iOS 15 looks like this! Apple's official app leaks the secret: the design is better

Apple Music for Artists is a professional app for musicians and record companies, which mainly provides statistical services such as single/cumulative purchases and purchase location maps. Recently, Apple updated this app, and the most obvious change is the use of a new design style UI.

The new Apple Music for Artists app icon is simpler than the original colorful icon. It uses white as the background color and adds a small amount of shadow to create a sense of volume similar to a raised button. The center is changed from the original white to a red musical note LOGO and decorated with a sunken special effect, transforming from the original flatness to a design style between flatness and projection.

Coincidentally, the App Store Connect app, which is also aimed at professionals, adopted a similar design as early as October last year. This means that a similar design style has been adopted on the two APP icons, which inevitably aroused netizens' speculation about the iOS 15 icon design.

(The new icon is on the right, the old icon is on the left)

Since the release of iOS 7 in 2013, Apple, under the leadership of Jony Ive's design team, has changed from skeuomorphic icons to flat icon design. We have to admire Apple's appeal in the industry. Since iOS 7, a large number of Android customized systems have also turned to flat design styles. Until now, only Smartisan OS still insists on skeuomorphic design on mobile phones.

Flat icon design has been around for more than seven years since 2013. Last year, OriginOS launched by vivo seemed to be trying to start a new style of mobile phone icons. In vivo's OriginOS, some icons use a design language that is similar to flat but with embossed ridges around them. Many design practitioners call it mimicry design.

(Partial icon design of vivo OriginOS)

Apple also adopted a new icon design in the Big Sur system of Mac computers last year, canceling the previous exquisite UI icons and adopting a rounded rectangular design that is more similar to iOS/iPadOS, but there are slight differences upon closer inspection. The icons of Big Sur retain the detailed shadow parts, and the overall look is more layered, making the icons neither look shabby on the large screen nor echo the mobile system.

(The top and bottom icons are designed for iOS and macOS respectively)

Now, two apps in iOS have also departed from the flat design. Xiaolei speculates that Apple may gradually promote this new design concept, which is expected to become the new style of iOS 15 icons. As usual, iOS 15 will be released at the WWDC conference on June 7 this year. Will Apple use the new design on the mobile phone icons? Let's look forward to it!