Bad news for Apple: The iOS 7 backlash has begun
23 Comments
By PATRICK SEITZ
Posted 06/12/2013 02:43 PM ET
news.investors.com
Apple (AAPL) described the revamped look of its upcoming iOS 7 software as "stunning," with "an elegant color palette" and typography that's been "refined for a cleaner, simpler look."
But a chorus of critics is chiming in with negative reviews of the mobile operating system.
Apple showed off iOS 7 on Monday at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Many industry watchers quickly praised Apple for finally changing the look of its iPhone software, which has been static since its debut in June 2007. Many still praise the revamp, though some have noted Apple seemed to be taking its design cues from rivalsMicrosoft (MSFT), BlackBerry (BBRY) and the former Palm's WebOS.
But the tide seems to have turned toward the negative.
The Atlantic reported that some designers were calling Apple's new flat-looking iOS user interface "ugly," "harsh" and "blinding."
Ryan Katkov, a designer for Life360, thinks Apple fell victim to "design by committee," something for which Google (GOOG) is famous, he wrote.
Joshua Topolsky, a writer at the Verge, said the iOS 7 design is confusing and inconsistent.
Criticism of Apple's new color scheme was particularly rough.
"Am I alone in thinking the iOS 7 home screen icons look ugly, poorly balanced, and of an unattractive color (palette)?" Circa CEO Matt Galligan wrote.
Designer Jason Santa Maria tweeted that iOS 7 got its color palette " from a Pantone fire sale " and the user interface was hit with a " ugly stick ."
Search Twitter for "iOS 7" and "ugly" and you'll find many more such comments.
Check out the comments to the Mashable review article. Commenters said iOS 7 looks "cheap," "childish" and "designed by Fisher Price." A number of posters said Apple's late co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, known for his good taste, would never have approved the new look.
"My eyes hurt from the fluorescence!" wrote Kiran Kashalkar.
"It's like I'm looking at the poop of a unicorn that had diarrhea from eating too many Skittles," said Eli DeOliveira.
"My eyes are burning," wrote Michelle Romanowski.
"Those gradients hurt my eyes!" said Sais Shishir KS.
Judging from the comments online, the bright pastel colors of iOS 7 are giving a lot of people headaches.
The backlash against the new iOS is picking up steam with Tumblr blogs being created to criticize it. One blog, Designers Complaining, has compiled Twitter complaints about iOS 7, many of which are quite funny. Another Tumblr blog called Jony Ive Redesigns Thingsparodies iOS 7 by showing what other things would look like with the new motif, created by Apple's design chief.
Apple shares were down a fraction in afternoon trading on the stock market today. If the direction holds, it would be Apple's third down day in a row. |
