WSJ: Jony Ive Became 'Dispirited' After Apple Watch and Sometimes Failed to Show Up to Meetings

[Romeo_Nightfall]

haha, do you believe it when sir ives says what I have told you for years and other macrumor cracks.
tim hollywood is a complete whack job!

even sir ives is pissed on apple for years - hahaha

 

[Chicane-UK]

Ive reportedly wanted to position the watch as a fashion accessory, but some Apple leaders envisioned it as an extension of the iPhone. Eventually a compromise was agreed, and the $349 watch was tethered to the iPhone, with Apple creating a $17,000 gold version and partnering with Hermès .... Thousands of the gold version are said to have gone unsold.

I didn't understand it when it launched, and I still don't know what they were thinking with the Gold version of the watch, honestly. Who was going to buy one which was functionally identical to one costing a few hundred dollars.

 

[beanbaguk]

I have to say, regarding the apple watch, except for the most ardent Apple fans, most people saw that high end apple watches were not going to be popular, even amongst the rich and ultra rich. Why buy a watch for that much and have it only last a few years ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I have the first generation apple watch and it barely functions, only after 4 years, can you imagine someone dropping a 1,000+ or more on a rolex and it only lasting a 4 years? Not likely.

I said this right from the start and was heavily criticised for doing so.

For a brief moment, I was tempted in the latest generation, but the cost is just ridiculous for something that will be dead in a few years. (And this is from somebody who owns Zeniths, Tag Heuer's has recently purchased a Rolex for my wife).

All my above watches will maintain their value. Even my first "premium" watch. A Tag Heuer 2000 holds more than half its original value from a purchase made 19 years ago!

I do however enjoy using a smart watch and currently use a Withings Activité (original pre-Nokia version), and I use a TomTom GPS for jogging.

However, I always return to my mechanical watches for day-to-day usage. There's something you can't beat with a beautiful mechanical heart inside the mechanism. It looks beautiful and sounds perfect in a quiet room....

 

[ksec]

The report follows a similar narrative of a design team frustrated with Ive's growing absence, but shines a spotlight on the design chief's own discontent within the company, which he felt was becoming less design-focused and more operations-led.

According to sources who spoke to WSJ, Ive pushed for the Apple Watch to be made despite disagreements from some executives, who questioned if a device so small could have a killer app that would compel people to buy it.

When CEO Tim Cook approved the project in 2013, Ive "threw himself into it" and oversaw the software interface team as well as the industrial design, conducting meetings almost daily and immersing himself in detail.

Ive reportedly wanted to position the watch as a fashion accessory, but some Apple leaders envisioned it as an extension of the iPhone. Eventually a compromise was agreed, and the $349 watch was tethered to the iPhone, with Apple creating a $17,000 gold version and partnering with Hermès.

Ive said his work on the Apple Watch in 2014 had been one of his most challenging years at the company, and told Cook he wanted to step back from day-to-day management responsibilities and have "time and space to think."

After the iPhone X launch in September 2017, a key designer left and others were considering leaving, as Ive's absence strained the cohesion central to product development.

Around this time, Ive had reportedly become "dispirited" by Cook, who is said to have "showed little interest in the product development process,"

Ive also grew frustrated as Apple's board became increasingly populated by directors with backgrounds in finance and operations rather than technology or other areas of the company's core business.

A colleague who has worked closely with Ive told WSJ: "He built Apple into this ID (industrial design) and HI (human interface) powerhouse. What does that mean going forward? None of us know. It's not the team that he inherited."

Assuming this is true.
Every Single quote had proved my suspicious to be right for the past few years.

1. Steve Left Apple as Jony having the ID, and Scott Forstall having HI. It was extremely important to separate the two. Because while they might seem similar, they are inherently different. Edit: The head of HI was driven out by Ive. And you could ask anyone with HI experience for their thought on iOS7, there is a different between design something that looks good on Software and Actual Functioning of UI. Although I see the recent iOS and macOS is adding back lots of missing things since iOS7. ( Especially accessibility )

2. The Best people, especially product people are pain in the ass to manage, that is the quote from Steve. That is why it was Tim's Job to solve the dispute between Ive and Forstall, not to pick side.

3. Trying to go for higher profits and sales while neglecting Market Share. I think Apple is lucky to have its current market share. But I presume if Steve was alive and has 100s of billions of cash and had no idea what to do with it, he might actually lower the profit margin from a ridiculous Net 20% to loser to 10% to 15%. Which was the margin they operate on before iPhone. Somewhere along the line they got to 20%. and they become greedy. And now they are somehow fixed on the 20% Net Margin.

4. Ive is obviously burn out. And like I said, having the operation guys telling him he can't do something because of production limitation, etc. Will eventually kill what ever design senses he had.

5. Ive cant perform without Steve Jobs. Or without someone lifting up from time to time like Steve would used to motivate every one in Apple. And this moral issues has obviously filtered down, once reason why you see a lot of executive leaving Apple, at a rate much higher than past Apple history.

