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Apple, Influence, and Ive

melling 9y ago
i love my Apple Watch. I’ve been greatly disappointed, however, that Android watches haven’t caught on. Every company needs a strong competitor to spur innovation. Given Google’s lead in AI, i’m sure they’d quickly offer features that’ll take Apple years to implement.
- rconti 9y ago
  I was more unsure about buying an Apple Watch than any other Apple product to date. I ultimately decided to buy one before a trip to Europe because, let's face it, it's kind of nice to have a new toy to play with on a solo trip where you've got a bit more free time to yourself to explore, than when you're stuck in the daily grind. Ultimately they were hard to find at the time, even at the Cupertino store, and I bought one at an Apple Store in Frankfurt instead. It has had a bit of a slow burn with me. I never disliked it, but I always wondered whether it would be worth the money, or how I'd feel about abandoning wearing traditional watches entirely. (I'm a bit obsessive about these things; I knew if I liked it, I'd wear it every day and never again be 'able' to go back to a non-smartwatch). Eventually I stopped wearing watches entirely (first by accident) a few months before I bought the Watch, so it at least freed up a wrist for this project. It's bad at plenty of things. It's a 2nd gen watch, and somehow even Apple apps are slow -- the Activity/Workout app, in particular, takes several (4-5) seconds to be responsive after loading it. Same for Strava, sometimes. It's not clear when a button press is registered so you have to stare at it for a few seconds to see if it will do what it should. Or you end up double-pressing a button. And it can't really be used for lap timing because there's no way to consistently/accurately hit a touch button while running or cycling without pressing too hard, or too soft, or of the mark, or dragging slightly. They really need to add physical button functionality for some apps. Oh, and notifications are totally hit or miss which was kind of the entire point. But it integrates itself into your life so nicely, it's definitely a product I want to keep owning/buying and I hope they keep improving. I bike to work daily, I'm running all the time. I use Strava multiple times a day to record everything. It's so simple. I'd never bother opening an app on my phone for a commute to work, but 2 taps on the Apple watch (caveats above notwithstanding) and it's done. Fitness tracking is hardly new; I had a FuelBand (2 or 3, warranty replacements, kept failing) and 2 Fitbit Charge HRs (ditto, warranty replacements, failing). But it works amazingly well, and with Strava integration on the watch, with my Suunto watch, with my Wahoo Elemnt Bolt bicycle computer, all of my activity data is recorded and synced to the watch, and fits with the whole ecosystem of Health-based apps, for myfitnesspal for meal tracking and seeing effectively realtime caloric intake/output. Tracking blood pressure and weight on Health on my phone. Call/text notifications, Okta VPN push notifications, Pagerduty acknowledgement. I'm now very much sold on how smartwatches are a useful product.
- wlesieutre 9y ago
  Maybe Fitbit Versa will be the one. They've got people from Pebble, and Pebble was great up until they shut down and sold the useful bits to Fitbit. I think I knew one or two people with a moto360 back when those were newish, but you really don't see them anymore.
  - rhodysurf 9y ago
    I have a moto 360 and an Apple watch.. The apple watch is sooo much better at what I actually care about, looking at the face and seeing real time data alone with the time (complications). I never use apps, just use it for notifications and glancing at complications to see what the latest wave buoy data is.
    - wlesieutre 9y ago
      For the most part I'm using it for activity tracking, notifications, and a couple of complications, but there are a handful of apps that I've found are handy to have around: 1Password or Duo for TOTP codes. Visual Codes lets people scan my watch to join my wifi network. Dark Sky to check for upcoming rain. Remote to control an Apple TV. Huemote to control a few lights. I only got it recently, but I get the impression that a lot of companies (Amazon, Twitter, Ebay, and Instagram, etc.) came up with Watch apps and then killed them because they were pointless. Those are things that are better done with a phone. But for small utility tasks, it's handy to have them right here.
  - cbhl 9y ago
    I really miss having the Pebble as a silent alarm clock. The motor in it was really strong, and my Fitbit Alta just doesn't compare.
- badwolf 9y ago
  Apple Watch was the initial reason for me to switch to iPhone. Android watches were all obscenely huge and bulky (I have little tiny wrists) Apple came out with a good looking watch in a smaller size. I've been with iPhone/Apple Watch since.
- lasgsf 9y ago
  Agree as well. I love the Apple Watch. The LTE really changed the game for me personally.
oflannabhra 9y ago
