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New Profile Delves Into Background of Jony Ive Successor Jeff Williams
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Ive started at Apple with the disastrous 20th Anniversary Macintosh and ended with another $10K duesy in the new Mac Pro. In between, Jobs coached him heavily by telling Ive when there was a product ready and when he needed to go back to the drawing board. He got no such coaching from Cook who never met a shiny object he doesn't want to spend a million dollars on.
Apple has the exact same success today as they did around the middle of Sculley's run. If that's your definition of success, good for you, I disagree. Remember, Apple was insanely profitable under Sculley as they coasted on their aging products and diversified where they had no business going. The same result due to the same methods is inevitable. Of course, Timmy and the Board are going to bail right before the plunge.
Look, Jony Ive leaving is the best thing that could happen to Apple. He’s not the “soul” of Apple - Steve was that, and there’s not been anyone able to be that since he died.
Jeff Williams is a product guy. An intensely PRODUCT ORIENTED guy. It’s the closest to what Steve was that we can get.
Also, observe - Jony Ive is “leaving” and within the same week we hear rumors and near announcements of prior Ive failures being fixed or replaced (ie the butterfly keyboard), and the new Mac Pro was clearly a product designed without any Jonny Ive input - which is exactly why it is everything it should have been (which the 2013 Mac Pro was a monumental failure, in terms of ‘pro’ design).
Finally, Jony is “leaving” and taking Marc Newsom with him, and I’m sure a bunch of Ive loyalists will find themselves hired at his new studio.
In terms of what just happened - look back at when Scott Forstall was “leaving” Apple.
I have no doubt that Apple will remain a long time “client” of LoveFrom, just to enforce NDAs and Non-Competes, but Jonny won’t be involved in any more product design or decisions, going forward.
Jeff Williams is a product guy. An intensely PRODUCT ORIENTED guy. It’s the closest to what Steve was that we can get.
Also, observe - Jony Ive is “leaving” and within the same week we hear rumors and near announcements of prior Ive failures being fixed or replaced (ie the butterfly keyboard), and the new Mac Pro was clearly a product designed without any Jonny Ive input - which is exactly why it is everything it should have been (which the 2013 Mac Pro was a monumental failure, in terms of ‘pro’ design).
Finally, Jony is “leaving” and taking Marc Newsom with him, and I’m sure a bunch of Ive loyalists will find themselves hired at his new studio.
In terms of what just happened - look back at when Scott Forstall was “leaving” Apple.
I have no doubt that Apple will remain a long time “client” of LoveFrom, just to enforce NDAs and Non-Competes, but Jonny won’t be involved in any more product design or decisions, going forward.
Good. Williams is sharp, cares about the product, and is considerate to the users. I don’t need him to wear a Hawaiian shirt or smoke a corncob pipe on stage once a year, I’ll just be glad to see him be himself and dedicate the company to more products like his past efforts have produced.
He can commission Jony to write some spacey new poems about rectangles once a year and keep everyone happy.
He can commission Jony to write some spacey new poems about rectangles once a year and keep everyone happy.
You’re not in the minority, Jeff Williams is an incredibly intelligent leader for Apple that has a passion for health and the Apple Watch. I’ve actually always said, if there was one CEO that could replace Tim Cook when he steps down, it would be Jeff Williams.
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Here I see where the Genius Bar problem originated from. The emojis of Cook and his insanely-intelligent managers will replace the posters of Einstein and Shakespeare.
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Jony Ive hasn’t been on stage in years - Plus, I don’t need or want ‘cool’, I just want competent, when it comes to product. Jeff Williams seems to bring that sort of competence to the table x Jony didn’t.
Jony thrived when there was Steve to say “NO” or “That’s ****, start over”. That died with Steve.
I won’t say the iOS 6 designs were distracting, but I will say that I have gotten so used to the iOS 7 design UI, heck, embraced it even that I would find a regression to iOS 6 exactly that - a regression.
I think a more apt term is “modernised”. For better and for worse, I feel that iOS 7 truly belongs on the iOS devices on which they inhabit. That’s the thing when you have the same person design both the hardware and software hand in hand. They may not each be the best they can be, but they go well together and make up for each other’s shortcomings.
iOS 7 design is probably less “discoverable” than ios 6, but I find that what Apple has made me realise is that I am willing to give up a certain degree of usefulness for something that looks and feels better.
It’s just me at least.
You’re not going to see any change in the course of the ship for at least 5 years, IMO. So don’t pop the cork from the champagne.
Thankfully Apple took apart iOS 6, it was time to go.
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Of course, they’ll all bail with their milllions while apple plunges deep into the abyss. /s
Somehow I trust that Apple knows better about its course than an anonymous internet poster who says they don’t.
I think it remains to be seen how much involvement Jony will have with Apple, versus how much of this is PR spin. I wouldn't discount the latter to calm investor fears. Personally, I'd rather he simply share some of the challenges he's encountered using specific materials and processes. Leave the design directions to the new Apple team.
Completely agree. In fact, every time JI was featured in a new product launch video, I felt my eyes rolling. Fluff to the max, and the apparent sincerity driving the fluff was often laughable.
I bet with you whatever is coming out from Apple for the next 5 years is already stamped by Jony.
And yet Ive is the man in charge of iOS interfaces INCLUDING the new iPad OS that is being universally hailed as a great success..
Also you may not like iOS, but the millions and millions and millions of iOS devices sold every year would seem to suggest a large majority of people do like it. So I think Ive got it right personally...
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Agreed. Let’s also not forget that the Apple Watch is now much more popular than the iPod ever was both as far as numbers and sales. So yeah, I think Jeff Williams has every right to stick around having helmed a major apple success.
Man some others around here are beyond dense.
Now that's a real hoot!
My "definition" (as you call it) for Apple's success is having many millions of repeat customers willing to open their wallets and pay premium prices for premium products and services, year after year after year, becoming one of the most admired (and copied companies) in the world.
In any event, it looks like you're still sticking to your assertion: "Cook is trying to make himself look better by surrounding himself with worse people." And believe that's how Apple got where it is today.
Sounds like a great strategy for success that other companies and CEOs should adopt. Business schools should take note! I couldn't laugh any harder!
There's no reason to think Jony Ive has the skills or inclination to run a product company.
My thoughts entirely. The phone has not progressed much in function over the last few years - just faster, better screen etc. But the Watch - I'm checking continually. It has completely different functionality from any other device. And can save your life, or at least add a few years to it.
Met a woman just today, fit 80's, son set up fall detection, worked first time. In fact she was OK, but she went through the process of saying "I'm OK" and if she hadn't been, her son would have been contacted automatically. Falls VERY common in the elderly needless to say. Personally I mostly use it as a tracker/motivator and for music and payment. Rarely use cash now. So if he's behind that I look forward to the next device.