OS X 10.10 “Syrah” Could Look like This

Apple has yet to announce the next major software upgrade for Macintosh customers, but that hasn’t stopped designer Danny Giebe from creating what he believes will be unveiled at WWDC and launched subsequently in September 2014.

Over on Dribbble, Giebe explains that the images you see in the gallery below are “a concept for Mac OS X Syrah, expected to be published in September 2014.” He says, “It's based on the new flat design approach of the Contacts and Notes App introduced in Mac OS X Mavericks.”

Apple is indeed testing an all-new version of OS X codenamed “Syrah” internally, and another thing Giebe probably nailed is that Apple will extend the iOS 7 flatness to its desktop OS, likely to the dismay of some customers.

As his images indicate, OS X Syrah could adopt a simpler design with semi-transparent windows, a lighter color palette, and some minimalistic iconography and graphics throughout the OS. The wallpaper/background image is also on par with the current iOS 7 design and has a warm feel to it.

Giebe imagines folders with simple icons on them and a non-contrasting two-pane Finder that literally loses its edges. He envisions a redesigned iPhoto interface with a very dark theme, which actually doesn’t look half bad. Messages looks a lot like you’d expect, and so does Mail.

iOS 7 was generally well received, but a lot of people have had a hard time adjusting to the changes. Customers who have vision problems were particularly upset to find that Apple had given the entire OS a washed-out appearance with very light colors and super slim fonts.

Months after launching the original version of the software, Apple began offering new options to return some of the old appearance in the form of several new Accessibility settings, in what suggested that the company was having a hard time admitting its mistakes.

Although OS X is also expected to inherit some of the flatness in iOS 7, Apple probably knows by now that it cannot afford more backlash from its loyalists. OS X is fine the way it is. Any major changes that aren’t on par with the customers’ demands may reignite debates regarding Tim Cook’s decision to put Jonathan Ive in charge of Human Interfaces across the board.

Many pundits have openly expressed their concerns regarding Ive’s design direction in software, compared to his undisputed talent in hardware design.

OS X 10.10 “Syrah” Could Look like This – Gallery

Designer Danny Giebe creates next-generation Mac OS concept

Photo Gallery (5 Images)