Apple executives believe users will ‘love’ upcoming iOS 19 overhaul, per report – 9to5Mac
Last week, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple was planning “one of the most dramatic software overhauls” in its history. The company is currently planning a redesign for iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 – all in the name of consistency. Gurman even said that this would be the “biggest revamp since iOS 7” for iPhone and iPad, and the “most significant upgrade to the Mac since macOS Big Sur.Now, Bloomberg reports that Apple executives are “confident” that users will love this visionOS-inspired design.According to Gurman, the overhauls for iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 go “well beyond a fresh coat of paint,” and will “alter the way people interact with their devices for many years to come.”The redesigns, which will span across Apple’s biggest platforms, will take inspiration from Apple’s latest platform, visionOS:The new interfaces will adopt the design principles introduced in visionOS, the software for Apple’s Vision Pro headset. That includes greater transparency and new types of windows and buttons — and that should make all Apple devices feel more consistent and familiar.Despite being one of the biggest software overhauls in many years, Apple executives reportedly believe that users won’t take issue with it, per Gurman:Despite the risks involved in major interface changes, top Apple executives say they are confident that users will love the new look and feel. The trick is creating something that appeals both to the hundreds of millions of current users and the new customers that Apple hopes to add in the coming years.Executives believe these interfaces will be “simpler to user, faster to navigate, and easier to learn.” These new software designs will potentially set the stage for more radical hardware. That includes foldable devices and touchscreen Macs, according to Gurman.Ummm of course Apple execs are going to hype an upcoming change. That’s an extremely biased source.The reality is the most recent thing Apple redesigned was the photos app and a lot of people hated it because drastic change is annoying to adapt to.From what I’ve experienced using VisionOS there really isn’t much UX difference. Visually it’s transparent, which shows off passthrough. But aside from that it’s all the same stuff. There’s side bars, toggles, buttons, segment controls, tables, windows, toolbars. Just everything is blown up giant and put in circles because eye tracking is a widely inaccurate form of input.The only notable changes in UX is that much of the input is indirect–which is exactly the opposite of what made iOS and iPad so intuitive. While observing my friend’s kid use my Apple Vision Pro I noticed that while playing a game he kept wanting to go up and directly touch the game pieces but in some games that was kind of frustrating and harder to do than with indirect. But still his natural intuition said to touch it and it was hard for him to break that habit.I do like the augmentation and mix of direct and indirect input. When it works, it’s nice to switch back and forth as needed. It’s possible iPad or the rumored “homePad” could benefit from that. So like navigating with gaze and pinch so that you can cook without touching the screen with your food covered hands. But I think the UI would have to get larger for that to work well.Apple also aims to create consistency between all of its platforms with these new iOS, iPadOS, and macOS designs. It also aims to “adapt to an era adopted by artificial intelligence assistants, rather than people continually dipping in and out of applications.”What do you think of Apple’s upcoming software updates receiving a full overhaul? Let us know in the comments.My favorite Apple accessories on Amazon:Follow Michael: X/Twitter, Bluesky, InstagramFTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:Breaking news from Cupertino. We’ll give you t…Michael is 9to5Mac’s Weekend Editor, keeping up with all of the latest Apple news on Saturday and Sunday. He got started in the world of Apple news during the pandemic, and it became a growing hobby. He’s also an indie iOS developer in his free time, and has published numerous apps over the years.
