WWDC App

This morning I downloaded the new WWDC App from Apple to help me get the best out of the conference next week. Although Apple will be keeping everything to themselves about the new update from iOS 7, we think they’ve let slip through the app a few hints and clues as to what we can expect from iOS.

The app itself is flat. You’ve probably heard that iOS is planning to become flatter software, and we think the obviousness of the flat app highlights how flat the new iOS 7 software is actually going to be.

To my surprise the drop shadows are more restrained, with a tighter gradient. This is true across all of the User Interface (UI) elements, but in a flat design, it can become especially important when having more than one layer, as when the schedule grid disappears under the date layer.
I knew flat was coming, but this is the first glimpse of ‘Apple flat’, which should be said, it looks a lot like Google.

A more of a subtle change is the loss of the shadow in the icon bottom row. Now, instead of squaring off an icon, the app just highlights the icon itself. iOS has always been a rather boxy, regimented UI, but this particular design is way more open, even when compared with the confines of 2012’s app. This could carry over to a more open-feeling iOS in general.

This is just an appetiser; the main course can be consumed on June 10th. I can’t wait. However, this sneak peak is still encouraging. It succeeds in a clean, crisp and functional new iOS facing.