Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Jonathan Ive on How Apple 'Nearly Shelved' the iPhone

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,537
30,847



Yesterday, we reported on an appearance by Apple design chief Jonathan Ive at the UK Trade & Investment department's Global Business Summit on Creative Services in which he talked a bit about Apple's design philosophy and its focus on making great products rather than simply trying to maximize profits by cutting corners.

say_hello_to_iphone.jpg



The Telegraph has another report on Ive's appearance, highlighting his discussion of how the iPhone was "nearly shelved" as Apple struggled to deal with a number of issues, apparently including a search for a proper proximity sensor that would reliably turn off the device's screen when it was held to the user's face.
"We nearly shelved the phone because we thought there were fundamental problems that we can't solve. With the early prototypes, I held the phone to my ear and my ear [would] dial the number," he said. "You have to detect all sorts of ear-shapes and chin shapes, skin colour and hairdo...that was one of just many examples where we really thought, perhaps this isn't going to work."
Click to expand...
Ive's comments on his experience with early iPhone prototype come just as a number of such prototype designs have surfaced in court documents filed as part of a legal battle between Apple and Samsung.

Apple actually began work on a tablet before the iPhone project got underway, with one early tablet prototype from that 2002-2004 period having surfaced just two weeks ago. Apple was working on a phone at the time, but once Jobs realized that Apple could bring the multi-touch interface of the tablet to a phone, the company focused its efforts on the iPhone project and essentially set the tablet project until it was reborn as the iPad.

Article Link: Jonathan Ive on How Apple 'Nearly Shelved' the iPhone
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/07/31/jonathan-ive-on-how-apple-nearly-shelved-the-iphone/
dwhittington

dwhittington

macrumors regular
Mar 20, 2007
244
173
Houston, TX
Lucky for Samsung

Had it not been for Apple, Samsung would still be the underdog mobile phone provider with Nokia, HTC, and RIM dominating the marketplace.
 
N

nickgri

macrumors member
May 9, 2011
95
0
iphone design

Jonathan sir-great work. Please design a nano sized watch that unfolds and is removable as an iphone! It can swivel-and detachable earphone piece would be grand. Hope you or one of you people reads this. Best -looking forward to seeing and buying one as keeping this extra appendage in our pockets and finding them is a pain. How about a line of shoes that are accessories that have slots for added functionality via bluetooth? Nick
 
K

kyjaotkb

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2009
937
883
London, UK
nickgri said:
Jonathan sir-great work. Please design a nano sized watch that unfolds and is removable as an iphone! It can swivel-and detachable earphone piece would be grand. Hope you or one of you people reads this. Best -looking forward to seeing and buying one as keeping this extra appendage in our pockets and finding them is a pain. How about a line of shoes that are accessories that have slots for added functionality via bluetooth? Nick
Click to expand...

you are confusing Jony Ive with another great industrial designer, Lucius Fox.
 
ixodes

ixodes

macrumors 601
Jan 11, 2012
4,429
3
Pacific Coast, USA
bad03xtreme said:
They should shelve this new stretched 4S design...
Click to expand...
I could not agree more.

We are going to find out just how gullible the buyers are, when this "new" model is introduced.

Yet even worse, so will Apple. If they sell like I expect they will in massive quantities setting even more sales records, that will validate Apple's choice to foist off this old design, over and over and over again.

It will bolster Apple's ability to continue on the path of dictatorship, profit taking, and trickling out a few new features at each release. Then counting up every little change so they can make a dramatic claim like "200 new features"... :eek:
 
AppleGuesser

AppleGuesser

macrumors regular
May 1, 2012
240
102
Macon, GA
ixodes said:
I could not agree more.

We are going to find out just how gullible the buyers are, when this "new" model is introduced.

Yet even worse, so will Apple. If they sell like I expect they will in massive quantities setting even more sales records, that will validate Apple's choice to foist off this old design, over and over and over again.

It will bolster Apple's ability to continue on the path of dictatorship, profit taking, and trickling out a few new features at each release. Then counting up every little change so they can make a dramatic claim like "200 new features"... :eek:
Click to expand...

Wow, more pessimistic people on an iPhone that has YET to be publicly announced. Get off your high horse and wait for the public release before you start making accusations... :rolleyes:
 
arian19

arian19

macrumors demi-god
Jul 9, 2008
369
62
MacRumors said:
Apple was working on a phone at the time, but once Jobs realized that Apple could bring the multi-touch interface of the tablet to a phone, the company focused its efforts on the iPhone project and essentially set the tablet project until it was reborn as the iPad.
Click to expand...

Dont you mean Apple was working on a tablet at the time.
 
AdeFowler

AdeFowler

macrumors 68020
Aug 27, 2004
2,317
361
England
MacRumors said:
"We nearly shelved the phone because we thought there were fundamental problems that we can't solve. With the early prototypes, I held the phone to my ear and my ear [would] dial the number," he said. "You have to detect all sorts of ear-shapes and chin shapes, skin colour and hairdo...that was one of just many examples where we really thought, perhaps this isn't going to work.
Click to expand...
Skin colour? :confused:
 
W

wickoo

macrumors member
Jul 15, 2011
67
0
Different ear and chin shapes needed adjustment? And yet all it takes to turn off the display when the proximity sensor is active is a palm, or the flat surface of a desk.
 
balamw

balamw

Moderator emeritus
Aug 16, 2005
19,366
979
New England
Apple's certainly spending money hand over fist for a big release. Could it be that the 4SL (stretched 4S) is just the latest in the iterative model (i.e. the cheap replacement for the 3G/4/4S, while the new iPhone is something far more new?)

The Best Proof Yet That Apple’s Next iPhone Will Look Entirely Different.

They kind of did this for the MPB/rMBP earlier this year. Released an iterative design along side something more different.

B
 
KnightWRX

KnightWRX

macrumors Pentium
Jan 28, 2009
15,046
4
Quebec, Canada
balamw said:
Apple's certainly spending money hand over fist for a big release. Could it be that the 4SL (stretched 4S) is just the latest in the iterative model (i.e. the cheap replacement for the 3G/4/4S, while the new iPhone is something far more new?)
Click to expand...

Apple never does complicated things like that. If anything, we'll get the iPhone 4 (free)/4S (99$) and the new "iPhone".

Same as the iPad 2 and new "iPad".

If it really is the stretched model, that wouldn't surprise me either.
 
NT1440

NT1440

macrumors G5
May 18, 2008
14,658
20,982
ixodes said:
I could not agree more.

We are going to find out just how gullible the buyers are, when this "new" model is introduced.

Yet even worse, so will Apple. If they sell like I expect they will in massive quantities setting even more sales records, that will validate Apple's choice to foist off this old design, over and over and over again.

It will bolster Apple's ability to continue on the path of dictatorship, profit taking, and trickling out a few new features at each release. Then counting up every little change so they can make a dramatic claim like "200 new features"... :eek:
Click to expand...

Yup, its the design that sells the iPhone, nothing about how it works, or its ecosystem makes it happen. :rolleyes:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom