back to article Apple: iOS7 dayglo Barbie makeover is UNFINISHED - report

Well, this would never have happened under Steve Jobs. Apple sources have briefed a friendly tech blog that the much-mocked iOS7 makeover is still provisional. When was the last time Apple felt obliged to defend anything? The Barbie-flavoured icons revealed at Apple's WWDC on Monday are merely a "mid-stride snapshot", …

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  1. Ian 62

    What's going on?

    Stock holders.

    They'll have been complaining loud enough and threatening enough that someone's panicked and pulled the release trigger too soon.

    1. JDX Gold badge

      Re: What's going on?

      We've heard news before that Apple are under pressure to release iOS7 ASAP, rather than when they're ready too. Apple are one company who can play on their own terms so "release it when it's finished" has to be the right route here.

    2. Armando 123
      Flame

      Re: What's going on?

      Or maybe, giving them enough rope.

      It's only a beta, and maybe it's a way for them to use the ridicule to tell the suits "See, you people know nothing about this, go back to drinking and golf".

  2. TechnicianJack
    Unhappy

    As a man, I think that the new design has a very feminine colour scheme/look to it. While I don't have an iPhone, I would be unhappy to use a device that looks like this (from any manufacturer). The old design was more of a generic unisex design.

    Also, while it is stated that the app logos were not designed by the app team, the Safari logo stands out as looking 'wrong'. It's almost as if someone drew it with Microsoft paint. The compass and stocks designs also look like they don't quite fit in.

    1. dogged
      Holmes

      A quick glance around the office shows -

      Men - three Galaxy S3s, two HTC Ones, one HTC 8X, one Nokia Lumia 820

      Women - four iPhones.

      Probably not a coincidence.

      1. Peter Storm
        Trollface

        Crikey! So all the men in your office are gay then?

        1. Dave 126 Silver badge

          Oversimplification:

          Man: "Oohh, what does it do?"

          Woman: "Yeah yeah, what does it do for me?"

        2. Eponymous Cowherd
          Joke

          "Crikey! So all the men in your office are gay then?"

          And that from someone who names himself after a raincoat?

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Sexist?

      3. Godwhacker
        Paris Hilton

        Are you judging the genders on the phones they carry

        ...or judging the phones by the gender of those that carry them? Neither is a particularly pleasant thing to do

        1. dogged
          Meh

          Re: Are you judging the genders on the phones they carry

          I'm not certain who you're asking but I simply reported who had what, based on gender.

          I also wonder if the earlier poster is of the belief that every man who doesn't have an iPhone is gay. Anecdotal evidence would tend to indicate that the iPhone is actually of more use to gay men because it has a selection of apps targeted at that demographic.

      4. larokus
        Thumb Up

        Don't be upset by your down votes. They came from men in low-hanging skinny jeans. I use the term men loosely

      5. Moonshine
        Pint

        Captain Rum to Lord Blackadder: "You have a WOMAN's PHONE, me'lord."

        1. Shagbag
          Alert

          moving desk

          One of the guys in the office has an iPhone. If he changes to iOS7, I'm going to have to change desks and move away from him for fear of being turned gay.

        2. Matthew 25
          Coffee/keyboard

          Thanks!

  3. jai

    no OS prior to X ?

    precisely zero users to confuse at the time

    you're forgetting that there were a few of use that were using the previous Mac OS, and the preview of Aqua was as exciting and worrying as the new look to iOS 7 is now.

    http://furbo.org/2013/06/11/been-there-done-that/

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: no OS prior to X ?

      LOL mac

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    But..

    Wasnt it St. Jobs style to never apologise?

    Anyone rememebr Antenna-gate?

    They're merely folowing the departed leader. Its a design to appeal to young Barbie wannabees as the target market!

    Now move on, you Apple haters !

    1. David Glasgow

      Re: But..

      "They're merely folowing the departed leader. Its a design to appeal to young Barbie wannabees as the target market!"

      But I'm a 56 year old chap....

      Wait! What's this? Lets see! Oh I feel se-ex-ee, What's come over me? Whoa! Here it comes again...bad times deceased, good times released, my confidence is increased...."

      I think I quite like 'em.

  5. teapot9999
    WTF?

    pre-release software may not be final version

    and?

    Twas ever thus

    1. Lutin

      Re: pre-release software may not be final version

      Aye, but remember when you read the article that you've just commented on and it explained that it's unusual for this to be the case for Apple?