I have an iPhone and an Apple Watch, both of which I greatly enjoy. I've never felt more out of touch with both sides of an interview as I did while attempting to read this. I realize that Hodinkee is a site essentially about incredibly expensive men's jewelry, but sheesh. When the author regretted not bidding more that $42,000 to buy Steve Jobs watch, I realized I am very, very far from the target audience.
olivermarks 9y ago
I don't think Ive is 'the greatest designer of our generation' at all. Apple's innovation has fallen off a cliff, they are now a financialized company focusing on essentially being a bank, and watch fashions are not something I have any interest in from them. I wish they would get some of their old mojo back and get back into the spirit and excitement of Apple circa 12 years ago when everyone was waiting to see what they'd come up with next... /written on an ancient macbook air because they haven't come up with a good replacement yet
- Analemma_ 9y ago
  If you believe the motto "design is how it works" (and Apple should, because the phrase was coined by Steve Jobs), Apple's design in the Cook era has been abysmal: charging your Apple Pencil by sticking it out of the lightning port. The mouse that has to charge by flipping it upside-down. The beautiful trash can that couldn't be upgraded. And this fucking keyboard that dies and sets you back $700 if it gets so much as a speck of dust in it. Jony Ive is way overdue for a re-evaluation as "the greatest designer of our generation". Left to his own devices without Jobs as a moderating influence, he produces hot garbage.
  - Clubber 9y ago
    Don't forget removing the mag-safe power connector. Having said all that, what company and what person designs better stuff? Most of the crap we buy is garbage.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
  - Nullabillity 9y ago
    > Left to his own devices without Jobs as a moderating influence, he produces hot garbage. Pretty sure Jobs wasn't a moderating force. See https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=PC_Board_Esthetics.txt https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&stor..., https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Diagnostic_Port.txt https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&stor..., etc.
jgh 9y ago
I have a first-gen apple watch and I almost never use it. The only time I've really put it to much use was while traveling, but then I bought a cheapo spanish automatic and now I wear that instead. I have an FP Journe that I wear regularly, and it's a watch that I love. It's my only expensive one. I'm not really a "watch guy", I enjoy wearing watches and obviously have spent some money on them, but I can't say that I like the apple watch.
- rauhl 9y ago
  About two years ago I decided that it was time to get a smart watch. I’m a developer, I’m a geek, I love my smart phone — a smart watch is the perfect accessory, right? Well, actually it’s not. After spending quite a lot of time looking at the different options out there, I realised that a smart watch is a dumb purchase: it’s another computer with a 3-year lifespan, but a price tag like a luxury watch. So I ended up buying some automatic watches instead. They’re less expensive and sharper-looking. After looking at the watches shown off in this article: I made the right call. I’m fairly certain that in a decade we’re going to look back on smart watches the way we do digital watches: as an odd fad that noöne will be able to explain later on.
  - jgh 9y ago
    Right. I think that I agree that in 10-15 years we may look back at these watches with the same curiosity that we look back on digital watches with. There will still be some around, but probably won't be talked about as much. The thing that I found about it is that watches have such little real-estate, and I have my phone on me anyway, that having a computer with poor connectivity and a tiny screen on my wrist wasn't really doing it for me. I mean the magic in a watch isn't even the functionality. It's the engineering and art and story. Having a halfway-functional computer from the largest company in the world on my wrist just wasn't that interesting to me.
  - zitterbewegung 9y ago
    Yes, the Apple Watch is really not a good timepiece or a traditional watches. Really what it does best is fitness tracking and helping you out with your general health. You can see this in the cancellation of the high priced solid gold watches. Sure you can buy one made out of ceramic but I have never seen one wear it (it seems to be a halo unit to prototype designs in ceramic IMHO). Also there are expensive bands but comparatively any other watch will be much more attractive given $300.
L_Rahman 9y ago
I don't appreciate often enough how many of the profiles and interviews I read are composed by people who've spent years honing the very specific craft of talking to a person and trying to put them on paper. But reading this amateur effort really puts all of that into perspective. Regardless of what you think of the actual views Ives communicates in the piece, the writing is so bad it's hard to keep reading. Apparently all you have to do for an exclusive is be a mawkish fanboy with a lot of money to spend on men's jewelry.
