Apple Faces Race Against Time To Finish iOS 7 – Report

Apple is reportedly facing a race against time to get iOS 7 ready to preview at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June as Sir Jonathan Ive makes his mark on the operating system.

Ive is currently making radical changes to iOS as part of his expanded role to oversee the look and fall of Apple products, meaning that many features that would typically be tested in February are more than a month behind schedule.

Standard applications such as calendar and email have barely changed since iOS was debuted in 2007, and Ive is favouring flatter design elements that will give iOS a more unified and less cluttered appearance.

iOS 7 delays

Ive hopes that his revamp will avoid disasters like the critically panned Apple Maps application that was released in iOS.  It is believed that some of the bigger changes, such as email, might not even be ready this year.

Apple has drafted in software engineers from its Mac team to assist with development, as it has done with previous versions, including iOS 1.0, and there is no suggestion that iOS 7 won’t be ready in time for a September release, most likely alongside a new iPhone.

However internal deadlines are apparently much later than in previous development cycles, indicative of the more collaborative approach employed by Tim Cook. While his predecessor Steve Jobs would insist on features he thought were important, Cook has encouraged the software and hardware teams to work together.

It was announced yesterday that the original iPhone, the first device to run iOS, is to be declared ‘obsolete’ from June 2013, meaning that Apple will refuse to service or repair the smartphone. The notable exception is California, where it has attained ‘vintage’ status.

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