dared to make a touch screen phone, and the basic gestures and user interface that came along with it were amazing -- in 2007. The longevity of iOS was stretched probably two years longer than it should have been, but that is only going to make this rebirth sweeter to both current iPhone users and new users alike.
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