[vbezhenar]

Similar thing happened in Apple with iOS 7. Before they used skeuomorphic design using realistic images to represent UI which was supposed to help people using computing devices first time. E.g. leather notepad to represent reminders application, 3D buttons, etc. They abandoned this design paradigm and switched to minimalist one probably because most of their users became computer-literate and did not need those analogues to understand UI.

[goalieca]

I think going with a simple icon is far better. Consider the design of symbols such as corrosive or the street is icy, or s-curve coming up ahead. They do not look like real-world images but they are so wonderfully intuitive. We do not need to stare at the detail to understand what it is.

Likewise, the new icons are brilliant. The reminders app has basically a list. Music is a musical note, etc. The only one that really sucks is "photos". It looks more like a colour wheel.

[kube-system]

I still get a kick out of the clock icon.