Leica Camera From Former Apple Designers Jony Ive and Mark Newson Heading to Auction

[MacRumors]

A prototype Leica camera designed by former Apple designers Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson is heading to auction in June (via The Verge).

The camera prototype features many of the subtle industrial design cues Ive and Newson are known for, particularly on their Apple products. The exterior is also made of Ive's preferred lightweight material, aluminum. While the camera is not directly affiliated with Apple, it is clear to see the selective curves, polished finishes, and minimalism that have become synonymous with Apple's product designs.

The prototype Leica camera was produced during the development of a one-off Product (RED) Leica M that was sold at a charity auction in 2013 for $1.8 million. A total of 561 models and nearly 1,000 prototype parts were made during the camera's design process.

Ive and Newson teamed up to create a range of products for the Product (RED) auction, including an aluminum desk, a striking red Mac Pro, and a set of solid gold EarPods, among other items.

A year after the auction, Newson joined Ive at Apple and became responsible for the design of the Apple Watch, having previously worked for wristwatch manufacturer Ikepod.

Both Ive and Newson departed Apple in 2019 to found the design company LoveFrom. Apple has said in the past that it was LoveFrom's first client and that Ive and Newson are still "very involved."

The camera is said to be from the "final development step" of the design process and comes with a matching Apo-Summicron 2/50 mm ASPH lens. The device, described as being in "B+" condition, has a starting price of around $118,000. It is estimated to reach between $235,000 and $295,000 in bidding.

Apple has not produced a dedicated camera since it released the 0.3 Mpx Apple QuickTake in 1994, but the prototype Leica may give the best glimpse yet of what a modern Apple camera could look like today.

Article Link: Leica Camera From Former Apple Designers Jony Ive and Mark Newson Heading to Auction

 

[Jony Ive and Co.]

Apple has said in the past that it was LoveFrom's first client and that Ive and Newson are still "very involved."

I really do miss Jony Ive. It's such a shame to see long-time Apple executives slowly going away. First we lost Scott Forstall, then Bob Mansfield, Jony Ive, Phil Schiller, Dan Riccio (I miss seeing Dan Riccio in the very first iPad ad!) etc, the people who truly made what Apple is, and the very people who were such fun to see on the stage (for Phil Schiller at least). I just can't help but feel nostalgic towards those good old Steve Jobs days.

BRING THEM BACK!!!!!!!

 

[Eightarmedpet]

Love it.
Super clean and minimal UI to the extent it renders it useless.
Ive is a terrible interface designer (not that I don't genuinely love his item design).

 

[Mike_Trivisonno]

Looks like something you would buy at IKEA. Minimalism is a boring. Mid Century Modern, Art Deco, and Art Nouveau are so much more expressive.

 

[wanha]

Since we're onto hypotheticals, I'm idly wondering what an Apple sex toy would look like.

At the very least, you'd think the iMate would come with rounded edges.

 

[CyberBob859]

Does it actually take pictures?

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

Fingerprint magnet. Would honestly prefer a standard Leica.

 

[PlainviewX]

Owloomeneium.

 

[zachdog]

This camera is an example of everything that went wrong with Apple after Steve Jobs died. The buttons are useless because the markings are removed. Minimalist design might appear to be beautiful, but in this case renders the product nearly useless. For comparison, here are a few well-known product “features” of Apple products directly influenced by this form-over-function philosophy:

- thin but malfunctioning butterfly keyboards, stubbornly not redesigned for years
- iPhone batteries that don’t last the entire day, but hey, the phones are thin
- no current MacBook has more than a USB-C port, so you get dongles for everything, but look how clean the design is

 

[qoop]

One of Jony's.

 

[Arctic Moose]

- thin but malfunctioning butterfly keyboards, stubbornly not redesigned for years
- iPhone batteries that don’t last the entire day, but hey, the phones are thin
- no current MacBook has more than a USB-C port, so you get dongles for everything, but look how clean the design is

• Removal of useful UI indicators, buttons and menu items in Big Sur (file proxy icons and search/filtering in Mail.app are big ones)
• Removal of the hardware charging state indicator
• Removal of the iPad mute/orientation switch

 

[Captain Trips]

BRING THEM BACK!!!!!!!

Isn't that what Epic is saying about Scott Forstall?

 

[HiVolt]

haha it looks like a non-functioning fake.

form over function, classic Ive

 

[swingerofbirch]

The smartphone has really killed off reasonably priced, nice compact cameras. There are the Sony RX100 lines, but they're very expensive and overheat.

