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Comment by robotmay | Hacker News Reader

I don't really understand what this article is saying or if there's any point to it. It reads like a lot of overly grandiose back-patting with very little substance.

How is the iOS7 redesign different to that of Android and Windows Phone redesigns? Is it just so awe-inspiring and amazing because Apple did it?

I thought people were starting to get past having a verbal orgasm every time Apple did anything and were instead ready to treat them like any other company. I guess we're not quite there yet.

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  > How is the iOS7 redesign different to that of Android
  > and Windows Phone redesigns?

Which specific redesigns are you talking about? As for iOS 7 redesign, it is interesting, because it goes deep. Apple changes the way it thinks (and iOS devs should think) about the UI and the application contents. Content now receives the most prominent position and UI chrome goes into background. Apple also promotes the "depth" (anyone calling iOS redesign "flat" has no idea that they is talking about and is not worth listening). With the concept of depth interaction and navigation patterns will also change. Make no mistake, this redesign is not superficial and it will bring a lot of interesting things in the future.

Well the Windows Phone redesign (Windows Phone 7 & 8) was equally significant, if not more so, as a design direction change for Microsoft. And there are certainly similarities between WP7/8 and iOS7.

Android perhaps less significant as that has been a set of gradual changes, but the actual design language in the latest version of Android is starkly different to the first release.

The new look of Microsoft mobile OS (whatever they do call that UI now) received a lot of attention too.

Oh no doubt, it just didn't generate anywhere near the same amount of very vocal crymaxing.

I think the article is referring more to the fact that all the changes shown were done in ~7 months. He's marvelling less at the result, and more at the fact that a huge organization like Apple can seem to pivot so hard and quickly. Thinking about that makes him wonder how, or if, his own team could pull of such a feat... hence it being Rorschach test since it makes you introspective.

Out of curiosity, why wouldn't you consider their redesign "flat"?

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