With Apple’s Jony Ive leading effort, iOS 7 could have simpler look

The next version of Apple’s mobile operating system may feature a simpler user interface now that Jony Ive, the company’s hardware design guru, is leading the team that is designing the way the software should look.

Although the changes to the look of iOS 7 are expected to be “pretty conservative,” the Apple operating system may start moving toward a more “flat design” that the Wall Street Journal reports would be “starker and simpler.” The Journal cites unnamed third-party developers who say they have spoken to Apple employees.

The changes in Apple’s software wouldn’t be unexpected. Last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook shook up his team of top executives when he forced out Scott Forstall, the man who was formerly in charge of iOS. Forstall’s responsibilities were divvied up by a number of his peers, and Ive, who is known for his iconic hardware design, received the responsibility of directing the look of Apple software user interface.

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Ive’s move toward a more simple look could be a reaction against Forstall’s use of skeuomorphic design, which is where software is made to look like objects in real life. This type of design is prevalent in many of iOS’s applications, including its address book, Calendar and the Apple Game Center, which is made to look like a casino.

Some Apple fans had begun to complain about the overuse of the skeuomorphic design, and Ive has been known to not be a fan of that design style.

Apple typically reveals the latest version of its mobile operating system each year at its Worldwide Developers Conference, so we can expect to see any design changes as soon as this summer.

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