I don’t know much about Scott Forstall. I have only read the news, but I know a lot about what it’s like to use Apple products, and there have been some serious flaws he’s been responsible for. Since I can’t use Siri in Swedish, it hasn’t been especially useful for me, and I can’t speak from my own experience, but it seems there have been many complaints. I used Apple Maps to find my way from Sorunda to Täby in Stockholm, and it worked splendidly – so I can’t really complain about that either, except that here on Gotland we only get the streets right, not the house numbers… Though Gotland is an island with 57.400 inhabitants, so we are not the biggest place, it’s understandable that we might have to wait a little longer for a map that works than in big cities.
To me, the big problem is the design of iCal and the Address Book. I quote Cult of Mac:
Yes, iOS is still an incredible product, but the skeuomorphic leather and wood grain interfaces that Forestall’s teams have added over the last two years have made iOS feel dated.
Why on earth did they make it like that? It’s not the Apple way to do it. I would be furious if I were Jony Ive. It’s remarkable that Jony hasn’t had the last say in that design! Let’s hope he gets it now. Because, really… fake leather and fake wood are not what I expect from Apple. I expect futuristic, minimalistic, crisp and functional design. Design that stands on its own and doesn’t have to mimic other materials.
It’s not the first time we’ve read criticisms of the leather-and-wood design, and I think it’s the crossroads that show whether you get the Apple way or not. (Okay, who am I to know that, really? Even so, it’s my apprehension of the Apple way) Since Forstall seems to have been so stubborn about it, it also shows that he lacked the ability to listen to design experts. I wonder how much damage he has actually caused, measured in dollars?
Now I expect Apple to take a new grip on these skeuomorphic design elements!
