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I'm glad someone wrote a blog post like this. It's getting to be somewhat annoying how many people are whining about Windows Phone and Android similarities. De

I'm glad someone wrote a blog post like this. It's getting to be somewhat annoying how many people are whining about Windows Phone and Android similarities. Design and engineering decisions are not made in a vacuum. Android copies from iOS and vice versa - they each follow the cultural trends of smart design. I would much rather see blog posts like this - where the author considers the iOS in its own right instead of insisting on nitpicking what's original. Now I can actually see the innovation that went into designing the iOS 7 interface. And as someone typing this comment on iOS 7 beta, I've come to a deeper appreciation of what's already in my hands. It's not helpful to accuse large design houses and engineering teams of copying each other. That's like saying supercars aren't original because they universally use sleek, aerodynamic ("sexy") design features. No, that's just what sells and what makes sense. It's a natural maturation and trend towards intelligent design. It's just iteration. It's true that touch interfaces no longer need to be "taught" really. We intuitively know that gestures will do things in the same way (and more efficiently) than buttons. It's all about reducing cluttered design and adding more functionality without reducing usable space. I'm glad we're moving towards this.

runjake 13y ago
> It's getting to be somewhat annoying how many people are whining about Windows Phone and Android similarities. Design and engineering decisions are not made in a vacuum. I agree, but the similarities are being pointed out precisely because Apple (and their major pundits like Marco and Gruber) makes a big deal about how others have borrowed ideas from them. For example, the infamous "Redmond/Mountain View, start your photocopiers" lines, and Marco/Gruber's frequent quips like "Hmm, I've seen something like this before..." in regards to something Google or Samsung has done. Apple's smugness is what's getting them, not their borrowing of ideas, itself.
- Domenic_S 13y ago
  Borrowing ideas is only a big deal if you're ripping on those you borrow from. Like if someone from Apple were to say "MS just can't do design right, Metro is terrible start to finish" and then they borrow from Metro, that's newsworthy. Following current design trends and adding a splash of your own flavor to them... that's status quo, isn't it?
  - runjake 13y ago
    You're missing the whole point of my comment. Yes, that's the status quo. But Apple's (and their pundits') history of snarky comments against this is why people are dishing this criticism. "Some of their own medicine" as it were.
    - McPants 13y ago
      It's homeopathic medicine in comparison.
    - Domenic_S 13y ago
      You're missing the point of the snarky comments though. Everyone copies everyone, that's a given. The snarky comments point out "Apple did it first" (eg multitouch phones, click wheel, etc) or point out "Apple did it best" (portable music player, etc). First/best are innovations.
  - jmduke 13y ago
    http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/RedmondStartYourPhotocopiers-300x225.jpg http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Redmon...
  - untog 13y ago
    I'd be interested to know whether the lawyers in the Apple vs Samsung 'rounded corners' court case would agree to that being the status quo.
- cromwellian 13y ago
  Worse than Apple fans going ballistic on even the tiniest similarities on something that Apple was first on, Apple, let us remember, patents designs and sues people in court for similarities. They need to be called out on this. "Everything is a remix" was brilliant in exposing Apple hypocrisy in this regard.
- cheald 13y ago
  This is it, really. There is, IMO, nothing wrong with borrowing inspiration from what your competitors do well. I think that iOS7, on the whole, is much prettier and more modern than prior versions. I think that the platform desperately needed the refresh, and if they get some of the weaker parts worked out, it's going to be a solid across-the-board upgrade for people. The thing is, Apple fan(atic)s (the pundits and those who echo them, really) love the "Apple innovates, never copies, only bad companies without any talent copy" routine, and here we have an example where Apple has pretty blatantly ripped design elements from their competitors. For the people riding the "everything Apple produces is unique and amazing" train, iOS7 is a deep betrayal specifically because it is so familiar to things that others did first.
- joeblau 13y ago
  > I agree, but the similarities are being pointed out precisely because Apple (and their major pundits like Marco and Gruber) makes a big deal about how others have borrowed ideas from them. That is the primary reason I think Apple is getting so much crap. Apple claims to be the industry leading innovators; Tim Cook even said during the D11 conference "I don't like copying. It's a values thing." in reference to Samsung patent litigation. Apple partly built it's reputation on bashing the Microsoft (Switch campaign) and Android (WWDC's and MacWorlds). Now that Apple is playing catch-up in the mobile space that they essentially pioneered, they are getting the same snide back-handed remaks that they were dishing out.
- weiran 13y ago
  It would be absurd to expect Apple not to be influenced by the rest of the industry, but the scale of the similarities by Android (compare pre- and post-iPhone Android) and especially Samsung (the Galaxy S with TouchWiz was essentially a 3GS clone) is much more than just skin deep. While iOS 7 may look more like WP and Android, anyone who uses it can tell it still feels and works like iOS. Apple harp on about how design is more than how it looks, and it especially applies in this case as it doesn't work anything like Android or WP. But use a Samsung Galaxy S, and you can immediately tell that their apps menu is a wholesale ripoff of the iPhone's Springboard with next to no effort put into differentiating or improving the original design.
prollyignored 13y ago
I love half eaten apples !
mtgx 13y ago
I think that is happening because Apple is usually the one to cry foul, and now everyone wants to expose them for the shameless hypocrisy. That is all.