- wmeredith 9y ago
  Eh, Hodinkee may not be to your taste (it's not entirely to mine), but your dismissiveness of it seems misplaced. It's a hugely trafficked website and has been consistently putting out a lot of quality content about watches and men's fashion for almost 10 years now. That's is what got him this access. Not being a "mawkish fanboy with a lot of money to spend on men's jewelry."
  - L_Rahman 9y ago
    I apologize for making my comment so hyperbolic and you are right to call me out for dishing on them unfairly. I'm familiar with Hodinkee and in general I think favorably of them. They've brought some necessary web polish to an industry where publicity has a very grubby old school feel to it. Personally, I've used Hodinkee as a jumping off point to do some research into watches I might want to own some day and the site has only made firmer my love for the Nomos house. That being said, as a journalistic outlet the site is still very much a show run by amateur enthusiasts. This is not inherently a problem, plenty of fields get covered by people early in their career. But there is something specific to luxury watches that makes it unable to feed in or out of the ecosystem of writers and limits the people working there to the kind of people who can be interested in very expensive jewelry. Compare this profile to one's done by people who specialize in the craft - Ta-Nehisi Coates at the Atlantic on Obama, Caity Weaver at GQ, or closer to the tech world Adrian Chen at the New Yorker and Steven Levy at Wired - and you can see the core editorial and writing skills simply aren't there and likely never will be.
ThJ 9y ago
The writer of this article is comically reverent of Apple and John I've, and I say this as the owner of multiple Apple products.
- dpkonofa 9y ago
  Yeah... it's kind of embarrassing.
exodust 9y ago
Cringey long-winded ass kissing pile of Apple worship. He sure loves his Apple products, they touch him on a deeply emotional level. He elevates 'Sir Jonathan Ive' beyond mere human to a realm where normal human behaviour is worth writing about... "As Jony posed for our cover shot against a scrim, the photographer, a friend of his, made a few jokes. Jony laughed. Not because he had to, but because he thought they were funny." Apple fanatics are getting worse.
lisper 9y ago
My iPod Touch died (expanding battery syndrome) and Apple authorized service centers won't replace the battery. Instead they give you a new iPod for the same price as a battery replacement. So I am going through the process of setting up a new Apple device for the first time in a long time. It's a nightmare. The default home screen is a garish combination of clashing colors. The default wallpaper is a horrific polka-dot pattern. If you don't like polka dots, and you just want a solid color, you have one option: black. The new look-and-feel does not have any consistent visual distinction for active areas of the screen that should respond to touch. There is no visual feedback for a successful touch. Responses to touches are often delayed. The net effect is that it is often impossible to tell whether you are poking part of the screen that isn't actually active, or if the system is just slow to respond, or if you finger is defective. (That's not a joke. My wife consistently has trouble activating touch screens.)
- natch 9y ago
  >It's a nightmare. Wow. A bit melodramatic here talking about your free new replacement device, and off topic. Your touch problems are probably due to you pressing the screen, instead of tapping. Just do light taps, and it should work fine. Maybe you are used to a different type of device. Wallpaper can be changed to anything you want. You can Google it and find out how to do it.
  - lisper 9y ago
    It wasn't free. It cost me the price of a battery replacement, which was nearly half the cost of a new device. And no, my wife is not pressing the screen. She's tapping it. And she is used to Apple devices. She has had an iPhone for years. Yes, I know I can change the wallpaper to anything I want. The point is that Apple's default choices have horrible aesthetics. Steve Jobs once famously said in an interview that the problem with Microsoft is that they had no taste. So now that Apple doesn't have any either I think it's fair game to levy that same criticism at them.
- 1123581321 9y ago
  What are you trying to do that requires a touch, but gives no visual feedback? I can’t think of a situation where a touch would do something and not change the screen in some way. I agree the design is a little flat, though. The flat, minimal design benefits sophisticated users at the expense of new, unpracticed users. If you’re having trouble because of how hard you press, take a look at the Accessibility settings for touch. As mentioned, it’s easy to change the wallpaper. If you want a solid color, I agree a native picker should exist, but there are plenty of free native apps that do this.
