He also said, "When a huge part of the function is lists, a circle doesn’t make any sense." So it seems like he's pretty invested in the choice he's already made. And I really think they want the Watch to be something iconic like the original iPod. That's tricky if they have multiple shapes, even leaving aside any other considerations.
Well first of all that's his rationale for making the 1st gen Apple Watch square, and I completely agree with that logic. It's the easiest way to proceed based on a untried product. There is no reason to believe this applies to every future iteration of the watch Apple intends to produce, anymore than Apple's statement they would never make a "phablet"-sized iPhone because the original iPhone represented the perfect size for one-handed use. Priorities change, and the watch has changed Apple's priorities considerably. And Ive is not beyond making compromises to his designs, as he publicly stated about the much maligned camera bulge on the iPhone 6. Iconic products exist for every manufacturer, but there is also massive pressure to offer variety, especially when it comes to fashion. Moved is perfect example. They came onto the luxury watch scene with their iconic simplistic black faced design, but the watch company has taken the reputation for quality and expanded their offerings in order to appeal to a broader base of customers demanding choice in their fashion items. Apple is now in the same boat if they wish to be part of the fashion world they seem to be pandering so hard to ingratiate themselves into. There's no reason they can't have "iconic" and address the fashion needs of their customers as well. But unlike iPhones, and iPads, people aren't waling around with them displayed on their bodies all day. Watches represent an expression of individuality, which explains why most people I know who wear them have multiple watches, and rarely have I ever seen two people in the same room wearing the exact same one. Apple will have to address this issue eventually if the watch is to become as popular as many predict.
As for being conservative for the initial launch design, It's reported that Ive had to win a fight within Apple to make the Apple Watch a product, because it represents a completely different level of customization than any other Apple product. Apple is in the business of releasing devices that feel "inevitable," yet fashion is all about customization. This also led to many of Apple's recent hires, including Angela Ahrendts of Burberry, Paul Deneve of Yves Saint Laurent, and Patrick Pruniaux from Tag Heuer. So from that report, it appears that Ive was lucky to get the watch on the fast track to begin with, so he was hardly in a position to push for something the software guys would resist, much less two designs. As for what he's said, expect Apple products to continue to take on softer, rounder, more organic forms. Ive is fascinated with corners, and finding ways of getting rid of them thanks to materials such as curved glass. According to Jobs' widow Laurene Powell Jobs, Ive is a fan of Josef Frank, the Austrian-Swedish designer of round furniture who proclaimed: "No hard corners: humans are soft and shapes should be, too." And nothing is softer than a circle.
In the end, we'll have to see whether Ives continues to make pragmatic design compromises, or if his repeated acknowledgment of the customer's desire for customization of products they wear will trump the bean counters objections that the multiple watch configurations complicates their product offerings and reduces their margins.
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Round wastes so much space. You'd need a UI specifically designed to take advantage of the extra edges.
I don't see it that way from looking at this comparison, though I agree that the option to use a custom UI would enhance the design of the Watch and would expect Apple to provide a simple means to design for both.
Does this classic Movado have a lot of wasted space?
It's perfect size. People should stop making macro shots.