I have a Canon S110 which was very reasonably priced, took great photos, and unfortunately broke. And I really do prefer having a good standalone camera (to me that's a good camera). Most of the nice compact models like that one have either gone off the market or not been updated in years. Panasonic made some like that in their Lumix line that haven't been update in years. Canon dropped that S100 line. Olympus got out. There are still really cheap point and shoot cameras and really expensive cameras, but no great middle of the road options that are up to date. Apple with its chip technology could make a great camera like that but wouldn't as it's too small of a market. They've squeezed everything out of those tiny sensors on the iPhone that they can with their chips. I know people say how great phone photography is, but I've never taken pictures with a smartphone that compare to a stand alone camera. Frankly I'd prefer a nice compact camera and a candy bar cell phone. The only thing I use my smartphone these days for is text messaging which I do on my computer anyway (messages forwarded to the computer).

For my use case scenarios tech has gone backward. It's like I have to own this separate device (a smartphone with service plan) to do on my computer what I used to do on just my computer by itself (back when I used AIM and now have to use texting since everyone else does). I don't make phone calls much, and I don't leave the house, so I seriously just have a smartphone plugged in so I can text from my computer. And the camera options? There were more up to date nice compact cameras back in 2013 than now.

Sorry for the tangent. That Leica just looks a fair bit like my Canon S110 (also in a white metal finish) that I'm lamenting no longer works and has no available successor, in large part because of Apple's momentum (as well as smartphones in general) into photography (and instant messaging . . . grumble).

 

[Bluetoot-]

For whatever reason, I thought their design was as a machined "mesh" casing, not shiny stainless steel.

Just looks... trashy. Well, now anyways that people have touched it.

 

[Mahasamatman]

This camera is an example of everything that went wrong with Apple after Steve Jobs died. The buttons are useless because the markings are removed. Minimalist design might appear to be beautiful, but in this case renders the product nearly useless. For comparison, here are a few well-known product “features” of Apple products directly influenced by this form-over-function philosophy:

- thin but malfunctioning butterfly keyboards, stubbornly not redesigned for years
- iPhone batteries that don’t last the entire day, but hey, the phones are thin
- no current MacBook has more than a USB-C port, so you get dongles for everything, but look how clean the design is

It probably doesn’t have a card slot.

The thing looks as slippery as a bar of wet soap so excellent for those damp days doing street photography. Hopefully Leica saw through this pair of jackasses.

 

[phenste]

“Like a beautiful old Leica camera…”

(cmon, I can’t be the only person who immediately thought of this)

 

[macsareveryinteresting]

If this camera is easier to function, it’s better than Canon.

 

[macsareveryinteresting]

Does it actually take pictures?

That would be a good thing to find out. Or is it just for decoration.

 

[Veinticinco]

Looks like a knock off imitation DLUX, whose chassis and architecture this was almost certainly based on.

Only slightly less tasteless than the red trashcan and gold earpods. Also, wrong use of the word prototype which is a concept built with a view to going into production. These items were basically ”designed” (I use the word very loosely) post-production as one off gimmicks to get stupid rich people to (quid pro quo) donate to charity.

 

[AlexESP]

Really beautiful. I bet some of the people answering here would change their minds if they had it in their hands. Obviously, design is subjective, but there’s a thin line between minimalism and generic design that usually splits Apple and the rest of the industry, and I think this is the perfect example.

 

[Bustycat]

The greatest Leica camera prototype in minimaluminiumalism!

 

[nwcs]

It’s clear that Ive never used cameras in any serious way to design something like that. All for looks, none for actual utility.

 

[Abazigal]

I really do miss Jony Ive. It's such a shame to see long-time Apple executives slowly going away. First we lost Scott Forstall, then Bob Mansfield, Jony Ive, Phil Schiller, Dan Riccio (I miss seeing Dan Riccio in the very first iPad ad!) etc, the people who truly made what Apple is, and the very people who were such fun to see on the stage (for Phil Schiller at least). I just can't help but feel nostalgic towards those good old Steve Jobs days.

BRING THEM BACK!!!!!!!

They have served at Apple long enough. There comes a time when even the most fervent employee calls it a day and retires. They certainly have more than enough money to last them a lifetime.

 

[Btaylor_prod]

It literally looks like all of the Leica Rangefiders, except white and slightly curved edges.