Jony Ive Still Asks 'What Would Steve Do?' Despite Jobs' Warning

[MacRumors]

Former Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive says he still frequently asks himself "What would Steve do?" – despite Jobs specifically requesting that he shouldn't.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, Ive shared that Jobs had directly told him before his death in 2011: "I really don't want you to be thinking 'Well, what would Steve do?'"

The legendary designer, who helped craft iconic products like the iMac, iPhone, and Apple Watch, spoke warmly of his collaboration with Jobs, defending the Apple co-founder's reputation for being demanding. "If you have such a clear, pure view of creating something new... if you are serious about actually wanting to develop and make it, you can't just say 'well, here's an idea,'" Ive explained. "Because if that's how you're going to behave, it will remain an idea."

The British-born designer, who moved from Essex to San Francisco in 1992 to join Apple, noted that Jobs immediately understood his vision when he returned to the then-struggling company five years later. "It was remarkable that, despite the limitations of my ability to communicate, Steve understood what I thought and how I felt," Ive said.

Ive said he fears that the technology he has helped to create could now be interfering with human creativity, adding that he finds it difficult to monitor his own use of technology. Ive also expressed both his excitement and concern about the threat posed by AI and its unchecked speed of development: "We need time to understand and react," he said.

Steve Jobs died in 2011 from pancreatic cancer. Today would have been his 70th birthday. The emotional impact of Jobs' passing was evident in Ive's admission that he couldn't bring himself to read anything about his former colleague and friend for a decade after his death in 2011.

After leaving his role as chief design officer, Ive continued to work with Apple as a consultant through LoveFrom until 2022, when the partnership officially concluded. Ive has since officially confirmed his involvement in an AI hardware project with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Among Ive's musical choices on the long-running BBC radio show were "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds and part of the soundtrack from the Disney Pixar robot movie Wall-E.

(Via The Guardian.)

Article Link: Jony Ive Still Asks 'What Would Steve Do?' Despite Jobs' Warning

 

[NapZzz]

This emphasizes that innovation should break away from imitation and find unique ideas and solutions, rather than relying solely on Jobs' way of thinking.

 

[Roll0]

If he would ever see an iPhone with a camera bump that big, then he'd throw it in your face!

 

[dannyyankou]

I’m glad Tim doesn’t ask that, because otherwise, iPhone screens would still be under 5 inches.

 

[FontGeek]

The Wall-E soundtrack is amazing

 

[AbhijitShanbhag]

If he would ever see an iPhone with a camera bump that big, then he'd throw it in your face!

I mean, he isn't at Apple anymore

 

[Sandybox]

Interesting.... Jobs was clealy the real inspiration & drive behind an extraordinary run of product designs......."What would Steve do?" implies a designer looking to please his internal client rather than being an original himself.......

 

[thefrost]

That's interesting to know.

 

[the future]

That‘s a really great picture of Steve and Jony. You can totally sense that they weren‘t only colleagues, but also friends.

 

[Hopefully Smarter]

Apple's design language3 has improved since Jony left the company.

Usability comes first.

 

[jonnysods]

Interesting.... Jobs was clealy the real inspiration & drive behind an extraordinary run of product designs......."What would Steve do?" implies a designer looking to please his internal client rather than being an original himself.......

I think that developers can graviate towards complexity, and designers can gravitate towards design itself and both can forget the idea of usability or simplicity. Jobs was pretty good at that, and refining or refuting what people were bringing to the table to make it better. He wasn't perfect, but I don't think Jobs stopped Ive from being original. For every device they made there were probably 10 concept designs, that doesn't tell me creativity was stifled.

 

[jayducharme]

Former Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive says he still frequently asks himself "What would Steve do?" – despite Jobs specifically requesting that he shouldn't.

I find myself asking, "What would Scott Forstall do?"

 

[Digital Dude]

I’ve been buying Apple products since the very beginning, so yeah, I’m old. I never thought Jony did anything great for Apple as many of his ideas were eventually undone. My opinion of the company definitely shifted once he started stripping away features. 🫤

 

[dominiongamma]

Been buying apple products since the very beginning so yes, I’m old. I don’t think Jony’ did anything great for Apple. In fact a lot of his ideas were eventually reversed. 🤷‍♂️

Agree his thinness obsession was a big reason for the MacBooks

 

[contacos]

So does Macrumors!

 

[I7guy]

Seems like the message is: do what you think is best and move onward and upward.

 

[Tig_one]

Apple's design language3 has improved since Jony left the company.

Usability comes first.

Couldn't disagree more.

 

[iMac The Knife]

Steve must never answer him, because Jony Ive is a hack.

 

[cjsuk]

Couldn't disagree more.

If Ive was still around, I'd have to fumble around the back of my M4 mini for the USB holes rather than just plug stuff in the front.

 

[cjsuk]

Agree his thinness obsession was a big reason for the MacBooks

Until they got so thin they didn't work (butterfly keyboard, no ports).

If I get too thin I'll stop working.

 

[CarAnalogy]

I remember at the time when he said this. It wasn't just to Ive, but also to the Apple leadership in general.

I've always kind of wondered what he really meant by that. How can they not ask that? He followed it up by saying "do what's right." He famously was not always right. But as Ive said, nobody else had the vision.

I think he meant that they shouldn't be constrained by trying to do what he would have wanted. But so much time has passed now. Maybe they should start asking themselves that. There are some pretty clear answers based on things he did do in similar situations.

Maybe people shouldn't do them just because he did, but they also shouldn't not do them just because he did.

It wouldn't hurt for someone to draw that square again and properly place the product lineup inside it and cut the things that don't make sense, for example.

 

[Razorpit]

If Ive was still around, I'd have to fumble around the back of my M4 mini for the USB holes rather than just plug stuff in the front.

But would you have to pick it up to turn it off? 🤔

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

 

[Jean Claude]

"Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds and part of the soundtrack from the Disney Pixar robot movie Wall-E.

Uhhhh ... Breakfast Club woulda been a much more appropriate reference

 

[Plutonius]

Make it thinner ?

 

[Blackstick]

Jony is a great designer and artist, but great designers and artists need editors.

Steve was Jony's editor. Once Steve was gone, Ive lost that critical editor. Cook gave Jony CEO-level reign per Steve's wishes, and Ive went rampantly in the wrong direction, putting art and form over functionality on products that decidedly had to be usable.

A MacBook Pro isn't JUST modern art, it needs to be a workhorse for 5-8 years, not just look pretty on a shelf like some overpriced figurine you buy at an art gallery.

Hence, MacBook Pro butterfly keyboards that looked gorgeous but didn't feel great to type on, and wouldn't work if a speck of anything got into them. Removal of usable features like HDMI ports, SD card slots and MagSafe? Thinness for no good reason at the expense of features or more battery life?

I'm happy Apple is building products that are more usable than in the Ive era. Especially on their pro lines.