Why Wine is not more popular then Beer- iOS 7 UI first impressions

iOS 7 was just announced by Apple to the developer community at their WWDC last week. It sported a huge change to the skeuomorphic design  that all previous versions of iOS had. For the uninitiated, skeupmorphism means that the UI looks like real-world objects even if it does not have the same functional meaning. It's the reason iPhone's notes application is designed like a yellow legal pad or the game center is like a casino.  iOS 7 basically has got rid of this!! Modern Ux Designers believe that skeuomorphism restricts usability by making people think of objects in ways they are not. They also believe that a lot of younger folks won't enjoy the parallel to real-world objects like Analog Clocks or Legal Pads!! 

iOS 7 replaces skeuomorphism with a layered , simpler , cleaner(in their minds) look that gets out of the way and makes usability better. They have also added a number of improvements, to the apps like calendar, game center etc. and also have a new simpler color palette. 

My Verdict:- Brilliant Ux, Great Improvements but you have just killed the iOS Experience?

If this sounds a bit dichotomous, let me explain my reasons for the same:-

Great Ux Design:-  Some of the apps designed in a skeuomorphic faishon were just awful. This includes Notes, iCal(On Mac) and Game Center. By changing the way they look and work Apple just did everyone a favor.

After playing with iOS 7 for a while, I do admit that a flatter look is less intrusive functionally and using text instead of buttons sometimes makes me feel that it's better for usability overall.

Overall, the entire UX community is united in saying that this is the best design yet.

This is where we miss Steve Jobs:-

This is where I think Apple lacks the genius of Steve Jobs. Johnny Ive, is singularly talented and has done as good a job of iOS 7 as Picasso did in his best paintings.

The Problem:- Picasso's painting is not a mass-market item.

The USP of the iPhone has been it's Glitz, it's instant appeal and the fact that: It looked different and a cut above the rest.

The new iOS-7 makes iPhone looks just like an Android Phone or even worse a Windows 8 Phone(After all Windows 8 pioneered the flat look).

Remember, it only looks like an Android/Windows Phone, functionally it has got even more power and  great new API's and capabilities. Some of the apps too have become much more intuitive.

However, people only buy iPhones based on the glitz they see in the first 10-15 seconds of using them. So, never mind the usability, people will just stop buying this since they don't get the "feel".

In 2010 when iPads first launched, whenever people came to me and asked tablet I should buy, I said- iPad. They countered with Android's features like USB, Openness etc. etc. I simply gave them an iPad and asked them to spend a night playing with it. I demoed basic options and apps. One demo of iBooks and the Page Flip effect or the lovely glossy icons and their jaws would drop. Invariably 90% bought an iPad. But they hardly used it for more than a week.

The constant feedback was that people were buying apps, they were buying iPads, but they were not using it for extended periods of times. 90% of apps don't get used more than once after install with 40% not even opening after install. Clearly, Apple's teams were working to solve this problem.

But in doing this, they have removed the very incentive for people to buy these devices-1.) To show off how great and unique they are.

People are now going to look at an iDevice and say, hmm...I saw a similar look and feel for the windows phone and it works so much better as it has better device memory, open CPU's etc. Maybe, I will just use windows or Android or Blackberry.....

Hence, the main mistake Johnny Ive and Tim Cook have done is this. They have assumed any great design will be liked by the masses. If this was true, Wine would be more popular than Beer. This is what  Steve Jobs got. There is a difference between buying and using. People, buy on glitz and glamor. not on simple usability.

The blogosphere has in-general given positive reviews to iOS. However, a quick sentiment analysis has shown that 25%  of the material of the new UI is negative. Given, that most people who do these blogs are technology folks, these results are academic.

The true test will come when people start upgrading to iOS 7 whenever Apple releases it. Apple, watch out I think you have just had your Vista Moment!!!