Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference is slowly inching closer with every passing day, and the company's CEO Tim Cook is now on the record saying what many have been waiting to hear: iOS 7 will be making an appearance, and designer Jony Ive is hard at work on it.
Additionally, Cook stated that, going forward, Apple's tough stance on third-party customization is likely to soften a little, though you shouldn't get your hopes up for Facebook Home.
Speaking at the AllThingsD D11 conference (via The Verge), Cook said the reason Ive is the man behind iOS 7's redesign is that Apple "recognized that Jony had contributed significantly to the look and feel of Apple over many many years and could do that for our software as well." He also added that Ive is "absolutely incredible," which surely made the decision to bring him onboard pretty easy.
Recent reports indicate that Ive is leaving no area of iOS untouched. He is sifting through the entire operating system, retouching aspects and leaving his signature on every facet while also keeping things familiar for experienced users.
It'll be interesting to see how the project turns out, especially since Ive has reportedly opted to remove the OS' curved and glossy look. Instead, iOS 7 is expected to go with an approach that places heavy emphasis on flat design rounded out by black and white interface touches. Cook called Ive "really key" to the iOS 7 redesign, and if these rumors are to be believed, that would definitely seem to be the case.
The topic of third-party customization was also broached, since competitors like Android give users significantly more control over the OS than Apple does. Cook said that while Apple would probably allow third parties more opportunities to add features to the iPhone, it won't be to the extent that Android does.
"On the general topic of opening up APIs, I think you'll see us open up more in the future, but not to the degree that we put the customer at risk of having a bad experience," he said, according to another report by The Verge. "So there's always a fine line to walk there, or maybe not so fine."
Even Facebook Home was brought up, with D11 host Walt Mossberg bringing up speculation that Apple actually turned down Facebook's software skin. Cook didn't come close to commenting on the rumor, but he did say that he understands some users want to have customization options available.
"We think the customer pays us to make choices on their behalf," he said. "I've see some of these settings screens, and I don't think that's what customers want. Do some want it? Yes."
Does that mean Facebook Home won't be making it's way to iOS in the future? Cook didn't outright deny it, but he didn't seem very receptive to the idea, adding he doesn't think that's an area the two companies will work together in.
