Apple wants to make it easier for its customers to navigate through the phone and control the devices.
Apple is getting ready to make the biggest software makeover in the company’s history, completely changing the interface for its iPhone, iPad, and Mac for the new generation of customers.
The redesign is set for later this year. The company will change the look of the operating systems by changing the system buttons, windows, programs, menus, and icons. It will make all the software platforms more consistent in Apple.
The company is making it easier for its customers to navigate through the phone and control the devices. Apple’s design inspiration was Vision Pro’s software.
Apple is betting that this breakthrough new interface will make its customers go crazy, which will help boost demand after having a sluggish demand for its phones lately.
Its sales were slow after a spike in technology spending during the pandemic, and now, it is gaining its momentum back. The iPhone is Apple’s biggest money-maker. There was a sharp decline in sales during the most recent holiday season.
The new updates will be part of iOS 19 and iPadOS 19, nick-named Luck, and macOS 16, code-named Cheer. They go far beyond aesthetic tweaks and new design language. The new software update will be the biggest update to the Mac since the 2020 release of the Big Sur operating system, and for the iPhone, it is a makeover since iOS 7 in 2013.
The updates will be the show’s star at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June and could help distract the turbulent push into artificial intelligence (AI). Last week, Apple postponed its AI updates for the Siri digital assistant.
The main goal of this revamp is to make various operating systems of the iPhone appear more uniform and similar. Right now, the applications, icons, and window design look different across macOS, iOS, and visionOS, making it difficult to hop from one device to another.
Still, the company will not combine its operating system, which other tech giants would have done. They believe Macs and iPads are better when their operating systems are separate.
There might be a slight artful ploy behind it. Now, it can push its customers to buy both smartphones rather than just one.
The US company created visionOS for its mixed reality headset, a device that combines virtual and augmented reality. The product has not done well in the market since its debut last year, but it has some creative features that will extend to other Apple devices.
VisionOS differs from iOS and macOS in terms of circular app icons, a more straightforward approach to Windows layout, transparent navigation panels, and more emphasis on 3D depth and shadows.
But, the Vision Pro’s more immersive experience and hand gesture interface means some features would not work in the 2D world of iOS and macOS.
The company’s software engineering organization and user interface team within Apple’s larger design group prioritized the design upgrade.
Alan Dye, a long-term Apple executive who has previously worked with fashion brands, manages software design for Apple. Design leader Jony Ive hired him more than ten years ago to help create iOS 7 and the operating system for the Apple Watch.
After Jony Ive left Apple in 2019, Dye gained prominence. He manages over 300 employees, who decide how software functions, looks, and sounds.
Dye reports to the chief operating officer, Jeff Williams, and collaborates with Molly Anderson, the executive in charge of industrial and hardware design.
Apple still feels it, even after Ive, the legendary design expert, left the company. Many designers left the door after him, and some even joined his company, LoveFrom. The design department also suffered from morale issues, with some staff members complaining about an overbearing and less innovative work culture.
Apple’s hallmark has been creating simple, user-friendly, simple interfaces for four decades since the Mac. So, this design innovation can cause some backlash.
The company has more than 2 billion users. They rely on devices for business, communication, and play. Thousands of people complained when Apple updated its Photos app last year. The stakes are higher when the entire operating system is changing.