runjake 13y ago

> It's getting to be somewhat annoying how many people are whining about Windows Phone and Android similarities. Design and engineering decisions are not made in a vacuum. I agree, but the similarities are being pointed out precisely because Apple (and their major pundits like Marco and Gruber) makes a big deal about how others have borrowed ideas from them. For example, the infamous "Redmond/Mountain View, start your photocopiers" lines, and Marco/Gruber's frequent quips like "Hmm, I've seen something like this before..." in regards to something Google or Samsung has done. Apple's smugness is what's getting them, not their borrowing of ideas, itself.

Domenic_S 13y ago
Borrowing ideas is only a big deal if you're ripping on those you borrow from. Like if someone from Apple were to say "MS just can't do design right, Metro is terrible start to finish" and then they borrow from Metro, that's newsworthy. Following current design trends and adding a splash of your own flavor to them... that's status quo, isn't it?
- runjake 13y ago
  You're missing the whole point of my comment. Yes, that's the status quo. But Apple's (and their pundits') history of snarky comments against this is why people are dishing this criticism. "Some of their own medicine" as it were.
  - McPants 13y ago
    It's homeopathic medicine in comparison.
  - Domenic_S 13y ago
    You're missing the point of the snarky comments though. Everyone copies everyone, that's a given. The snarky comments point out "Apple did it first" (eg multitouch phones, click wheel, etc) or point out "Apple did it best" (portable music player, etc). First/best are innovations.
- jmduke 13y ago
  http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/RedmondStartYourPhotocopiers-300x225.jpg http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Redmon...
- untog 13y ago
  I'd be interested to know whether the lawyers in the Apple vs Samsung 'rounded corners' court case would agree to that being the status quo.
cromwellian 13y ago
Worse than Apple fans going ballistic on even the tiniest similarities on something that Apple was first on, Apple, let us remember, patents designs and sues people in court for similarities. They need to be called out on this. "Everything is a remix" was brilliant in exposing Apple hypocrisy in this regard.
cheald 13y ago
This is it, really. There is, IMO, nothing wrong with borrowing inspiration from what your competitors do well. I think that iOS7, on the whole, is much prettier and more modern than prior versions. I think that the platform desperately needed the refresh, and if they get some of the weaker parts worked out, it's going to be a solid across-the-board upgrade for people. The thing is, Apple fan(atic)s (the pundits and those who echo them, really) love the "Apple innovates, never copies, only bad companies without any talent copy" routine, and here we have an example where Apple has pretty blatantly ripped design elements from their competitors. For the people riding the "everything Apple produces is unique and amazing" train, iOS7 is a deep betrayal specifically because it is so familiar to things that others did first.
joeblau 13y ago
> I agree, but the similarities are being pointed out precisely because Apple (and their major pundits like Marco and Gruber) makes a big deal about how others have borrowed ideas from them. That is the primary reason I think Apple is getting so much crap. Apple claims to be the industry leading innovators; Tim Cook even said during the D11 conference "I don't like copying. It's a values thing." in reference to Samsung patent litigation. Apple partly built it's reputation on bashing the Microsoft (Switch campaign) and Android (WWDC's and MacWorlds). Now that Apple is playing catch-up in the mobile space that they essentially pioneered, they are getting the same snide back-handed remaks that they were dishing out.
weiran 13y ago
It would be absurd to expect Apple not to be influenced by the rest of the industry, but the scale of the similarities by Android (compare pre- and post-iPhone Android) and especially Samsung (the Galaxy S with TouchWiz was essentially a 3GS clone) is much more than just skin deep. While iOS 7 may look more like WP and Android, anyone who uses it can tell it still feels and works like iOS. Apple harp on about how design is more than how it looks, and it especially applies in this case as it doesn't work anything like Android or WP. But use a Samsung Galaxy S, and you can immediately tell that their apps menu is a wholesale ripoff of the iPhone's Springboard with next to no effort put into differentiating or improving the original design.

prollyignored 13y ago

I love half eaten apples !

mtgx 13y ago

I think that is happening because Apple is usually the one to cry foul, and now everyone wants to expose them for the shameless hypocrisy. That is all.