iOS 8 is coming. The parade of refinements is staggering. And while each is individually interesting, collectively they are evidence of something quite important: a new Apple. An Apple that listens.

The Courage of Artists

But this wasn’t the first or only time Apple listened. The story I want to tell begins a bit earlier.

Rewinding back one year, Ive took a bold step that caught many by surprise. iOS 7 was as visually different from iOS 1–6 as could be. A child that looked nothing like his father.

Passion bears with it an implicit risk. The stronger our conviction, the greater chance that some will disagree. Many found this new look not to their taste.

I was one of them. Prior to the announcement, I marveled at the power of today’s artists to change our world.

Post announcement, I was reeling. iOS was a space I lived in, spending large parts of my day gazing into its luminous glow. It felt like someone had come into my house, rearranged all the furniture, repainted the walls, and hung up new artwork. It didn’t feel like home anymore.

A Draught of Honest-Tea

In a bout of passionate enthusiasm, I wrote this, and this. I attempted to separate out the subjective element of taste, and deconstruct the new functional issues that iOS 7 presented. A little emotion might have leaked thru too (sorry Jony).

But then something happened.

7.1 Brought Back the Fun

One of the issues I raised was the cognitive shortcut provided by affordances, and how their loss in iOS 7 meant more mental energy and less joy.

I don’t take any credit for bringing this to Apple’s attention. My voice is much too small. But I wasn’t alone in my critique. People spoke up.

And Apple made it better. They reintroduced the affordances, making brilliant use of the circle, a powerful metaphor for touch. This new approach was better than any of its ancestors.

User Experience / Experienced User

My other area of concern was the toolbar. In many apps, it became the same white color as the content area. Subtle tone on tone buttons gave way to louder and more brightly colored text.

These changes made the functions more noticeable, and made the apps look simpler, but they had a cost. The toolbar, status bar, and contact area were no longer as distinct, and it became harder to selectively focus on the content. It started to blend together.

But as time went on, this changed. One calculus I failed to make: I didn’t take into account the role of habituation. That’s the ability of the brain to adapt and learn to ignore something. It’s why people who live next to the train stop hearing it. It’s why you can screen out ads effectively, no matter how bright and tacky the advertisers make them. The brain has an amazing ability to assign different weights to different stimuli – focusing us in on what’s essential, and allowing us to ignore the rest.

My answer to “what was Apple thinking?” was quite simple. They’d habituated to the toolbar after playing with it internally, and they knew the world would do the same.

The Empathy of Giants

Change is a conversation. And it has two sides.

Today’s tech giants create massive change in on our world. It is a level of impact unmatched by any institution or period in our history. With time, this effect is more likely to accelerate than abate.

You can say the same about the presence of technology in our lives. Now that computers are in our pockets, we spend a lot more time with them. We spend large portions of our day living in virtual spaces, constructed entirely of lines, icons, and text.

Unlike the landscapes and skylines of our physical world, these virtual spaces are much more malleable, lending themselves to rapid change and experimentation.

Whether this change is helpful has a lot to do with what motivates it. Change works best when it’s in service to those it affects.

Empathy has long been Apple’s hallmark. They have a gift for anticipating their customers’ needs that is rare, in any industry. And they have been able to articulate this understanding into products that we love.

They have also shown they are willing to listen. iOS 8, with its massive list of customer driven features, is proof.

The Unstoppable Power of Humility

Conceit and complacency are the twin horsemen of enterprise apocalypse. Both signal a lack of interest in the needs of customers. Power (financial or otherwise) comes from the people, and it must always be used in their service.

At WWDC, Apple clearly demonstrated who they are.

Full of conviction and compelling ideas, they also have the humility and wisdom to listen.

The hybrid is unstoppable.