<p>We have covered Apple's new iOS 7 software extensively here on BGR, and we're clearly fans of Apple's mobile overhaul. iOS 7 is more about renovation than innovation, but Apple did an impressive job of redesigning every visual element of the platform while still managing to maintain familiarity for longtime iOS users. Of equal importance, Apple also laid the groundwork for innovation in upcoming new builds of iOS. But not everyone is impressed, and the Nielsen Norman Group recently panned iOS 7 in an extensive user experience review. Now, a new critique from a well-credentialed designer further supports the notion that Apple made some serious missteps in iOS 7, and that it has a lot of work to do if it hopes to clean things up.</p><p>In a recent interview with Forbes contributor Paul Glader, design expert David Yun shared his thoughts on Apple's new iOS 7 software update, which was downloaded and installed on more than 200 million devices during its first few days of availability. Why should we care what David Yun has to say? Yun runs a successful design firm in New York, he has a masters in graphic design from Yale University and he is a professor at Columbia University, where he teaches a graphic design course for graduate architects.</p><p>With Yun's background in mind, his thoughts on iOS 7 are quite interesting. In a nutshell, he thinks Apple made some big mistakes with iOS 7 not just from a design and usability perspective, but also from a brand perspective.</p><p>When Glader mentioned to Yun that iOS 7s new design seems to be less unique and more like other mobile operating systems such as Android and Windows Phone, the designer for the most part agreed. iOS used to be characterized by certain unique elements such as skeuomorphism, Yun said, and Apple did away with them in iOS 7. He thinks that's a good thing, stating that Apple made the correct assumption that users "no longer need the physical metaphor to understand the digital interaction." The problem, however, is that Apple's new design isn't differentiated.</p><p><a href="http://bgr.com/2013/10/17/ios-7-design-review-yun/">Keep reading...</a></p>