He's a bit of a pretentious prat isn't he.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Former Apple Design Chief Jony Ive Shares His 12 Favorite Tools of the Trade
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
There’s something nauseating about Ive’s style of writing.
Still don't see how the tonearm made the list though.
Stanley is also a popular brand in Europe where, of course, they are labelled in metres.
Have you considered ordering from Amazon non-US?
Thing is, yeah, he has expensive, to us, tastes. But, unless you’re an absolute miser, who’s only criteria for product choice is price, who always sorts Amazon or eBay Low to High for every choice and always choosing the cheapest that vaguely gets the job done, who goes into the gas station to buy the 99¢ can of beer, or who buys the absolute cheapest car on the car lot, even if it’s only a two seater Trabant, then you probably outspend some people on some things because the improved quality or features are worth more to you than they would be for someone else. But that other person may well decide they have reason to complain about your purchases. (“Why is he buying Levi’s on HIS budget instead of the store brand?”) And Ive likes things that he feels are aesthetically pleasing, and he has more money than you or me. The problems with feeling entitled to complain about his extravagant purchases are 1) that doing so is likely to make others feel entitled to complain about your purchases and 2) unless you can prove theft, unjust enrichment, or something like that, you don’t really have a moral claim on the money he spends (remember, you’re richer than someone else, if you try to claim his wealth on the grounds that someone shouldn’t be worth so much money, some villager on a remote Pacific island or in an unelectrified African community has as strong of a moral claim, if not stronger, on your money as you do on Ive’s).
Does Sir Jony Ive receive compensation/gifts from companies on the list?
That could explain his selection criteria.
That could explain his selection criteria.
That’s actually about what I figured about the Starrett and Mitutoyo tools, I don’t know anything about their reputation, but I figured they were probably high precision tools.
I find it mildly entertaining that so many here are seemingly baffled that a billionaire designer, who spent a lifetime obsessing over the absolute best materials, fit, and finishes, would have high standards for the tools they use.
What, did you really think he shopped at Office Depot for supplies?
What, did you really think he shopped at Office Depot for supplies?
I was thinking yeah, but then again this is actually him. That list is the most Jony Ive of lists. It would be pretentious if it's just me walking around with a £100 eraser.
- Tape Measure - to make sure things are thin enough
- Digital Caliper - to make sure the things are thin
- Yardstick - to ensure what is being made is thin
- Wooden Ruler - to measure the dimension of thickness to verify things are not thick
- Tailor's Tape - to see if the things that are supposed to be thin are actually thin
I am so glad Jony is no longer at Apple putting form over function
A £100 platinum plated eraser. That’s some really cool stuff. To be clear, the eraser is not platinum plated. But the hub is.
iOS7 was also a very iterative piece of work and entirely a reaction to the flat 'Metro' design introduced by Microsoft in Windows Phone 7 2 years earlier. Metro made iOS look incredibly dated and Apple needed an answer to that. Google followed suit with Android 5.
14 years after Metro though nobody has come up with anything better. Big Sur may as well be iOS7 writ large and iOS15 is iOS7 with a dark mode. Google have at least tried to change things a bit with Android 12 and Windows 11 is a step in the right direction.
Apple make incredibly good hardware but their operating systems need a big redesign.
That’s actually one I don’t take an issue with at all. It’s one of the only tools on this list that I went, “wait, that exists?! Tell me more!” I feel like folding paper is always messy, I can never quite line up the corners properly or get a really clean crease (at least without running my fingernails over the crease multiple times and damaging the structural integrity of the paper). I don’t do it particularly often, but I could totally see myself using a paper folder whenever I need to do anything but a quick informal fold or two (usually to get something to fit into something else). Likewise, if he’d included a high quality paper cutter, I’d been all ears (I’m not terribly impressed with my Fiscars paper cutter, and I bought it thinking that a recognized brand would probably be better quality than random English, pseudo-English, or Engrish pseudo-brands on Amazon.)
A 100£ platinum plated eraser and a measuring tape by Hermés. Note that it doesn't say anything about it's length on the Hermés' homepage. If you have to ask, you don't need it 
Also a $5645 tone arm without a turntable...
This sounds totally sane.
Also a $5645 tone arm without a turntable...
This sounds totally sane.
Last edited:
I started to get the impression around the launch of the Watch that Ive is probably insufferable in person.
The form over function on thinner than ever iPhones, the missing ports on MacBooks, the pretentiousness that the Watch was going to be a big fashion item, and his comments in the press about certain cars that many Americans drive soured me on him. Glad he’s moved on.