Amid criticism, Apple website showing off alternate iOS 7 icons
Apple Inc., which has taken flak from some users for the design of its new iOS 7 mobile platform, may have already begun making changes to the system’s look.
The company on Monday unveiled the new operating system with the biggest redesign to the iPhone’s software since the device launched in 2007.
While some welcomed the new look, others criticized it. Among the top complaints were the lack of consistency in some of the apps’ designs and the heavy use of bright, neon colors.
Apple may be listening.
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The company’s mobile website is currently displaying icons for some of Apple’s iOS 7 apps that are different from those that Apple unveiled on Monday.
Most notably, the website shows a Weather app icon that says 73 degrees in thin letters. That’s far different from the icon unveiled earlier, which shows a sun covered by a cloud. That icon has been one of the most criticized parts of the operating system, with many saying it’s too cartoonish and poorly designed.
Others complain that the cloud icon isn’t helpful and would prefer an icon that displays current information, like some other iOS 7 apps do. The new Clock app, for example, shows the current time in its icon, and many would like the weather app to show the current temperature.
Other changes visible on Apple’s website include slightly different looks for iOS 7’s Reminders, Passbook and Photos apps. Their icons, which have been criticized for being too brightly colored, have been substituted with more subtle ones.
It’s unclear if Apple plans to incorporate these new icons before the official release of iOS 7 this fall, or if someone may have simply made a mistake and put the alternate icons online by accident.
Apple could not be reached for comment.
[Update, 12:28 p.m. PDT June 14: Apple’s website has been updated and no longer displays the alternate icons.]
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