Apple's iOS 7 Controversy

If you’ve spent a decent amount of time in the online tech community, you’ve probably heard people say things like, “iOS 6 was the best version,” or, “everything has gone downhill since iOS 6.” And that’s actually a fairly common sentiment among people who believe that iOS 7 was a misstep by Apple that they’ve never recovered from. And while I personally don’t share that opinion, it’s worth exploring why iOS 7 received so much criticism and how it became the most controversial iOS release in history.

But before we talk about iOS 7 and all of its radical changes, we have to establish some context. Because if you’ve only become an iPhone user in the past few years, you probably don’t understand the big deal with iOS 7 since it’s so similar to what the iPhone’s operating system looks like today. So let’s talk a little bit about iOS 6. Which was released in 2012 and featured what’s called a skeuomorphic user interface. Meaning elements of the operating system were designed to resemble real-life objects. For example, in the Notes app, you would type on a virtual notepad. Complete with yellow lined paper bound by brown leather. And in the Newsstand app, which was replaced by the News app in iOS 9, you’d find a virtual bookshelf finished in a light brown wood texture. Now skeuomorphic design elements like these had been around since the very first iPhone in 2007, so it became a quintessential part of what defined the iPhone.

[MeloFloww]

I remember coming home from middle school to update my iPad from iOS6 to iOS7 so excited....
time flies.

[Lazhern]

Remember the trolls saying that updating to iOS 7 made your phone waterproof? Yeah, wonder how many people fell for that one

[Mr._Turtle]

iOS 7 broke my schools WiFi because everyone was downloading it.

[CubeRazn]

iOS 7 came out when I was 8, so when I updated my Mom’s iPhone I was confused and scared why the icons changed 😂

[acivilizedhuman]

iOS 7 haters: *moves to android*
Android: *creates flat Material design*

[karstynmcdaniel]

It's weird that I remember the day iOS 7 came out 😂 everyone was talking about it

[OroborOSX]

As an iOS engineer working on apps well throughout that era, you’re forgetting a key issue with iOS 7. The radical UI/UX changes in such a short time made developing apps for iOS hell. Often apps had to maintain compatibility with both design languages, UIKit was extraordinarily buggy, and app experiences just felt very unpolished and broken, especially from Apple’s own apps. It wasn’t until iOS 10 that things SLOWLY began to take shape into the level of cohesion and polish that we’re only just now starting to have again with iOS 14.

[abraham]

iOS 7 was the talk throughout my whole school when it came out. I remember it like yesterday. Time flies

[Owen]

You need to do a video on the old YouTube app that was built into iOS.

[qpol]

“so let’s talk about ios 6” *ios 4 screenshot*

[randomaccountepix]

I remember playing on my uncle's iPad 2 everday, going through iOS 5 and iOS 6. It updated to iOS 7 and I was so shocked and confused that morning.

[gageboyadvanceSP]

iOS 6 on my iPod touch was like the most adorable thing ever. I loved how realistic it looked

[jackmccallum]

iOS 7 had a huge effect on everything. After it came out so many companies followed the design language. Many logos, software UI, even something like CNN's graphics went from the glossy look to flat transparent design.

[Kylo_Ren_]

If there is a redesign on iOS 13, then we will hear “iOS 12 is the best iOS.”

[ninjanerdstudent]

In 2019, I gave Apple Maps one more chance, and it tried sending me the wrong way in a one way street. It has been deleted ever since.

[qsykip]

I remember not really liking the design when it first came out, but as with all things, I quickly got used to it. It is surprising how old the skeuomorphic designs feel now. They’re like a relic of the past.

[Oldaccount-wxlg]

the old system to me now looking at it looks sooo tacky and cheap

[finntran]

Here’s the crap:
When Apple doesn’t change anything: “OMG, we need to change things up!”
When Apple change stuff: “Omg!!! Why did they need to change? Everything was fine before!”

[gammaboost]

I remember when I got my first apple device, my iPad mini 2. It had iOS 7 when I got it, and I used my iPad way more than I used my old nexus tablet.

[VanessaDMusic]

Great video, you can tell a lot of time and research went into it. Keep it up!! Subscribed!