12 hours with iOS 7: First Impressions

It is invitingly cool but familiarly cold. The move away from real world icons (skeuomorphism) to more abstract flatter ones, right now is still a bit off-putting for me. It prevents or slows down emotional connection. That is what was great about iOS and the Mac itself. Subtly familiar but digital. Now it is overtly digital, and in turn overtly unfamiliar. It is almost like experiencing one's parents getting major plastic surgery...

Connection is what Jobs understood. That was his genius. How to make the impersonal (code, computers, etc.) lovable. iOS 7 moves us away from that. Now it has to perform before even being close to loved because nothing is humanly familiar. That is not to say I dislike it. The more I use it, the more I appreciate it. However, it is different. Like a friend you grew up with who moved away for several years and is now back in the neighborhood. It is nice to see that person, again, but wow, have things changed!

As with any adjusted relationship, only time will decrease those inherently awkward moments as you get to know each other better. Thankfully, the more you get to know iOS 7, the more you find to like about it. Even if it does remind you of Ghost in the Shell. New cybernetic body same person? Or if you upgraded, like most, same body, different person?!

Welcome to the future.