He was the one that showed Steve the new design ideas when Steve came back from NEXT. Together they made Apple what it is today. All those young kids probably don't know or care.
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Apple Ends Partnership With Former Design Chief Jony Ive
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It’s hilarious to read all these people bemoaning current Apple, Tim Cook especially, for being “bean counters” who lack vision. Steve was obsessed with making money too, he really wanted Apple to be the richest company in the world. This is not a new thing. I think Cook has a clear vision of Apple as a lifestyle/ecosystem company hence their move to services like TV+ and Fitness+ that require Apple hardware (ok TV+ doesn’t but I think streaming content like that is different because of how that kind of entertainment influences our culture). People SEEM TO BE conflating not liking Cook’s vision to him not having one.
Personally I love watching Apple slowly build towards things and lay the foundation to move to what’s next. In the Jobs era I don’t recall ever being able to see the building blocks of something for years before seeing what the end goal was (this could also have been because I wasn’t paying attention back then as I was a kid and teenager). The transition to Apple Silicon is a prime example to me. Started with continuity, then turning iPad apps easily into Mac apps and then we all saw the reason they had put in all this work, Apple Silicon.
I also think Apple’s designs seem less remarkable because the industry has moved towards Apple’s designs in the past few years. Android‘s current design aesthetic is a great example. It looks a lot like iOS. Of course it has its own spin on it but it looks very Apple inspired to me. This kind of convergence of design makes Apple’s stand out less. I see that as not a loss of quality in Apple but an increased focus on design by all the industry because it’s at least in part what made Apple successful.
I will admit I see more bugs on Apple devices and software but to me that stems more from increasing complexity and all the different ways we use our devices and our expectations of how they work together. Originally the phone was a phone, iPod and internet browsing device. Now it’s all those things plus a gaming device, most peoples primary camera (many peoples primary computer in fact), their wallet, keys, and hub to control their smart home (which didn’t exist before), their assistant to help organize appointments, keep track of their health and the health of their families, keep track of items like keys and bags amongst many other uses. More complexity introduces more opportunities for bugs and failures.
Back to Ive: seems hard to argue he didn’t help save Apple in the 90’s and elevate it to new heights as well as make the entire consumer electronics market start to focus on design in concert with function. These designs helped me realize that it’s ok to value design and not everything has to be about utility. Design can make things we want to use. Aesthetics are important and it’s ok to value them. Personally, I think peak Apple design was the 2012-2015 MacBook Pro’s. Ive did amazing work no question. Apple though is a big company now, Steve got his wish and Apple is the most valuable company in history (keeps going back and forth between a couple of companies but you get my point). Big companies don’t live or die with individuals (especially one so integrated into so many facets of how we live our lives) so I know Apple will be fine without him now. Alan Dye I think is doing a great job lately and so is the whole design team.
Personally I love watching Apple slowly build towards things and lay the foundation to move to what’s next. In the Jobs era I don’t recall ever being able to see the building blocks of something for years before seeing what the end goal was (this could also have been because I wasn’t paying attention back then as I was a kid and teenager). The transition to Apple Silicon is a prime example to me. Started with continuity, then turning iPad apps easily into Mac apps and then we all saw the reason they had put in all this work, Apple Silicon.
I also think Apple’s designs seem less remarkable because the industry has moved towards Apple’s designs in the past few years. Android‘s current design aesthetic is a great example. It looks a lot like iOS. Of course it has its own spin on it but it looks very Apple inspired to me. This kind of convergence of design makes Apple’s stand out less. I see that as not a loss of quality in Apple but an increased focus on design by all the industry because it’s at least in part what made Apple successful.
I will admit I see more bugs on Apple devices and software but to me that stems more from increasing complexity and all the different ways we use our devices and our expectations of how they work together. Originally the phone was a phone, iPod and internet browsing device. Now it’s all those things plus a gaming device, most peoples primary camera (many peoples primary computer in fact), their wallet, keys, and hub to control their smart home (which didn’t exist before), their assistant to help organize appointments, keep track of their health and the health of their families, keep track of items like keys and bags amongst many other uses. More complexity introduces more opportunities for bugs and failures.
Back to Ive: seems hard to argue he didn’t help save Apple in the 90’s and elevate it to new heights as well as make the entire consumer electronics market start to focus on design in concert with function. These designs helped me realize that it’s ok to value design and not everything has to be about utility. Design can make things we want to use. Aesthetics are important and it’s ok to value them. Personally, I think peak Apple design was the 2012-2015 MacBook Pro’s. Ive did amazing work no question. Apple though is a big company now, Steve got his wish and Apple is the most valuable company in history (keeps going back and forth between a couple of companies but you get my point). Big companies don’t live or die with individuals (especially one so integrated into so many facets of how we live our lives) so I know Apple will be fine without him now. Alan Dye I think is doing a great job lately and so is the whole design team.
