iOS 7 is here. The latest update to Apple's mobile operating system is incredibly wide-ranging, and while apps don't always act differently, they absolutely always look different. The new version of iOS famously dumps the textures and buttons of previous versions in favor of a cleaner, "flatter" design more in tune with the current design zeitgeist.
You can read all about the new look and the new features in our massive iOS 7 review, but sometimes showing is better than telling. Below we've included around two dozen sets of pictures comparing the new, redesigned iOS 7 and its apps to their old, skeuomorphic iOS 6 predecessors. Whether you like the new design or not, one thing is clear: these are some of the biggest changes Apple has made to the look and feel of iOS since it was launched back in 2007.
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The lock screen shows off iOS 7's love of thinner fonts, clean lines, and transparency.Andrew Cunningham
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The new Home screen shows off the new, flatter icons and the lack of drop shadows.Andrew Cunningham
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Spotlight and the new keyboard (which works pretty much like the old keyboard).Andrew Cunningham
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The Settings menu. Again, it's all flat lines, bright colors, and lack-of-pinstripes.Andrew Cunningham
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Buttons throughout the OS lose texture and gradients in favor of something a little more abstract.Andrew Cunningham
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If you use your iPhone as, well, a phone, things in the Phone app look different but work the same way.Andrew Cunningham
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No more glassy iMessage bubbles.Andrew Cunningham
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The new Mail comes with several useful sorting options, plus a few more hidden behind that Edit button.Andrew Cunningham
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The Calendar in monthly view. The iOS 7 Calendar also includes yearly and weekly/daily views.Andrew Cunningham
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The new Safari's top and bottom bars can shrink and disappear (respectively), leaving more room for the page you're looking at.Andrew Cunningham
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You can't tell from this shot, but the Weather app is actually animated now. If it's raining, it will be raining in the app, and so on.Andrew Cunningham
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Notes becomes much simpler, but skeuomorphism isn't completely gone: its white texture still looks a bit like a sheet of paper.Andrew Cunningham
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The Calculator app in particular is very Windows Phone.Andrew Cunningham
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The Clock app, like so many others, gets flattened and simplified.Andrew Cunningham
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The Camera app loses some buttons and picks up some gesture-based controls.Andrew Cunningham
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Passbook's corners get less rounded and the passes have less texture, but really things look pretty similar here. The app also has a new feature that lets you scan in cards with your device's camera.Andrew Cunningham
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That's one serious new Compass. The iOS 7 compass also has a second screen that allows the phone to function as a spirit level of sorts.Andrew Cunningham
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Voice Memos. "But if there's no microphone, how will people know what the app is for?"Andrew Cunningham
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Newsstand loses that faux-bookshelf look and can be nested in another folder, but oddly enough you can no longer see thumbnails of your icons without actually opening Newsstand up.Andrew Cunningham
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The Stocks app. One effect of the Great Flattening is that contrast is often much greater in iOS 7 than it was previously.Andrew Cunningham
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The iTunes store changes not one whit, aside from the redesigned buttons.Andrew Cunningham
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And then there was much rejoicing, for the green Game Center felt was no more.Andrew Cunningham
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The way the app works is still very similar, though.Andrew Cunningham
Listing image by Andrew Cunningham
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