I like iOS 7, but a lot of designers don't like it first. I want to say is the difference between visual design and interactive design.
We all agree that vision and interaction can bring about truly superior products. But what if the two choose one? Do you prefer visually gorgeous and functional, or visual but practical? No one likes this problem, people don't feel that they need to make such a choice, actually is needed. Software design is never a compromise, and better interaction always trumps better graphic design. For a product, people are more in use, rather than hanging up to appreciate.
The designer who hates iOS 7 ("ugly flat") used to hate iOS 6 ("ugly emulation"), ignoring the two releases that have some really great user experiences.
The following are the things that I think are really important, and the importance is much higher than the change of color.
Automatic Updates
The most unpleasant thing about today's smart devices is the endless update tag. I've heard that Automatic Updates have been mistaken for an "evil problem" in software. Apple has solved the problem by bringing great benefits to the iphone or Mac experience.
Control Center
There are really a lot of buttons here. However, the pattern of "unlocking the iphone and then looking for the app that needs it, then running and using it" is awkward in some special cases. Apple is dealing with real demand.
Notification Center
The iOS 6 Notification Center is a bunch of silly listings, and iOS 7 you can only focus on the last item you've been looking at, which is a welcome improvement.
Multiple tasks
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Everyone understands that people are more likely to look at the apps that have been opened than the stacks of icons. Apple has done a good job, not only visually more obvious, but also easy to understand the novice, the closure of the application is also more convenient.
Photo
Apple Desktop version of the Photo Organization tool iphoto has always been the best use. They are now porting similar techniques to mobile phones, including a view of "showing year-round photos." This inspiration stems from the fact that people are better at identifying and not good at remembering.
Safari
When browsing the reading list, read an article, reach the end of the page, and then knock again, the next article automatically loaded in. What a beautiful, detail-oriented and intelligent interactive design.
Similar features include airdrop, block phone numbers, and icloud password chains.
I remember clearly the strong objections that Apple had made to every change, and eventually found that Apple had the best overall experience in the industry. The visual effects in Apple software are not always what I like, but this is a small part of Apple's success.
Critical icon Design is the easiest, even if it is the weakest link in iOS 7, it is the easiest to fix, the most superficial part of the design. The real design focuses on all the other things that are most difficult to do correctly, and that most affect the overall satisfaction of the user.