      Remember that?

      It's in the article.

      The one you commented on.

      In the first paragraph.

      1. gazthejourno (Written by Reg staff)

        Re: Re: pre-release software may not be final version

        You, sir, restore my faith in commentards. I doff my cap to you.

        1. Steve Todd

          Re: pre-release software may not be final version

          It's not even unusual for APPLE to change things between the first beta and the final release (they've even been known to sneak in whole new features for new devices/hardware that is released at the same time as the code).

          This idea that Apple claim infalability and never change anything or admit to mistakes seems to be wholly made up by El Reg. It happened while Steve Jobs ran the company, it happened afterwards. What they won't do is admit to a problem until they understand what it is and how many people are effected. This seems to really get up journo's noses as they want an instant quote for their rag, hence the antipathy.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: pre-release software may not be final version

            What they won't do is admit to a problem until they understand what it is and how many people are effected.

            affected.

            1. Squander Two

              Re: pre-release software may not be final version

              Depends where Steve's from. In the US, I understand it would be "effected".

              1. ed2020
                FAIL

                Re: pre-release software may not be final version

                In the US, I understand it would be "effected".

                No, it wouldn't.

                1. Squander Two

                  Re: pre-release software may not be final version

                  Fair enough. I don't claim to be an expert on American English, but have been corrected on this point by educated Americans in the past. Course, just cause they were educated in general, doesn't mean they were right about this.

            2. J__M__M

              Re: pre-release software may not be final version

              uffected.

              1. Tom 35

                Re: pre-release software may not be final version

                infected

            3. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: pre-release software may not be final version

              "What they won't do is admit to a problem until they understand what it is and how many people are effected.

              affected."

              No, effected is probably right - these are Apple users here.

          2. Stuart Castle Silver badge

            Re: pre-release software may not be final version

            It's not unusual for any company (Apple included) to change things between the first beta and the final release. Whether those changes are bug fixes, new features or even new graphics. That's the reason we have betas. So a company (or individual programmer) can ensure that the software is tested, it functions well and that users can work with the user interface .

            This last part is actually important (and seemingly forgotten by some companies). You can have the best functionality available in your program, and the program can pass all the reliability tests with flying colours, but if the users have trouble with the UI, they'll think it is (at best) a good product with a bad UI, and, at worst, a pile of crap.

            So, this whole article seems to be saying that iOS 7 has crap icons (and while I like them, I can see why people might have a problem) and that Apple are following normal beta test procedures. Unlike, say, Google who seem to use the "Beta" tag as a sales term to tell people they are getting the most up to date product possible.

          3. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

            Creating a commission

            "What they won't do is admit to a problem until they understand what it is and how many people are effected."

            In political circles, the word "stonewalling" is usually preferred.

          4. paulll

            Re: pre-release software may not be final version

            "This idea that Apple claim infalability and never change anything or admit to mistakes seems to be wholly made up by El Reg."

            So, show us where they admit to a mistake. When they changed from proprietary to commodity hardware, where's the quote where they admit they'd been doing it wrong. When they announced the mid-sized iPod touch, where's the bit where they actually say, "Ya, turns out 7" tablets aren't a 'broken' idea. Oops!" Where's the report of Jobs saying, "We'd like to apologise to our loyal customer base for selling them a comms device with a fundamentally broken antenna design." Anything?

            1. JaimieV
              Facepalm

              Re: pre-release software may not be final version

              The Maps statement of screwup.

              http://www.apple.com/letter-from-tim-cook-on-maps/

            2. paulll

              Re: pre-release software may not be final version

              Downvote appreciated, but why not *really* rub my nose in it by supplying a quote?

          5. xperroni
            Paris Hilton

            Re: pre-release software may not be final version

            It's not even unusual for APPLE to change things between the first beta and the final release (they've even been known to sneak in whole new features for new devices/hardware that is released at the same time as the code).

            I think that zeroing in on whether Apple has made changes to its products before is missing the point.

            The problem is that up to now, iOS7's design had been described by Apple (at WWDC as well as their own website) as a work of perfection. Both Apple employees and the user base faithful have copiously defended the new looks as the perfect blend of form and function, the ultimate distillation of their deep expertise in design. This included no end of patronizing the ignorant masses on how they can't "get" good design just by the looks of it, and how its true value would dawn on us when it hit shelves / update channels.

            And now they actually come out and say "oh no no no, this is not the finished version, we might still tweak it some". It's the worst kind of about-face, to be all over something and then suddenly dismiss it as a work-in-progress.