I always had the impression that this partnership was more of a formality to satisfy some kind of internal agreement more than anything else. I'm not surprised that it is over now.
I personally think Steve Jobs was the reality check Ive needed. Tim Cook's a bean counter, ultimately, and not the kind of client that a design idealist like Ive needed to keep balance.
Yea, as I said earlier it's likely a combined design/engineering failure; coupled with a desire to ship on time.
As far as I know Ive had nothing to do with Apple Maps. But most of the other problems that Apple has had that I can think of he was at least involved even if not the primary source of the problem.
The screen problems with the iPhone 6 and the congruent battery problems were both attached to the phone flexing, and the battery itself not being able to power iPhone 6’s because they they didn’t have enough capacity for everyday usage. The charging port incapacitating a user’s ability to use the mouse while charging. Sticking keys in the keyboards. Structure flimsyness because of how thin an iPad Air was, similar to the problems with extremely thin phones requiring smaller batteries.
And one I don’t know if he had direct involvement but the HomePod not having Bluetooth capacity at first and not being easily configurable. It ended up being the best $500 speaker in a $50 market.
From the article:
”with Ive reportedly feeling discontent as Apple was becoming less design focused and more focused on operations. Ive is said to have felt that Cook had little interest in the product development process, and he was allegedly frustrated that Apple's board was populated with directors with backgrounds in finance and operations rather than technology.”
All of that is easily predictable using 3D EM simulation tools. The engineers would have known and would have told whoever else was involved in the product design,
We don't have to know 'design'.
We are human users for which those designs were made. So if those designs don't work well for us, then it's a bad design.
For instance, if someone designs a car that looks beautiful but nobody can drive properly and it gets into crashes, then by definition - it's a BAD design. I don't need 'design expertise' to make that conclusion.
Dell already make awesome laptops. If you remove the branding, the XPS looks way more futuristic than macbook. This is an Apple forum, so most won't accept this.
I agree with this. Both balanced each other quite well. Ive needed check and balance and without it you can see how bad some of the products were.
Almost all CEOs are this way though. It's extremely rare to find a CEO that is consumed by Design which was the core of Apple when Steve was there. With Cook, he is about maximizing profits and no longer a forefront of bleeding edge. Sorry but I find Samsung Phones better designed plus Samsung is in the forefront of bleeding edge. They take risk where Apple is happy to simply copy everyone's homework. Feels like they are a follower now.
I believe in Steve Jobs book, he made it almost impossible for Cook to fire Ive. Steve put in a bunch of measures that wouldn't allow anyone to fire him.
You sound like a fan who jump on a bandwagon when a team is winning. Ive helped built Apple from almost bankruptcy and now it's on top. You have no problem kicking someone to the curb. Loyalty is definitely not in your DNA.
Yes, exactly. I noticed an improvement in functionality after he left. Macs started to have actual ports on them again.
So now he is free to go off and design two foot tall cars with none of those ugly parts like wheels and doors.
I believe it is called the dust bin of history.
The next big / non-iterative products that are likely coming out of Cupertino are the AR/VR headset and the car. Both of these things are massive projects, and the products that eventually launch will be nowhere close to Jony's design vision. His choice is to either fight tooth and nail for small concessions, getting closer to the design goal (but still not achieving it for multiple generations), or to take the opportunity to parachute out, saying "I tried to help, but they wouldn't listen." The LoveFrom halo is worth far more to his new clients, who will be less demanding than Apple, and more willing to part with their cash.
Tangentially, I wonder how the heck the Tripp Mickle book is being given so much credibility... it's a decent read as a historical account, but so much of it seems speculative... I just don't believe he could have truly gotten the level of private access implied by the incredible level of detail reported from behind closed doors. He's crafted a very strong story as if it's fact, but I think the truth is probably a lot more nuanced than his seemingly simple narrative.
Tangentially, I wonder how the heck the Tripp Mickle book is being given so much credibility... it's a decent read as a historical account, but so much of it seems speculative... I just don't believe he could have truly gotten the level of private access implied by the incredible level of detail reported from behind closed doors. He's crafted a very strong story as if it's fact, but I think the truth is probably a lot more nuanced than his seemingly simple narrative.