Apple Updates iTunes U, iBooks App And Store With iOS 7 Design

Apple has finally updated its iBooks app and store with an iOS 7-inspired design. The app was the last of Apple’s iOS stores to retain the older iOS 6 design, as both the iTunes Store and App Store shipped with new designs in September. Both the iPad and iPhone versions of iBooks have gotten a redesign.

The iTunes U app has also been updated for iOS 7, stripping out the heavy, dark interior textures and replacing them with iOS 7′s lighter, brighter look.

The iBooks interface has been stripped of its real-world allegories like wooden textures and bookshelves. The design is minimal, and somewhat reminiscent of Apple’s Newsstand app, but without the multicolored partitions and significantly more depth through the use of shadows.

Several of Apple’s apps had lagged behind the iOS 7 redesign curve, most likely because the company’s designers and engineers were busy just trying to ship the new OS at all. Given that work on the new look of iOS 7 started several months later than it has in previous years, there was a lot to get done in a lot less time. Both apps also feature new icons with a yellow-orange theme.