Apple announced a major management shakeup last October that saw senior vice president of industrial design Jony Ive replace Scott Forstall as head of the human interface teams. Most believe this move would ultimately lead to a redesign of iOS and according to several people familiar with the process as reported by The Wall Street Journal, plenty of progress is being made.
Nobody would be surprised to learn that Apple is a very secretive company but sources say that even some of Apple's most esteemed iOS designers were traditionally cut out of the loop with regards to new devices their software would power. That dynamic, however, is reportedly changing as collaboration between different divisions is opening up more than ever.
One notable example of this is that Ive is now sitting in on the human interface team's review sessions in an effort to run new ideas by the team. The iOS team is currently led by Greg Christie, an Apple employee that used to be under Forstall. He is described as a blunt talker with a very different opinion on style compared to Ive. Meetings involving the two, however, have been described as pleasant and cordial.
Looking towards the future, some of the sources said Ive is pushing for a more "flat" design in the next version of iOS. This design is described as being starker and simpler but overall, any changes are expected to be pretty conservative.
Apple typically showcases new software during their Worldwide Developers Conference held each year in June. With any luck, we'll get a glimpse of what's to come and any subtle design changes at that time.