by 
There’s a great discussion unfolding over on Branch between some Apple reporters about the future release date of iOS 7.
According to the sources of those involved in the discussion, Jony Ive’s fingerprints will be all over iOS 7, the only problem is it’s taking longer to develop than originally planned. In fact, Apple might have even pulled engineers away from OS X 10.9 to work on it.
In the Branch discussion, John Gruber dropped the following insights about iOS 7:
“What I’ve heard: iOS 7 is running behind, and engineers have been pulled from OS X 10.9 to work on it.”
He also says that there are certain iOS engineers with carry privileges for iOS 7, but to keep the UI a secret, their iPhones have a polarizing filter attached so that it “greatly decreases viewing angles, thus making it difficult for observers to see the apparently rather significant system-wide UI overhaul.”
Apple’s notorious for keeping new projects a secret from its own employees, so we wouldn’t be shocked if Gruber’s claim is true. Others in the discussion point out that all the changes made by Ive will make many users really happy by tossing out the rich-textures that Scott Forstall championed.
A super clean and minimalist update to iOS sounds like a dream come true to Apple fans who have become a bit bored with iOS’ UI that hasn’t changed much since its introduction in 2007. But is it worth delaying OS X 10.9 to get it out on time?
The Branch discussion also dives into when the next Apple keynote will be held, with a chorus of Apple pundits saying they’ve heard Apple will hold a keynote in April to introduce a new iPad. There’s also some tidbits on the iPhone 5S having a biometric scanner. You can read all the details over at Branch.
