Farewell Skeuomorphism: iBooks Gets an iOS 7 Update

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By Christina Warren2013-11-15 19:11:49 UTC

In addition to releasing a minor update to iOS 7, Apple on Thursday upgraded its iBooks app, giving it an iOS 7 visual overhaul.

When iOS 7 launched back in September, a few Apple apps not built-into the OS kept their classic skeuomorphic designs. Over the last two months, Apple has updated the bulk of those apps — most notably including major updates to the iWork and iLife app suites.

See also: 7 Ways to Stop iOS 7 From Killing Your iPhone Battery

The new iBooks app is visually similar to iBooks on OS X Mavericks. It eschews the Delicious Library-esque bookshelves in exchange for a flat design that matches iOS 7's Newsstand app.

Compare the old version of iBooks (top) with the new version (bottom):

Although I appreciate that the new design aesthetic matches the rest of the OS, I won't lie — I miss some of the details that made the original iBooks apps so much fun.

Fortunately, some of that whimsy still remains in iBooks and Apple's patented page-turn animations remain in place.

Image: Apple; Screenshot: Apple, taken by Mashable

Topics: apple, Apps and Software, iBooks, iOS 7, Mobile, Tech