Millions of users daily drive an iPhone in the world today. No matter how heated the competition is throughout the years, Apple’s beloved smartphone would always find a way to stand out from the bunch and keep its userbase happy. The core of that amazing experience that keeps its users from switching away has always been its operating system – the iOS.
iOS did not started as “iOS” before June 2010, it was actually initially branded as the iPhone OS, which is the operating system of the first iPhone launched on January 9, 2007. The OS was an reimagination of the form factor of a phone with a skeuomorphic design philosophy that naturally guides the user to get used to interacting with their device. Although facing controversies, the iPhone took off, and iPhone OS became one of the biggest software revolutions in the past 20 years.
With that level of success, Apple’s ambition grew. The iPhone OS was also installed on the 2007 iPod Touch and the 2010 iPad, and with so many devices now driven by the OS, it would get a rebrand to iOS with the launch of the iPad, the name that most people know of today.
iOS is a robust operating system with inherently smooth animations and reliable feature sets, but its true strength lies within its role as a platform. On June 2008, the App Store was launched on iPhone OS devices, the joining of 3rd-party developers has enriched the ecosystem that has truly made the iOS powerful. Last year, CNBC analysis suggested that Apple’s App Store grossed more than $64 billion in 2020, based on its usual 30% commission rate. It is unquestionably the most successful business that Apple does now.
Besides how the role of the OS changed, what is more immediately noticeable is its bold change in interface design with the launch of iOS 7. Even to this date, I still remember the excitement of me installing iOS 7 on my second generation iPad, it almost felt like stepping into the new age. The transition from the classic skeuomorphic design to a new minimalistic, flat design took the design world by storm and made everyone follow suit.
The iOS could be called a true revolution, the change in its design philosophy was one of the most significant factors that has shaped the design world as we know of today, and its successes of establishing the OS as a platform paved the path for so many services and software alike.
Citations:
https://www.appledystopia.com/news/a-complete-history-of-ios/
