Bangalore: Apple, by going to a jury trial to defend the patents of its most prized products, is allowing its competitors and the public to see inside one of the most secretive companies in the world. By showing the public how it designs products that have changed the electronics industry twice, Apple has risked losing some of its secrecy.

During the patent trial with South Korean mobile maker Samsung, Apple's senior vice president, Scott Forstall, has recently revealed the secret behind the iOS user interface. He disclosed the hard work and innovation that went into developing it.

"The goal of an operating system is to run the entire machine, to drive the machine. We wanted an operating system that could last for another 20 years. The strategy was a modern operating system", he said.

Forstall, who is with Apple since 1997, revealed how Apple decided to start on the iPhone project. Forstall and his colleagues had thought, "I remember sitting with Steve and some others, and we all had cell phones and hated our cell phones. Could we use the technology we'd been using with touch and use that same technology to build a phone, something that could fit in your pocket, but give it all the same power we were looking at giving the tablet?"