natch 9y ago
I'm surprised that Ive did an interview with such a bad writer (as evidenced by overuse of needless adjectives) and one who so obsessively namedrops designer brands as if it's the brand, not the substance, that matters. Fortunately after the inane introduction, the questions were real questions and not just the interviewer taking the opportunity to make points. So still a good read.
089723645897236 9y ago
"The greatest designer of our generation." Pffft. Greatest stylist maybe. Once again the distinction between design and styling is lost on journalists.
- tzaman 9y ago
  Ok, I'll bite - enlighten us.
  - freehunter 9y ago
    There is a difference, even if I disagree with 089723645897236 that the distinction matters here. Design incorporates function as well as looks. A sports car can be beautifully styled, but if the electronics don't work and the engine is underpowered and the transmission has too few gears and the seats don't sit at the right angle, it's certainly not well designed despite its good looks. What they're saying is that Apple's products are nice to look at but do not function well, which is a very arguable statement.
    - TheOtherHobbes 9y ago
      Apple's products have been increasingly driven by form over function after Jobs died - most obviously slimness over practicality, and gimmicks like the TouchBar over user delight. To some extent the change started while Jobs was alive, but there's certainly limited evidence of commitment to beautiful friction-free computing at Apple now - as there was, more or less, when Jobs was in charge. Watch is a low point, because the case design is far from a classic, and the functionality is crippled by poor performance and limited battery life. So I agree with those who think Ives is overhyped. He can make hits under supervision, but if he's left unsupervised, he's the design equivalent of an architecture astronaut. The fact that Jobs had zero interest in a watch speaks volumes. I suspect - but can't prove - that he would also have had zero interest in Hermès branding, and the rest.
- gehsty 9y ago
  iMac, unibody macbook, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch. All Ive designs which define their category. Please provide someone who meets your criteria as a designer and make the distinction between design and styling as it is lost on me.
aetherson 9y ago
"As I did, I looked down at the small section of my life situated at that airport dining table: my new Nike Air Max sneakers, my cashmere swacket (that’s 50% jacket, 50% sweater, 100% cozy), my almost-too-soft-to-be-taken-outside leather duffel bag, and my iPhone. All of these objects were central to me – I felt like they defined me." These sentences are severely misaligned with my "take this author seriously" algorithm.
- Artistry121 9y ago
  If there weren't an actual interview I'd have read it as satire.
- beautifulfreak 9y ago
  I agree. The author wants to write about himself, but I'm not interested in that person, I wanted to read about Ive. I gave up after the second or third paragraph.
- jiveturkey 9y ago
  Keep in mind, this is hodinkee. They peddle style. It's the wristwatch equivalent of auto "journalism" (R&T, C&D, that kind of thing, not Motorsport). So yes, you read it correctly.
- vl 9y ago
  But this is exactly what is expected from Hodinkee. Their audience are people who define themselves by buying expensive watches they love as objects. If you want different perspective, read different publication.
- kbob 9y ago
  If it was in the third person, it would be a perfect William Gibson paragraph. In fact, I scrolled to the top to check that it wasn't Gibson. (You may or may not take Gibson seriously as an author. I generally do.)
the_rosentotter 9y ago
The self-conciousness, the fawning... This was a toe-curling read. And then it turns out ultimately Steve Jobs did not give a flying fuck about watches but happily wore a cheapo Seiko on the few occasions that he did use one. Ouch. Yet the author's great regret is that he did not get to spend ~$50,000 on that watch, as if it is has some special significance, rather than being a statement of the opposite, that takes missing the point to another level. I'm not saying there is not a finer point to extremely expensive watches, beyond the status symbolism, but this article kind of makes me think, no.
Gorbzel 9y ago
“The thing that struck me was the vitriol from some commenters. It is not surprising, but it is unnecessary. It’s just that we’ve been here so many times before, and we’ve sat through people pouring scorn on us with the iPhone. I don’t understand the reaction – while others haven’t been critical and have been more curious and inquisitive. And I think they will do well because of it and the others will fail, partly as a consequence of that dogma.” Describes 90% of comments re: Apple on this site. Keep ignoring them Jony.
crispinb 9y ago
Quite uncanny. Jony 'wanky' Ive is precisely as vapid as you'd imagine a person who makes his design decisions would be.

