Mikey Campbell
Apple's latest iOS 11 beta release, issued on Monday, contains a few graphical tweaks that bring a fresh feel to the operating system, including a new Maps icon that appears to feature Apple Park's main "spaceship" structure.
Seen above in an image of old and new iOS icons aggregated by iCulture, the new Maps asset appears to show a car indicator passing over Interstate 280 as it heads north on Wolfe Road past Apple Park. A corner of Apple's circular office building can be seen in the top-right corner of the icon.
First-party app icon updates are relatively rare for Apple, though the company consistently releases major software revisions with each new version of iOS. The Maps icon goes beyond the usual graphical adjustments, however, and represents something of an "Easter egg" for those familiar with the company.
Aside from Maps, Apple has updated the main components of the iOS App Store icon for the first time since its release in 2008. Replacing the pencil, paintbrush and ruler are three overlapping lines with rounded ends. The updated graphics complement major changes to the app itself, which will also see its first major redesign since launching nine years ago.
Finally, the Clock app icon benefits from bolder numbers done in Apple's bespoke San Francisco font.
The icon changes are just a small part of iOS 11, which is due to arrive alongside new iPhone hardware this fall. Previewed at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June, the next-generation operating system comes with a host of new features including a revamped user interface with updated Control Center and 3D Touch support, person-to-person Apple Pay transfers, AirPlay 2, ARKit, a new Files app and much more.
Apple earlier today released the sixth beta version of iOS 11 to developers for testing, which was immediately followed by a public evaluation iteration.
Christine McKee
William Gallagher
Malcolm Owen
Andrew Orr
Sponsored Content
31 Comments
Odd change for the App Store. The Apple Park icon is quite nice, though.
Apps are held together by popsicle sticks.
No, wait, they're tongue depressors. This symbolizes the move into healthcare.
1) The "popsicle sticks" I'm sure I understand—I guess they're just going more abstract. I though the old one was clever.
2) I wondered if and when they'd change the Maps icon to reflect Apple Park.
The new App Store icon is a bit more fitting. The prior icon was based on the old AppleWorks suite. The App Store represents a lot more than just paint and drawing apps.
It's cool how the Map icon denotes park space in green around the Apple Park building (spaceship). Fitting because of the massive rehabilitation project with native flora.