As is almost always the case when Apple launches new products or software, the web is talking. Except this time there’s a backlash surrounding something that Apple has historically been an industry leader in: Design. The social uproar is focusing on the new iOS 7 UI design – specifically the home screen icons. Many predicted that Apple would be taking the general UI of iOS in a flatter direction, beginning the process of putting to bed their long history with skeuomorphism. And they did. They went all the way. Some are saying Apple and legendary designer Jony Ive took things too far, but of course that (as always) is up for debate.

Some of Apple’s iOS 7 Screenshots

Before diving into all of the back and forth below, here’s what all the fuss is about.

The Social Response

If you’re like me it’s easy to become enamored with Apple’s presentation. After looking at the images above you may be drooling but the tweets/critiques below do their best to decry and pick apart everything they believe is wrong with the new iOS 7 update.

@om without having played with it: visually it lacks affordances and a clear visual hierarchy. Happy to chat.

— Gino Zahnd (@gino) June 11, 2013

 

Multitasking, tabs, Control Center, AirDrop, and general interactions are looking fantastic in iOS 7. But wow, the ugly stick.

— Jason Santa Maria (@jasonsantamaria) June 10, 2013

 

You gotta wonder if they took their phones outside and looked at all that thin-lined icon + transparency stuff in the sunlight.

— Josh Brewer (@jbrewer) June 10, 2013

 

An interesting observation: designers who have actually done any mobile OS design work really seem to dislike iOS7. /cc @om

— Sami Niemelä (@samin) June 11, 2013

 

@om Icons seem poorly designed and over-complicated. Not enough spacing. Color palate is extreme. Menus like Control Center seem cluttered.

— Matt Galligan (@mg) June 11, 2013

 

@om on purely visual level it feels unfinished and not that well designed. Helvetica Neue Ultra Light is a weird choice for type, too.

— Sami Niemelä (@samin) June 11, 2013

 

Am I alone in thinking the iOS 7 home screen icons look ugly, poorly balanced, and of an unattractive color palate? twitter.com/mg/status/3442…

— Matt Galligan (@mg) June 11, 2013

 

@om I think it’s really just the icons. The apps themselves look decent. I’d rather the icons have no gradient than look like they do.

— Andrew Burwell (@Raddock) June 11, 2013

 

The feedback isn’t all bad though. Here are some people who think Apple is headed in the right direction.

Apple designers and engineers: you should be proud. Herculean task to redesign and re-imagine your entire OS. Respect.

— Cap Watkins (@cap) June 10, 2013

 

The good news: the new UX is a big improvement and the UI skin can be iterated and polished over time #iOS7 #WWDC13

— Ben Cline (@yocline) June 11, 2013

 

@mike_ftw @om There’s work to do; no question (looking at it, a shit ton, for what it’s worth). But the general direction is the right one.

— Raphael Schaad (@raphaelschaad) June 11, 2013

 

Dribbble Redesigns

In a collective bout of impotent rage (again, mostly over the icons) many designers took to Dribbble to vent their frustrations via icon redesigns. Here is a sampling…

What Do You Think?

Personally, I’m not as worked up over these changes as many of the designers featured above seem to be. Could the icons be better? Absolutely. Are the icons the most important aspect of the new design? No. In fact, as designer Joshua Sortino points out in his new post on medium, this new direction is (most likely) just the first step in creating a quicker design iteration cycle that over time will lead to an exponentially better user experience. That wouldn’t be possible if Apple hadn’t drastically simplified.

But maybe that’s just me…

What do you think?