Since its release 9 years ago, iOS has travelled a long way. iOS 9 marked the introduction of a 3D touch, a new system font called San Francisco and multitasking on iPad. Apple also introduced Stack Views to Xcode, a tool that makes a layout more adaptive, while keeping it simple. Apple has set a course on adaptivity to make your designs work across a wide range of devices.
Multitasking and Adaptivity
Today it is crucial to make the layout of every website and application adaptive due to a huge number of various display sizes and resolutions. Therefore, you have to design your products, keeping in mind many different screen sizes and ensure flexibility of every element, which can be achieved with the help of Xcode and other tools. There is a certain way in which the user interface adjusts itself from smaller screens like iPhone’s to bigger displays like iPad Pro’s. Instead of scaling up, the layout expands. In the case of bigger screens like iPhone 6 Plus in landscape mode or iPad, the tab bar is replaced by a left navigation.
3D Touch
3D Touch is a major new feature introduced in the iOS 9 platform, enabling users to easily access options both in and out of the application. Users of the devices running iOS 9 can use a Force Touch on the app’s icon to view frequently used items. For example, you can peek into messages or preview links without opening the app full screen. 3D Touch functionality is similar to keyboard shortcuts on desktop computers - they allow users to perform repeated actions faster and easier. 3D Touch shortcuts are an excellent way to design ways to increasing the productivity and enhancing the experience of the iOS’s power users. However, you should ensure that 3d Touch features are additions but not substitutes to the traditional interactions. The users should be able to comfortably work within the app both with the 3D Touch and without it.
iOS 9 Colours
iOS prefers bright colours when it comes to the buttons. Vibrant colours stand out against a plain white or black background. However, do not overboard - it is better to stick to soothing colours of promotional materials and non-branding elements like menus or navigation bars. It is best to keep approximately 10-20% of the overall design colourful, otherwise it will distract the user's attention from the content. In iOS, backgrounds and menus are typically of neutral colours. Black letters against a white background is a classical solution that makes the text comfortable to read. Additionally, iOS uses the pastel blue to highlight the buttons.
Font, Button Size and Alignment
The general rule for buttons is 44pt, for small text - 12pt, for body text - 17 pt and for titles - 20pt+. As for alignment and spacing, a basic rule is to design a margin or padding of 8pt minimally. As a result, there is more space, which makes it easier to scan the layout and read the text. Remember that the texts should be at the same base line position, and user interface should be aligned.
Status and Navigation Bars
Apples recommends to place status bars in as many places as possible. It helps smartphone and tablet owners track useful information including time, battery and signal. While icons and text can be either white or black, you can choose any colour of the background and merge it with the navigation bar. This bar displays quick info on the screen. You can put Profile, Menu or Back buttons on the left and Edit, Done or Add buttons on the right. And do not forget that you do not need to design specific assets for these systems icons. You can customise the navigation bar’s background colour, which is alway slightly blurry, making the text more readable, just like it is in the case with the status bar. The backgrounds of the two elements will be merged as a result.




Search, Tool and Tab Bars
- Tab bar is used to navigate between screens. Avoid Hamburger buttons if you have few items on the menu. Making all the elements visible will provide a better user experience, because simple is always better. Also, supply the icons with text, because it may be hard for the users to recognise the meaning of the symbols, especially if you create them from scratch. Another advice is to make the icons outlined instead of filled when they are not active. This will attract less attention to the elements that are not active at the moment.
- Search bar is useful for applications with much content.
- Toolbar is used when there is a lack of space for action buttons and statuses.
Designing iPhone Apps with Professional Developers
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