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Email and Calendar apps tipped for revamp in Ive's iOS 7

Apple is risking delays with sweeping changes to iOS, new rumours regarding Jony Ive's supposed revamp suggest.

Luke Westaway Senior editor
Luke Westaway is a senior editor at CNET and writer/ presenter of Adventures in Tech, a thrilling gadget show produced in our London office. Luke's focus is on keeping you in the loop with a mix of video, features, expert opinion and analysis.
Luke Westaway
2 min read

Yet more rumours are swirling concerning the next version of Apple's mobile software, as reports suggest a sweeping software revamp risks putting iOS 7 behind schedule.

Bloomberg reports that Apple's new software chief Jony Ive is shunning the semi-realistic stylings that currently fill iOS in favour of a sweeping software overhaul.

Citing those pesky 'people familiar with the matter', the report says that Ive is investigating Apple's email and calendar apps, with dramatic changes said to be on the cards.

That chimes with recent rumours that the knighted design guru is taking a controlling position on the new version of iOS. Ive is said to be pursuing a 'flat' look for the upcoming update, which could shun the faux-3D effects and virtual gloss that have adorned the iPhone's operating system since its debut in 2007.

The man credited with designing the iPhone is also said to be reviewing new stylings for apps, in an effort to avoid releasing software that turns out to be rubbish, as happened last year when the fruit-flavoured firm released its disastrous iOS 6 Maps app.

Meanwhile Apple is reportedly trying to squeeze its Maps software app into real-life cars, along with its Siri voice-controlled assistant.

There are plenty of features I'd like to see introduced to iOS, chief among them a rudimentary file system and an easy way to change settings from the homescreen. Any changes Apple makes will be risky, however, as a big part of iOS' appeal lies in its brutal simplicity -- if the iPad is no longer so simple that a cat can use it, will people still be tempted to buy?

What do you want to see in iOS 7? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.