6. Tim Cook is absolutely **** with people. He is not good at picking people. And that is from the first Apple Retail guy from Dixon to recent Angela Ahrendts. Although I am now starting to think it might not even have been Angela Ahrendts fault. The Apple Store Expansion delay might have been an operational and finance huddle within the company.

7. While I think the Apple Watch at its current price is actually quite "low", that Gold version was insane. Ive without Steve is like Messi without Iniesta and Xavi.

8. Tim is now caring more about the process, and not the product.

9. There is already huge discontent with MacBook Pro. As a matter of fact 2016+ MBP has been the worst product in Apple history, mentioned by many who followed Apple since it was Six Colour. Apple is safe now and still doing OK not because they are good, but because their competitor is even worst. That is both Android and Windows. ( Microsoft WSL 2 will likly steal many Devs over )

10. The adoption rate of new Mac user has been slowing down. And if there are still 50% new to Mac it just mean lots of users are leaving the Mac ecosystem. I don't know how this is not alarming.

If Tim Cook doesn't want to lower price of iPhone, how about giving AppleCare+ for free with each iPhone? Stop trying to look at numbers like ASP, unit sold. Start by making best product and services.

Edit: This isn't to say Apple is Doom, far from it. But at least it shows things are changing. For better or worst. Jobs & Ive 's Apple has officially ended. This is now fully Tim Cook's Apple. He is definitely no Ballmer, but it is obvious Apple will no longer be the same. For those who have been following Apple since pre iPhone era, ( A lot of people only know Apple via iPhone ) this is a little uneasy.

 

[TGM85]

For all we know, Ive simply was forcing the new thinner design, and the engineering team was stuck having to come up with a rushed solution for the keyboard. It happened many times at Apple where the engineering teams were pushed to the corner in the name of design. Antennagate, the G4 cube, etc. Sometimes, the engineers came up with a brilliant solutions, but other times, you cannot beat the law of physics (bendgate).

Don't forget about the Mac Pro 2013. It's an amazing piece of design, but it failed miserably at being the type computer it was meant to be.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

When the iPhone started out, Apple were the forefront of technology and first with everything.
Today Apple’s late to the game with everything from iPhone design, watches, to music players. Possibly disillusioned with Cook moving forward.

Apple has never generally been first to a market. They have always been late, usually coming in a class up from most other products in that market.

 

[lordofthereef]

How likely is it that someone who purchases a Rolex watch is intending for it to be their only watch? They'll probably have a whole collection, just like sports cars.

I don't see the relevance. When you collect watches you can go back to the watch five years later and it stillfunctions the way it should. Same with a sports bar assuming it's properly maintained. The gold apple watch is literally only worth whatever the weight of the gold is worth lol. It's otherwise useless.

 

[tito2020]

Jony hasn’t left. He’s gone freelance.

Something is not right, apple made billions of his designs now he is leaving has to me more to it.

 

[BarredOwl]

Who edits these articles? Apple didn't partner Hermès for the gold watches.

That is not what the sentence says.

 

[BvizioN]

Maybe he missed the meetings because notifications on his Apple Watch didn’t come through?

Even my Apple Watch original series never failed to deliver a notification.

 

[pika2000]

When the iPhone started out, Apple were the forefront of technology and first with everything.
Today Apple’s late to the game with everything from iPhone design, watches, to music players. Possibly disillusioned with Cook moving forward.

If you think about it, Apple is still at the forefront of technology. Technology doesn't translate to just phones and PCs.
Remember what Jobs said in the past. Apple always looks forward to ride the horse that they think will be the next big thing. Apple bet on mobile, and they led the race with arguably the most powerful and efficient mobile chip on the market. Apple is now betting on healthcare (with Apple Watch being one of the trojan horses), while the likes of Microsoft are dropping off that field.

Us consumers can only look at consumer products, and Apple looks like to be falling behind. But when one look at the relationships Apple is knitting on the healthcare and finance sectors, Apple is already on a different horse race.

 

[Space Weevil]

Jobs predicted exactly what appears to be happening at Apple.

 

[Bin Cook]

lol - hopefully no more moderator-encouraged passive-aggressive insults coming my way for suggesting Ive's "tiredness" was code for having had enough of Cook's BS. Been trying to tell y'all for a few years now.

 

[fitshaced]

Jony Ive Had Enough

 

[pika2000]

I didn't understand it when it launched, and I still don't know what they were thinking with the Gold version of the watch, honestly. Who was going to buy one which was functionally identical to one costing a few hundred dollars.

It was the first launch, and it was understandable that Apple is trying various approach to the watch. Again, the article mentioned that Ive wanted the Apple watch as a fashion accessory, thus the gold and branded versions make sense. For all we know, Ive was adamant about it and Cook allowed those to go. But reality said otherwise, and Apple quickly focused in on healthcare, and then they've been nailing it.

No wonder Ive was pissed (if he really wanted the Apple watch to be purely a fashion accessory instead of what is is now).

 

[apolloa]

So now the media is out to rubbish his name? How utterly pathetic...

Typical media I guess though. And a key person left, right so do we know as a fact why? No of course not but don’t let the media word it to imply otherwise...