i love my Apple Watch. I’ve been greatly disappointed, however, that Android watches haven’t caught on. Every company needs a strong competitor to spur innovation. Given Google’s lead in AI, i’m sure they’d quickly offer features that’ll take Apple years to implement.

rconti 9y ago
I was more unsure about buying an Apple Watch than any other Apple product to date. I ultimately decided to buy one before a trip to Europe because, let's face it, it's kind of nice to have a new toy to play with on a solo trip where you've got a bit more free time to yourself to explore, than when you're stuck in the daily grind. Ultimately they were hard to find at the time, even at the Cupertino store, and I bought one at an Apple Store in Frankfurt instead. It has had a bit of a slow burn with me. I never disliked it, but I always wondered whether it would be worth the money, or how I'd feel about abandoning wearing traditional watches entirely. (I'm a bit obsessive about these things; I knew if I liked it, I'd wear it every day and never again be 'able' to go back to a non-smartwatch). Eventually I stopped wearing watches entirely (first by accident) a few months before I bought the Watch, so it at least freed up a wrist for this project. It's bad at plenty of things. It's a 2nd gen watch, and somehow even Apple apps are slow -- the Activity/Workout app, in particular, takes several (4-5) seconds to be responsive after loading it. Same for Strava, sometimes. It's not clear when a button press is registered so you have to stare at it for a few seconds to see if it will do what it should. Or you end up double-pressing a button. And it can't really be used for lap timing because there's no way to consistently/accurately hit a touch button while running or cycling without pressing too hard, or too soft, or of the mark, or dragging slightly. They really need to add physical button functionality for some apps. Oh, and notifications are totally hit or miss which was kind of the entire point. But it integrates itself into your life so nicely, it's definitely a product I want to keep owning/buying and I hope they keep improving. I bike to work daily, I'm running all the time. I use Strava multiple times a day to record everything. It's so simple. I'd never bother opening an app on my phone for a commute to work, but 2 taps on the Apple watch (caveats above notwithstanding) and it's done. Fitness tracking is hardly new; I had a FuelBand (2 or 3, warranty replacements, kept failing) and 2 Fitbit Charge HRs (ditto, warranty replacements, failing). But it works amazingly well, and with Strava integration on the watch, with my Suunto watch, with my Wahoo Elemnt Bolt bicycle computer, all of my activity data is recorded and synced to the watch, and fits with the whole ecosystem of Health-based apps, for myfitnesspal for meal tracking and seeing effectively realtime caloric intake/output. Tracking blood pressure and weight on Health on my phone. Call/text notifications, Okta VPN push notifications, Pagerduty acknowledgement. I'm now very much sold on how smartwatches are a useful product.
wlesieutre 9y ago
Maybe Fitbit Versa will be the one. They've got people from Pebble, and Pebble was great up until they shut down and sold the useful bits to Fitbit. I think I knew one or two people with a moto360 back when those were newish, but you really don't see them anymore.
- rhodysurf 9y ago
  I have a moto 360 and an Apple watch.. The apple watch is sooo much better at what I actually care about, looking at the face and seeing real time data alone with the time (complications). I never use apps, just use it for notifications and glancing at complications to see what the latest wave buoy data is.
  - wlesieutre 9y ago
    For the most part I'm using it for activity tracking, notifications, and a couple of complications, but there are a handful of apps that I've found are handy to have around: 1Password or Duo for TOTP codes. Visual Codes lets people scan my watch to join my wifi network. Dark Sky to check for upcoming rain. Remote to control an Apple TV. Huemote to control a few lights. I only got it recently, but I get the impression that a lot of companies (Amazon, Twitter, Ebay, and Instagram, etc.) came up with Watch apps and then killed them because they were pointless. Those are things that are better done with a phone. But for small utility tasks, it's handy to have them right here.
- cbhl 9y ago
  I really miss having the Pebble as a silent alarm clock. The motor in it was really strong, and my Fitbit Alta just doesn't compare.
badwolf 9y ago
Apple Watch was the initial reason for me to switch to iPhone. Android watches were all obscenely huge and bulky (I have little tiny wrists) Apple came out with a good looking watch in a smaller size. I've been with iPhone/Apple Watch since.
lasgsf 9y ago
Agree as well. I love the Apple Watch. The LTE really changed the game for me personally.

