In a recent post, Instapaper founder and iOS developer Marco Arment writes about iOS 7 as a Defense. Since its release in 2007, iOS has been widely imitated—particularly by Android and most notably by Samsung. Patents not withstanding, much of the iOS look and feel became the de facto smartphone look and feel. So six years in, what is Apple supposed to do? Give people something else to imitate!
The difference with iOS 7 is that the iPhone and iPad’s hardware detects movements and subtly shifts the position of the different user interface (UI) layers to create the illusion of depth inside the phone relative to the user. And this is not only in the home screen where the icons seem to float above the plane of the background image, but also in the 3D browser tabs in the new version of mobile Safari. As you tip the phone back and forth you can actually see the plane of each tab shifting to reveal more or less of the contents of the tab.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
