Apple iOS7: Is it a copycat work?

While Apple's iOS7 is hailed for bringing in radical changes in design, Apple critics have started pointing at various similarities that iOS7 has with rival operating systems and even mobile applications.

In China net users are suggesting that the Cupertino-based company has taken more than a few pages out of Meizu's design book. The Chinese mobile phone company's OS Flyme features a very simple, "flat" look that Apple's new iOS version does resemble a bit. Others have said it's copying Android more generally.

ALSO READ: 10 new features that iOS 7 brings to Apple devices

Ctitics have also been pointing out to similarities between Apple's new iOS aesthetics and Google's white-space-and-thin-fonts design style.

Some companies appeared to insult Apple for taking so long to catch up to their features.

After Apple unveiled its long-rumored streaming radio service, a Pandora rep told Mashable that the new feature finally brought it "on par" with existing music streaming music services. Others feel Apple introducing similar features to existing apps as inevitable.

"There is always inspiration in the air that people are taking and putting back into their own apps," said Pierre Valade, co-founder of Sunrise, a popular calendar app whose layout appeared to influence updates to Apple's calendar app.

"The fact that they were maybe inspired us, maybe copied us, is fair: we copy other apps too."

Omer Perchik, co-founder of Any.DO, a to-do list app with a similar user interface design to iOS 7, said he was actually "humbled" by the similarities. In fact, he believes the overlap will help his apps in the future because they already "look and feel like native applications" for the new operating system, without requiring a redesign.