Is Apple ditching skeuomorphic design?
Apple updates Podcasts app, swapping skeuomorphism for something closer to flat design. Is this the shape of things to come from Cupertino?
The Jony Ive era of iOS app design appears to be well underway, as Apple pulls back the skeuomorphism for its Podcasts app. Podcasts was probably the most skeumorph-laden app in Apple's locker, featuring an animated reel-to-reel analogue tape player with pleasingly (or annoyingly, depending on your point of view) realistic movement particularly when pausing and skipping backwards and forwards.
Apple has been accused of overdoing skeuomorphism (see our jargon buster on skeuomorphism for a definition) in its app design for the last two years, but since Sir Jonathan Ive was given creative control of the company's app design late last year, the mobile design world has been awaiting the first signs of a design revolution initiated by 'the new Steve Jobs'.
With flat design currently the predominant app design language, Apple's skeuomorphism has looked increasingly long-in-the-tooth. So could the new-look Podcasts be the turning point in the Cupertino company's app design, and a hint to the much-anticipated iOS7?
Liked this? Read these!
- How to build an app
- Download the best free fonts
- Adobe Photoshop CS6 hands-on review
- Create a perfect mood board with these pro tips
Is skeumorphism now officially dead? Is flat design the future? Let us know your views in the comments below...
Get the Creative Bloq Newsletter
Daily design news, reviews, how-tos and more, as picked by the editors.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
The Creative Bloq team is made up of a group of design fans, and has changed and evolved since Creative Bloq began back in 2012. The current website team consists of eight full-time members of staff: Editor Georgia Coggan, Deputy Editor Rosie Hilder, Ecommerce Editor Beren Neale, Senior News Editor Daniel Piper, Editor, Digital Art and 3D Ian Dean, Tech Reviews Editor Erlingur Einarsson and Ecommerce Writer Beth Nicholls and Staff Writer Natalie Fear, as well as a roster of freelancers from around the world. The 3D World and ImagineFX magazine teams also pitch in, ensuring that content from 3D World and ImagineFX is represented on Creative Bloq.