Also if the workers were incapable of sending Ive an email or pictures etc then they shouldn’t be working in big business!

It seems Ive May have been severely stressed, and considering stress can kill you, it can cause all sorts of serious health issues, then I think it’s pretty pi** poor for the staff to come out and slander him now....

 

[imom]

Can't say I blame him. Cook is such an arrogant bean counter who sold out, as many of us predicted.

 

[Gutwrench]

Ivy bails before the notch unveils.

 

[apolloa]

I'm no Cook fan, but its hard to deny that he's taken Apple to new heights that Jobs never did, where as Ballmer did the opposite.

Well only in money terms, NOT in product terms, the same iMac and Mac Mini designs for what five years now? Oh they changed the colour...

Then we have the scandals like the flat out lying over the battery’s of iPhones..

 

[gnipgnop]

I don't see the relevance. When you collect watches you can go back to the watch five years later and it stillfunctions the way it should.

The relevance is that most Rolex customers aren't going to view a $1,000 Apple Watch as being too pricey. Besides, everyone knows the tech world isn't centered around selling people a product that is expected to last 100 years.

 

[newdeal]

the killer app is custom watch faces. I mean really custom as in as custom as a tattoo. Custom art, custom curves, every aspect changeable. But like homekit apple is letting the watch languish from lack of interest and vision. They are becoming a services company and forgetting about products

 

[Abazigal]

2. The Best people, especially product people are pain in the ass to manage, that is the quote from Steve. That is why it was Tim's Job to solve the dispute between Ive and Forstall, not to pick a side.

I don't think firing Scott Forstall was the wrong decision in the bigger scope of things. It seems like he was causing more problems than he was worth, and I doubt anyone is worth the massive social drain on everyone around him.

I would probably have done the same thing were I in Tim Cook's shoes.

3. Trying to go for higher profits and sales while neglecting Market Share. I think Apple is lucky to have its current market share. But I presume if Steve was alive and has 100s of billions of cash and had no idea what to do with it, he might actually lower the profit margin from a ridiculous Net 20% to loser to 10% to 15%. Which was the margin they operate on before iPhone. Somewhere along the line they got to 20%. and they become greedy. And now they are somehow fixed on the 20% Net Margin.

But Apple's profit margins have actually decreased. So it stands to reason that the chief reason why Apple products are more expensive is that they simply cost more to make. And products like the iPhone X are more expensive to make because of the way they are designed, which suggests that Apple is not averse to taking design risks, even when they result in lower margins.

4. Ive is obviously burn out. And like I said, having the operation guys telling him he can't do something because of production limitation, etc. Will eventually kill what ever design senses he had.

But that's precisely the point of a profit-maximising company. Apple serves a way larger market than it did 10 years ago. It's one thing to be able to make a single great product, it's another to be able to mass-produce it in the millions so the people who want one will actually be able to buy one.

That's why I think Tim Cook remains the best person to run Apple, because he will be able to tell you whether your product is realistic to mass-manufacture or not. Which is really what matters at the end of the day.

When the iPhone started out, Apple were the forefront of technology and first with everything.
Today Apple’s late to the game with everything from iPhone design, watches, to music players. Possibly disillusioned with Cook moving forward.

When you think about it, the iPhone wasn't exactly revolutionary in terms of raw specs. What Apple excels in doing is knowing how best to put all these parts together to offer a better user experience.

I have not seen that change.

 

[mwd25]

When the iPhone started out, Apple were the forefront of technology and first with everything.
Today Apple’s late to the game with everything from iPhone design, watches, to music players. Possibly disillusioned with Cook moving forward.

And this attitude is what made Apple Maps suck when it first released. It was rushed out before it was even close to ready. A app that was released not because they had a killer product that was going to dominate, but because they didnt want to deal with google. Same with Apple Watch, rushed to market before it was ready. I dont care if Apple is first. I would rather the phone not blow up in my hand because battery was rushed. I would rather put on the watch and leave my phone behind if I want. Thats what makes it a great product, to be able to use it WITHOUT the Iphone. If you cant do that, dont release it yet.

 

[apolloa]

It turns out the same thing can happen in technology companies that get monopolies, like IBM or Xerox. If you were a product person at IBM or Xerox, so you make a better copier or computer. So what? When you have monopoly market share, the company's not any more successful.

So the people that can make the company more successful are sales and marketing people, and they end up running the companies. And the product people get driven out of the decision making forums, and the companies forget what it means to make great products. The product sensibility and the product genius that brought them to that monopolistic position gets rotted out by people running these companies that have no conception of a good product versus a bad product.

They have no conception of the craftsmanship that's required to take a good idea and turn it into a good product. And they really have no feeling in their hearts, usually, about wanting to really help the customers.

Steve Jobs - The Lost Interview

There’s just one thing wrong with your post I’m afraid, it was Steve Jibs who put Tim Cook in charge of Apple.... making him quite the hypocrite...

 

[x34]

If you think about it, Apple is still at the forefront of technology.

but not at the forefront of design.

the last great iphone designwise was iphone 4 to iphone 5s. then a big decline happened...