oflannabhra 9y ago

I have an iPhone and an Apple Watch, both of which I greatly enjoy. I've never felt more out of touch with both sides of an interview as I did while attempting to read this. I realize that Hodinkee is a site essentially about incredibly expensive men's jewelry, but sheesh. When the author regretted not bidding more that $42,000 to buy Steve Jobs watch, I realized I am very, very far from the target audience.

olivermarks 9y ago

I don't think Ive is 'the greatest designer of our generation' at all. Apple's innovation has fallen off a cliff, they are now a financialized company focusing on essentially being a bank, and watch fashions are not something I have any interest in from them. I wish they would get some of their old mojo back and get back into the spirit and excitement of Apple circa 12 years ago when everyone was waiting to see what they'd come up with next... /written on an ancient macbook air because they haven't come up with a good replacement yet

Analemma_ 9y ago
If you believe the motto "design is how it works" (and Apple should, because the phrase was coined by Steve Jobs), Apple's design in the Cook era has been abysmal: charging your Apple Pencil by sticking it out of the lightning port. The mouse that has to charge by flipping it upside-down. The beautiful trash can that couldn't be upgraded. And this fucking keyboard that dies and sets you back $700 if it gets so much as a speck of dust in it. Jony Ive is way overdue for a re-evaluation as "the greatest designer of our generation". Left to his own devices without Jobs as a moderating influence, he produces hot garbage.
- Clubber 9y ago
  Don't forget removing the mag-safe power connector. Having said all that, what company and what person designs better stuff? Most of the crap we buy is garbage.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- Nullabillity 9y ago
  > Left to his own devices without Jobs as a moderating influence, he produces hot garbage. Pretty sure Jobs wasn't a moderating force. See https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=PC_Board_Esthetics.txt https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&stor..., https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Diagnostic_Port.txt https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&stor..., etc.

jgh 9y ago

I have a first-gen apple watch and I almost never use it. The only time I've really put it to much use was while traveling, but then I bought a cheapo spanish automatic and now I wear that instead. I have an FP Journe that I wear regularly, and it's a watch that I love. It's my only expensive one. I'm not really a "watch guy", I enjoy wearing watches and obviously have spent some money on them, but I can't say that I like the apple watch.

rauhl 9y ago
About two years ago I decided that it was time to get a smart watch. I’m a developer, I’m a geek, I love my smart phone — a smart watch is the perfect accessory, right? Well, actually it’s not. After spending quite a lot of time looking at the different options out there, I realised that a smart watch is a dumb purchase: it’s another computer with a 3-year lifespan, but a price tag like a luxury watch. So I ended up buying some automatic watches instead. They’re less expensive and sharper-looking. After looking at the watches shown off in this article: I made the right call. I’m fairly certain that in a decade we’re going to look back on smart watches the way we do digital watches: as an odd fad that noöne will be able to explain later on.
- jgh 9y ago
  Right. I think that I agree that in 10-15 years we may look back at these watches with the same curiosity that we look back on digital watches with. There will still be some around, but probably won't be talked about as much. The thing that I found about it is that watches have such little real-estate, and I have my phone on me anyway, that having a computer with poor connectivity and a tiny screen on my wrist wasn't really doing it for me. I mean the magic in a watch isn't even the functionality. It's the engineering and art and story. Having a halfway-functional computer from the largest company in the world on my wrist just wasn't that interesting to me.
- zitterbewegung 9y ago
  Yes, the Apple Watch is really not a good timepiece or a traditional watches. Really what it does best is fitness tracking and helping you out with your general health. You can see this in the cancellation of the high priced solid gold watches. Sure you can buy one made out of ceramic but I have never seen one wear it (it seems to be a halo unit to prototype designs in ceramic IMHO). Also there are expensive bands but comparatively any other watch will be much more attractive given $300.

