[jlgreco]

So basically iOS is UI bondage, restricting you to be more fun. It should hardly be surprising that not everybody is into that.

[gte910h]

As a professional iOS developer, this comment made me practically fall out of my chair laughing.

[ansible]

Well, I don't know about that, but the icons have two purposes:

1. Allow new users to guess at the functionality of apps before tapping them. This is important for first impressions (like trying out the phone at the store before buying it).

2. Allow current users to quickly and reliably navigate to the app they intend to use.

It seems to me that instead of arguing about skeuomorphism, there should just be some good old A/B testing for these two use cases. And whatever wins is best. Maybe Apple has done this, maybe not.

[_progger_]

Yes, it's a matter of taste. Perhaps my analogy was a bit harsh :).

[lurkinggrue]

Over the years I've know quite a few Apple fans that were masochistic.