iOS7 a more Android customer experience

A new operating system for Apple means new devices and system upgrades for millions worldwide. Having loved every change Apple has ever delivered to the iPhone, iPod and iPad it was something to be looked forward to. Eager to see and feel the new environment I accepted the download on the day of launch, not taking a beta version ahead of time but patiently waiting for my shiny new interface. After a few days adjusting to the new OS my thoughts are not great and after an initial reaction of hate and loathing it has only mildly simmered to hate and disgust. To try and give some balance though here are my top and bottom 7 observations so far - 

The good - 

1) the multi page view of the open web pages in Safari is neat and feels lovely flicking through the pages

2) the open application finder upon double clicking the home key adds a screen grab for each icon and allows for shutting it down by swiping off the screen

3) the lock screen wallpaper with a 3d effect that pitches as you move the phone is a lovely feature and makes you want to hold your iPhone 

4) the battery life seems to have seen some improvement with more work on making the phone work efficiently extending battery life 

5) safari changes to have a single entry for the web address or search string simplifies the browser and aligns with most of the other popular interfaces 

6) exiting applications returns you to the home screen which sweeps onto the screen building up the content which is a very fluid solution 

7) the tweaks to the camera buttons make life very straight forward and you would struggle to misunderstand the usage 

The bad. Very bad - 

1) the design is appalling. Flat icons. Poor pastel colours. Over simplified arrows. Everywhere you look is now worse than before 

2) the wallpaper now bleeds into the colours on the bottom sticky banner and all the grouped icons selecting the worse possible shade based on the wallpaper 

3) the unlock screen now uses an interface last seen on the speak and spell with the most basic circles and fonts 

4) the notepad, mail and messenger now all have a basic white backdrop and almost non-existent design to the icons. If good design means less is more then this is more than ever 

5) the music player looks and feels hideous and the iMatch functionality seems to have stopped working altogether 

6) the calendar now has less function than the wall planner in my kitchen with a whiteboard wipe clean lack of anything

7) the search function now working by swiping down the middle of the screen as opposed to left from the home screen. Why?  Now making it twice as easy to select an application icon by accident. More than one step backwards. 

I love Apple products but iOS 7 is the most compelling reason I have ever had for getting a windows mobile. Sorry Apple. Far from an epic customer experience.