        2. Dave 126 Silver badge

          Re: pre-release software may not be final version

          Apple normally pay great heed to the old adage "Never explain, never apologise".

          1. P. Lee

            Re: pre-release software may not be final version

            > Apple normally pay great heed to the old adage "Never explain, never apologise".

            They've just forgotten to, "never let anyone see what you're doing until its done."

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Coat

        Re: pre-release software may not be final version

        Since was COMPREHENSION a requirement for Commentards? Just who do think we are? Hmmm?

        Mines the one with the copy of OS9 in the pocket.

    2. Frank Bough

      Re: pre-release software may not be final version

      You don't have to finish the coded to know what the fucking ICONS are going to look like. Honestly, what's the point of gazillion ppi screens if all you're going to do is put a garish grad across it? I want DETAILED icons not meaningless slabs and blobs (did you see the GameCenter one? WTFF?).

      Ive, stick to hardware.

  6. LPF
    Thumb Up

    sorry

    But this is a complete load of rubbish, The interface looks fine to me , bright easy to use, I think this storm is whipped up by android fans , who yet again are watching iOS leave them in its wake

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: sorry

      Hahaha, well when you think ab....actually, no. Just hahaha should suffice as an answer to that statement.

    2. SteveK

      Re: sorry

      Don't think it is 'whipped up by android fans' at all. We're (actually, I use both IOS and Android devices so don't exactly consider myself a fan of either camp) just saying welcome to the 2010s. Nice though IOS might be to use, it has looked a bit dated for the last few versions, so it's nice to see it catching up with what looks like a modern, clean interface that looks fine to me too. Ok, the colours and icons are not everyone's cup of tea but you'll never please anyone - even Apple bloggist John Gruber did say that Apple people felt the new release would be 'polarizing'...

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    mid-stride snapshot

    More like a "drunken stumble".

  8. Mr Anonymous

    User choice

    Don't use one myself, buy can't you change icons/colour scheme on an iphone?

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: User choice

      >can't you change icons/colour scheme on an iphone?

      I understand you have to 'jailbreak' it first.

      My Android phone gives me a breakdown of what uses up the battery - the screen is normally responsible for most of it. Without knowing any better, I assume that a white/bright theme would use more battery than a dark theme. Can anyone here confirm or refute this?

      I tend to use the Dolphin browser, but it has an unfortunate habit of displaying a blank white screen whilst it is waiting for a page to load.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Screen power consumption

        It depends on what sort of screen it is. For OLED you'd be right as the pixels are a load of LEDs making light. For LCD it makes less or no difference depending on the backlight tech being used. The LCD blocks the unwanted light from the backlight, so to get red you produce white in the backlight, then block the green and blue parts. The 'depending' part is because some screens have a backlight made of a bunch of LEDs that can be selectively dimmed in the darker parts of the screen, reducing power draw a bit. I think these are more common on TVs than phones though.

      2. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge

        Re: User choice

        An OLED screen will have differing power consumption depending on pixel brightness. LCD power consumption (barring zoning of the backlight) is generally dictated by backlight brightness.

      3. Lord Elpuss Silver badge
        Boffin

        @Dave 126 Re: User choice

        "...I assume that a white/bright theme would use more battery than a dark theme. Can anyone here confirm or refute this?"

        Depends on the screen tech. With a simple (one backlight) LCD it doesn't matter whether a pixel is white, black or anywhere in between. The backlight brightness is the same for the whole panel, and all the pixel switching does is effectively 'mask' the backlight to varying degrees to get different gradations between black (opaque pixel) and white (transparent pixel); so a completely white screen will use the same energy as a completely black one.

        With OLED it certainly does make a difference. Each pixel illuminates independently, so a white pixel will use energy whereas a black one will not.

        Some types of LCD also have backlight arrays where the screen is backlit in zones; a zone which is completely black generally has the backlight switched off for that zone (with the added benefit of improved contrast), whereas as soon as pixels are activated the backlight for that zone is switched on. This will save energy, the degree of saving depends on the granularity of the backlighting array. The more zones, the more energy can be saved (but the more complex & expensive the panel) As far as I'm aware this tech is not yet used in phones, although I could be mistaken.

    2. Irongut

      Re: User choice

      Why would Apple let you change the perfect icons that were designed by God, approved by Jesus and possessed with the Holy Spirit? Why would you even want to?

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