Separated from the interview given in Businessweek, Jony Ive and Craig Federighi they talked with the USA Today newspaper about removing skeuomorphism from iOS 7, the megapixel war and the future of iOS. Ive claims that the elimination of skeuomorphism gave him the freedom to create something new, original for iOS 7, the team within Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), concluding that users have become accustomed to touch screens long enough, so that the user interface does not have to resemble the real world so much. Continuing, the two say that the development of a translucent Notifications Center offers users a completely new perspective on the software they use, the Retina Display allowing the team to eliminate the shadow effects implemented to hide the limitations of previous screens.
When we sat down last November (to work on iOS 7), we understood that people had already become comfortable with touching glass, they didn't need physical buttons, they understood the benefits. So there was an incredible freedom in not having to refer to the physical world so literally. We were trying to create an environment that was less specific. It got design out of the way. Look at that. The lovely thing about translucency is you're not sitting there going, 'Where have I just been taken?' because your world is still there. Before, the shadowing effect we used was a great way to distract from the limitations of the display. But with a display that's this precise, there's nowhere to hide. So we wanted a clear typography.
Speaking about cameras, the two suggest that at the moment companies are interested in implementing cameras with as many megapixels as possible in smartphones, ignoring the fact that they have no real benefits for users. Apple focuses on providing the best possible experience for recording photos, but also on providing photos that are as real as possible, and the camera in the iPhone 5S brings the company one step closer to making perfect photos.
This is terribly important and at the heart of what we do. We care about how to design the inside of something you'll never see, because we think it's the right thing to do.
Asked what he would do if he were to leave the Apple company at some point, Jony ive did not give a direct answer to those to whom he gave the interview, but made it clear that his work is just beginning within the Apple company. Still joking with the USA Today journalist, Ive said that he would like to design mugs, but we know for sure that we won't see something like that at Apple.
Look at that chair, we understand it because its form and function are the same thing, which is how the manufactured world has been for hundreds of years. And then incredibly and relatively recently, there's this opportunity but with a set of problems to create objects whose forms don't hint at what they do. And they're packed with incredible sophistication and capability. It all feels so new and all-consuming. It feels like we're just getting started. I'd like to design cups.
