While I agree his resume at Apple features iconic designs, I first invested in Apple with the II+ (OK, a clone). I don't think he had a hand in that product. What hooked me was the original Macintosh graphical UI. I doubt he had input into the original System OS. What made me laugh was the idiotic puck mouse. What repelled me were the post-2015 MBP models, enough to consider migrating to Linux during the Long March. The current "retro" design has made me abandon that notion. I don't think he's overrated, but I feel his tenure at Apple was protected by another diva.
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.
Jony Ive Featured on WSJ. Magazine Cover, Talks Work at Apple and Design Philosophy
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Ive started at Apple in 1992. The first product he designed for them was one of the Newtowns I believe. And no one at Apple protected Ive. He was given autonomy by Jobs before he resigned as CEO and was something that Apple had to honor.
He (Jony) is the only one who could come back and save Apple from the vampire squids that have infiltrated the c-suite and is in the process of destroying one of the most iconic companies the world has ever known. If they don't get rid of the greedy Wall Street types calling the shots and get back to letting the creative and innovative run things, then say goodby to the Apple we all have loved for so many years...
He dictated the case design that required an unworkable keyboard. Thus why people point at him for that blunder.
I'd lay the blame at the mechanical engineers who designed the keyboard.
And that it wasn't thoroughly tested in a wide range of use possibilities. If that occurred, and problems were found, then it would be re-engineered til it worked properly.
As an aside, the keyboard in my M1 MBA is outstanding with zero issues and has a great feel with good travel. And my M1 MBA is thinner than my old MBP which has the problem keyboard. The keys in my M1 MBA have more travel than the keys in my MBP.
No, I mean game breaking bugs and cataclysmic design choices that have led me to sell devices because they were never going to be fixed and in most cases still haven’t been, generations of software and hardware later. I appreciate that not everyone has the same experience but that is mine.
Maps, iMessage and FaceTime being completely broken on iPad over a wired ethernet connection are not ‘occasional bugs’ for instance. Nor is the permanently ruined bookmarks sidebar from iPadOS Safari 15 onwards. Nor is iCloud sync only working 50% of the time in 50% of apps. Nor is Apple Watch‘s complete inability to mass delete messages, let alone delete them with iPhone. Nor was Apple Watch’s insistence on permanently breaking Siri shortcuts by permanently asking for permission to access the associated apps, no matter how many times that permission was granted or how the settings were configured. And don’t even get me started on the ridiculous keyboard/cursor/autocorrect behaviour in iPad Safari text input fields on websites such as this. That has been broken since iPadOS 13.
I could go on but this thread isn’t really about that. Hopefully my point is clear. For me personally, Apple’s software has become so bad that it ruins the products. Neither Jobs nor Ive were perfect, but they had a passion for everything that elevated the company above its peers. In their collective absence, Apple now feels to me like it’s being piloted by an automaton whose only motivation is pots of gold and social justice politics. The products feel like a means to an end, and the user experience is being torpedoed with every iteration. It’s reached the stage where I have to wonder if the likes of Cook even use their devices. Jobs would have had people killed for some of the blunders that now make it into production code on a regular basis.
Last edited:
Just look at Apples current lineup. iPhones and macs are clearly inspired by Ive's design. My 16" M1P looks a lot like Powerbook or old Macbook 17". iPhone 12PM is like iPhone 4/4s which was the best designed mobile phone ever made. Now the iPads follows the same. I don't even bother to know who's the chief designer at Apple now.
In Ive's videos, he spoke from his heart where as current keynotes are too boring to watch. I never watch new Apple Keynotes for a second time. But I do watch the ones from Steve's era very often.
In Ive's videos, he spoke from his heart where as current keynotes are too boring to watch. I never watch new Apple Keynotes for a second time. But I do watch the ones from Steve's era very often.
A couple more interactions of the Macbook Pro under Ive and the Onion's Apple Wheel would have been on shelves.
With the current state of Apple software, we need Forstall more than Jony right now.
Agreed. People worship him based off the few hits he had while seemingly ignoring the fact everything else he touched was utter garbage (the 'form' being seriously detrimental and actually impeding the 'function'.....)
Few people paying $3,500 for a laptop still want it to be as thick as PowerBooks used to be. Ive played a big role in reducing thickness and weight.
A 1997 12-inch PowerBook G3 was 2.4" thick and weighed 7.5 pounds.
A 2009 15-inch MacBook Pro was 0.95" thick and weighed 5.5 pounds. 61% thinner and 27% lighter in 12 years.
A 2016 15-inch MacBook Pro was 0.61" thick and weighed 4.02 pounds. 36% thinner and 27% lighter in another 7 years, or 75% thinner and 46% lighter in 19 years.
This was basically his tenure as far as laptops were concerned. I personally think he overshot with the 2016 design. The Pro doesn't need Air-like thinness. But I also don't want to go back to 1997 criteria.
Oh I completely understand with the dongle like for instance having USB-A, I know a lot of older tech (sometimes newer) still have a USB-A connection which yes a dongle will be a no big deal especially since majority of what I think uses USB-A is peripherals which bluetooth kind of cancels out. I wasn't too worried when the Macs lost ports especially once I found a dongle hub that I haven't had issues with (I think this was the hardest part).
Yes 100% I to this day do not understand how people find the magic mouse comfortable and bought a trackpad and never looked back. While I think the the magic mouse charging port is insane the feedback over the years are blown out of proportions. Like you stated, there is a battery indicator and unless you literally use your computer 24/7 one charge is good for quite some time even with something like 12 hour workdays using the mouse. Sure overnight every so often you will have to have a sore sight of a mouse upside down lol.
Yeah I miss my leather bound note book 😂
Forstall has zero Apple DNA.
Its amazing what people can find when they leave the comfort of their room.
Ive and Jobs worked well together and produced some great designs.