'Slide to Unlock' Engineer Greg Christie to Depart Apple After Fallout with Jony Ive [Updated]

[petsounds]

This is troubling news, but we don't know who was responsible for what decisions, so it may be that Christie suggested the bad decisions like "no borders around buttons". Let's keep in mind that Christie also headed up all the atrocious Forstall-isms in iOS 6. So I'm going to reserve judgment on who decided what.

I will say though that Ive seems to be the my-way-or-the-highway type of fellow, which can be good as long as the ideas are good. But someone with the level of power that Ive has can also be dangerous to an exchange of ideas when combined with arrogance and self-importance. Ive certainly doesn't come across as self-aggrandizing in public, but his opinionated personality certainly does.

 

[lilo777]

Do you really believe that all "flat" UIs are the same?

I do not. I think Apple's version is the worst.

 

[inscrewtable]

The industrial design of apple equipment will always be good because it is hardware, but I must confess that while I liked the new look ios 7 it does already seem a little dated and unable to go anywhere. I had a bit of a strange thing happen last night where my iPod downloaded an ios6 version of an app that I had already been using in its ios7 form for a while and the ios6 version felt more like a friend.

It is now clear to me that the whole more or less skeumorphism thing, IS in fact the way to go because it mimics industrial design and therefore to improve it it simply needs to have better slicker funner elements, like any industrial design.

It seems like Ive has not really made a good transition from hardware to software. ios8 will give us a clue as to whether ios has design is down the tubes or not.

 

[hondo77]

Umbrella

...software design will fall under Ive's umbrella, with software designers working alongside Ive's industrial design team rather than Federighi's group.

Good.

 

[dannyyankou]

I think things will only get better from here.

 

[R0bert]

Ive w/o Jobs is a complete fail.

 

[joejoejoe]

i have been patient with apple since steve passed, thinking that there is no way the company could lose its wind without him.

it has.

 

[un-plug]

Exactly.

Flat just seems lazy to me. A step backwards, if you will.

The Pure camera app was recently updated to iOS7 style... and "a new icon" was one of the updated features.

Really? This is an improvement?

Image

Flat is no fun at all...

Funny, to me you fight your own point- this is an improvement. The first one looks like something from a 32-bit game, already dated. The second is just clean and concise and definitely more timeless.

 

[topmounter]

Having seen iOS7, I guess "I told you so" was just too much for Jony to take.

 

[Gasu E.]

Anyone that leaves a position at Apple for something so petty is a fool. I'd clean the toilets if given the chance.

What's stopping you? Seriously, I'll bet you could get a janitorial job there if you applied.

 

[BaldiMac]

I do not. I think Apple's version is the worst.

Death. Taxes. Some things are inevitable.

 

[TheRainKing]

I'd trust Ive over everyone else in this area. He should be the one overseeing all of the design from hardware looks to software looks.

That's just stupid.

There's a reason why Jobs had Ive working on hardware, and people like Forstall and Christie working on software. People have specialties and they should stick to them.

 

[needthinkmake]

I'd trust Ive over everyone else in this area. He should be the one overseeing all of the design from hardware looks to software looks.

Well, with Christie out of the way... it seams that Ive has no opposition and nowhere to go but down, and only time will tell.

 

[Macist]

The industrial design of apple equipment will always be good because it is hardware, but I must confess that while I liked the new look ios 7 it does already seem a little dated and unable to go anywhere.

The funny thing is, this debate's already be had in design decades ago. Ive is basically a modernist purist and favours a minimalist German/Swiss style of design.

The complaint about modernism is that it can become dull, bland, inhuman and alienating as anything not strictly necessary is dismissed as trite ornamentation. Once you arrive at the ultimate minimalism there's really nowhere else to go so in post-modernism some of that ornamentation was brought back - ie. you might have a still largely modernist boxy office building but with a couple of decorative turrets or some folksy wood cladding slapped on, which would be red rag to a bull to a zealous 'modernist'.

 

[BaldiMac]

That's just stupid.

There's a reason why Jobs had Ive working on hardware, and people like Forstall and Christie working on software. People have specialties and they should stick to them.

Coincidentally, that's probably why Ive has people working on hardware and people working on software. Much like Jobs did.

 

[rp2011]

the problem with a "flat" design is that it will be looking dated in no time and isnt really a step "forward" but more like a compromise with a current trend

Absolutely. Forget the garish colors, poor font choice and lack of user friendliness, iOS7 looks dated already.

 

[BornAgainApple]

“Look Greg, I want the backgrounds to be white, the icons to be white and the type to be white. Then you can tap anywhere, or nowhere. Monochrome ... it’s the ultimate simplified user experience!”

~ J.I.

Thanks a lot! I just spit some beverage on my keyboard...but it was worth it!

 

[Gudi]

yea, this sucks. ive is a genius when it comes to hardware design. he is not a genius when it comes to software design. someone over there needs to understand that....

That someone was Greg Christie.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Funny, to me you fight your own point- this is an improvement. The first one looks like something from a 32-bit game, already dated. The second is just clean and concise and definitely more timeless.

Sure... but "clean" is also "plain" and maybe even "boring"

We've got these amazing high-DPI screens... but now all we're seeing is flat images with no depth or gradients.

We might as well be using 4-bit color palettes if there's not gonna be any detail in graphics anymore

 

[B4U]

Now, can we either get rid of Ive, or lock him down in the hardware silo?

 

[nortofthe13th]

This is discouraging news to me re OS X 10.10. The interface in Mountain Lion is less user-friendly as it is, with tiny, bland grey icons, less contrast. I hate to imagine it looking like iOS 7 because that will look glaring on a large iMac screen.

Boo.

I think a lot of people forget... iOS 7 is based heavily on OS X!

Yes a lot of it is much flatter (it's not a 100% flat design) but all of the transparency/blur cues were obviously pulled directly from OS X. I know everyones worried and entitled to their opinion on the matter of the future of Apple design... But chill out! And politely open your eyes.
And BTWs... some people actually like the look and usability of iOS 7. Just saying.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Not Christie! We need someone with an eye for design... Hopefully his work will be picked up successfully, bad year to have such an asset leave when releasing some milestone products (i.e. iPhone 6, iWatch)

These people are old. It's time for some new fresh blood to come in and give a different perspective.

 

[chrisbru]

Clash with Jony Ive? It would be an honor and a privilege just to breathe the same air. The man is a genius. If he says something should be purple, then it should be purple.

Anyone that leaves a position at Apple for something so petty is a fool. I'd clean the toilets if given the chance.

Dear god man, have some pride.

 

[KALLT]

Very worrisome. Apple has been a master in human interface design. OS X and pre-iOS 7 don't just look good, they are good. I've read a lot of developer materials and UI guidelines lately and it is unbelievable sometimes how much thought can go into something as simple as a button. It's design that works for everyone, even if it may look dated to some. I truly admired Apple for that, it's so inspiring. If this report is true, then it may very well explain why many fundamentals have been disregarded in iOS 7. I don't know how qualified Jonny Ive is, but I can only guess that when interface design is a field of its own that requires expertise, he probably will not have much of it.

 

[Ryth]

Ive's background is in industrial design and he's a brilliant hardware designer but sadly his talents in that area don't translate well into UI design.

And you know this how? Considering he hasn't been in charge of it 100% completely yet, your statement is FALSE.