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 really been some flaws that he’s been responsible of. Since I can’t use Siri in Swedish it hasn’t been especially useful for me and I can’t talk of my own experience, but it seems that there has been a lot of complaints. I have used Apple Maps while finding my way from Sorunda to Täby in Stockholm and it worked splendid – so I can’t really complain about that either, except that here on Gotland we only get the streets right, but 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 a map that works, than big cities.

To me the big problem is the design of iCal and the Adress 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 was 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 is not what I expect from Apple. I expect futuristic, minimalistic, crisp and functional design. Design that stands on it own and don’t have to mimic other materials.

It’s not the first time we read critics about the leather and wood design and I think it’s the crossing point that shows if 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 experts in design. I wonder how much damage he actually has caused, measured in dollars?

Now I expect Apple to take a new grip on these skeuomorphic design elements!