When Phil Schiller (Senior Vice President – Worldwide Marketing, Apple Inc.) took to the stage at WWDC 2013 and exclaimed “Can’t innovate any more, my ass.” amid huge applause – the future looked promising. But when iOS 7 was later revealed in enough detail, there were doubts about the word ‘innovate’ used by Phil. Innovate, really? Apple iOS 7 for all practical purposes looks like a mash-up of other mobile operating systems including Windows Phone 8, Blackberry and Android.
The icons appear flatter reminding one of Microsoft’s Modern UI concept. You can now swipe your finger from the left edge, to go to the previous screen. This feature comes directly from BlackBerry 10. Apple Music looks strangle familiar to Google Music. There are other Android features which look familiar iOS 7’s interface. The color scheme of Calendar, Safari’s UI and web page panels look Chrome-like, etc.
Let’s see a comparison photo. Check the similarity to Windows Phone design elements.
Apple indeed opted for a more flat design including bits of transparency and got rid of faux for a completely modern approach but after playing around on the iOS 7 platform, Windows Phone users will definitely throw up their hands leaving no doubt about its ‘closeness’ to the Windows Phone platform. Striking resemblance! Mere co-incidence? I don’t think so. Inspired by the Windows Phone platform? Hey of course!
About iOS 7, Apple says “The mobile OS from a whole new perspective”. I’d say “The mobile OS from a whole new Windows Phone perspective.”
The screen visible upon an incoming call is a dead give-away.
You love the multi-tasking way in iOS 7? Well, Windows Phone users have been doing it the same way much before you.
Not to forget the fact that Microsoft’s search engine Bing now powers Apple’s virtual assistant, Siri instead of Google meaning that all queries through Siri will now be primarily tracked through Bing. This isn’t news exactly as Bing is the default search engine for the Windows Phone platform with handsets even sporting a dedicated search button on screen. Bummer!
Apple’s iOS 7 is a refreshing change from its previous versions (the new changes are the largest design changes ever seen on the iOS platform) but there is no hiding the fact that it is indeed inspired by the Windows Phone Platform (the design bosses at Redmond must be smiling).
I will have to agree if a Windows Phone user, after playing around with the iOS 7 platform, quotes Phil Schiller and exclaims:
“You call that innovation, Apple? My ass”
Apple sure seems to believe in what Steve Jobs once said: Good artists copy, great artists steal!
http://youtu.be/CW0DUg63lqU
Image Source: WPCentral.
