In a move that is sure to bring a puzzled grin and a shake of the head from Android and Windows Phone users, Apple made what some are calling “the most significant change” to iOS 7 in the third beta, released last night in response to pressure from designers and bloggers.
It changed a font.
Previously, Apple had been using Helvetica Neue light, but as of last night, iOS 7 is using Helvetica Neue. Designers and bloggers had been calling for the change since Apple originally released iOS 7 in June. One went so far as to call the original font choice “art school masturbation,” while Instapaper’s Marco Arment said it was “one of Apple’s biggest recurring flaws: letting cool come before functional.”
It’s so thin and barely readable, it looks like a scratch in the glass. This is not progress. This is art school masturbation.
That was not precisely what I meant when I said iOS 7 is the essence of less.
June 5th: The AI Audit in NYC
Join us next week in NYC to engage with top executive leaders, delving into strategies for auditing AI models to ensure fairness, optimal performance, and ethical compliance across diverse organizations. Secure your attendance for this exclusive invite-only event.
Here’s a side-by-side example, in the iOS 7 calendar app. The original iOS 7 beta version is on top; the new-as-of-last-night iOS 7 beta 3 version is on the bottom:
Above: iOS 7 beta 2 versus iOS 7 beta 3 fonts
In a word, Sir Jony Ive has, apparently, relented.
The entire debate may seem like an art school tempest in a teapot, but the results are clear. On my iPhone, text is clearer, more readable, more obvious. As such, it’s a good change. One of Apple’s key design goals for iOS 7 has been deference: letting data take the front seat, not interface. In other words, design for the sake of communication, not design for the sake of design.
This change, I think, is in line with that original goal.
The funny thing for Apple outsiders, however, is probably what it took for Apple to get there.
