Shortly after the release of iOS 7 back in September, it became apparent that some users were experiencing motion sickness and nausea, attributable to the various new animations Apple had applied with its largely-altered software. Supposed to give the revamped iOS 7 a touch of finesse, it proved, quite literally, to be a headache for some, but with the update to iOS 7.1 earlier on this week, the issues related to parallax and zooming animations appear to have been addressed.
We knew for quite a while in the run-up to iOS 7 that Jony Ive and his design team had some big plans for the company’s mobile software, and the predicted flatter, brighter aesthetic proved quite the departure from the skeuomorphism of iOS 6. But while the vast majority of users seemed happy with the new look, some complained that the way in which various screens, menus and UI elements transitioned was leaving them with symptoms ranging from vertigo and nausea to dizziness.
While the issue only seemed to affect a small portion of iOS 7 users, Apple has still sought to refine the system, bringing a bunch of new options that allow an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch owner to tone down the animations. Tim Cook’s men first came through with the Reduce Motion setting in iOS 7.0.3, but with iOS 7.1, another couple of additional changes have been introduced in the continued effort to make the OS more accessible to all.
With the Reduce Motion feature activated, iOS now uses cross-fade effects as opposed to sliding and zooming, which is notably easier on the eye, and should reduce the likelihood of users feeling dizzy. The enhancement to Reduce Motion goes a step further, removing parallax backgrounds while also refining the way scrolling works within the Messages app.
So, whether the animations have been causing you to feel a little sick, or perhaps you just prefer the iOS experience without them, you’re no longer forced to deal with them. It’s great to see, even with the introduction of features like CarPlay and the numerous improvements to the Siri voice assistant, that Apple has taken care of some of the smaller details, and with some notable enhancements to the Calendar, iTunes Radio and other minor touch-ups, iOS 7.1 is definitely worth picking up if you haven’t already.
(Source: TheGuardian)
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