New iCloud calendar.. WTF?

[globalist]

Can anyone explain to me, how the most valuable company in the world, with basically unlimited resources at their disposal and years of experience under their belt, can go from this design of a Calendar:

to this one?

 

[Julien]

You haven't heard? Apple is running short on cash and can't afford the leather hides anymore.

 

[globalist]

The new ui is hideous. Apple had a perfectly nice and very popular ui, with almost no complaints from any user, but decided to change it because design school professors cried "skeumorphism" and certain people pooped their pants.

 

[in4fun]

1. if I have to look twice to make sure it really is the 28th on the new calendar then this is definitely a design failure

2. it's all good & clean but it lacks substance - not to mention heart & soul

overall I think we're just going with the current zeitgeist and I really do appreciate the new look but I think it also could have been so much more - if only done right

 

[rocknblogger]

1. if I have to look twice to make sure it really is the 28th on the new calendar then this is definitely a design failure

2. it's all good & clean but it lacks substance - not to mention heart & soul

overall I think we're just going with the current zeitgeist and I really do appreciate the new look but I think it also could have been so much more - if only done right

This +1xxxx. A calendar must be readable "at a glance". If I have to stop and make sure I'm looking at the right date[em] or [/em]if the date has a scheduled event or appointment, then yes it is a failure.

I for one don't have much of a problem with iOS 7 or flat design but it has to maintain its usefulness functionality. I also think they could have done so much more with this and it is the first time since Jobs' death that I believe he would not have approved of all of the current design decisions. His attention to the smallest detail is what set Apple apart from every other company.

I remember hearing a story that he called some CEO or other at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning about the design of an icon. I'm sorry I don't remember the exact details but it was a seemingly a minor thing that Jobs asked him to change. But that change made a difference. It's all these small seemingly minor details that when put together can ruin an otherwise world class design and organization.

 

[Daysight]

I'm very tolerant of Apple and a big fan, but I agree, I didn't like the iOS 7 calendar at all and ended up buying Calendar 5. Simply found it to difficult to use. Hard to read and awkward interface. And what's with the jarring red? Glad the skeumorphism is gone though.