L_Rahman 9y ago

I don't appreciate often enough how many of the profiles and interviews I read are composed by people who've spent years honing the very specific craft of talking to a person and trying to put them on paper. But reading this amateur effort really puts all of that into perspective. Regardless of what you think of the actual views Ives communicates in the piece, the writing is so bad it's hard to keep reading. Apparently all you have to do for an exclusive is be a mawkish fanboy with a lot of money to spend on men's jewelry.

wmeredith 9y ago
Eh, Hodinkee may not be to your taste (it's not entirely to mine), but your dismissiveness of it seems misplaced. It's a hugely trafficked website and has been consistently putting out a lot of quality content about watches and men's fashion for almost 10 years now. That's is what got him this access. Not being a "mawkish fanboy with a lot of money to spend on men's jewelry."
- L_Rahman 9y ago
  I apologize for making my comment so hyperbolic and you are right to call me out for dishing on them unfairly. I'm familiar with Hodinkee and in general I think favorably of them. They've brought some necessary web polish to an industry where publicity has a very grubby old school feel to it. Personally, I've used Hodinkee as a jumping off point to do some research into watches I might want to own some day and the site has only made firmer my love for the Nomos house. That being said, as a journalistic outlet the site is still very much a show run by amateur enthusiasts. This is not inherently a problem, plenty of fields get covered by people early in their career. But there is something specific to luxury watches that makes it unable to feed in or out of the ecosystem of writers and limits the people working there to the kind of people who can be interested in very expensive jewelry. Compare this profile to one's done by people who specialize in the craft - Ta-Nehisi Coates at the Atlantic on Obama, Caity Weaver at GQ, or closer to the tech world Adrian Chen at the New Yorker and Steven Levy at Wired - and you can see the core editorial and writing skills simply aren't there and likely never will be.

ThJ 9y ago

The writer of this article is comically reverent of Apple and John I've, and I say this as the owner of multiple Apple products.

dpkonofa 9y ago
Yeah... it's kind of embarrassing.

exodust 9y ago

Cringey long-winded ass kissing pile of Apple worship. He sure loves his Apple products, they touch him on a deeply emotional level. He elevates 'Sir Jonathan Ive' beyond mere human to a realm where normal human behaviour is worth writing about... "As Jony posed for our cover shot against a scrim, the photographer, a friend of his, made a few jokes. Jony laughed. Not because he had to, but because he thought they were funny." Apple fanatics are getting worse.

lisper 9y ago

My iPod Touch died (expanding battery syndrome) and Apple authorized service centers won't replace the battery. Instead they give you a new iPod for the same price as a battery replacement. So I am going through the process of setting up a new Apple device for the first time in a long time. It's a nightmare. The default home screen is a garish combination of clashing colors. The default wallpaper is a horrific polka-dot pattern. If you don't like polka dots, and you just want a solid color, you have one option: black. The new look-and-feel does not have any consistent visual distinction for active areas of the screen that should respond to touch. There is no visual feedback for a successful touch. Responses to touches are often delayed. The net effect is that it is often impossible to tell whether you are poking part of the screen that isn't actually active, or if the system is just slow to respond, or if you finger is defective. (That's not a joke. My wife consistently has trouble activating touch screens.)

natch 9y ago
>It's a nightmare. Wow. A bit melodramatic here talking about your free new replacement device, and off topic. Your touch problems are probably due to you pressing the screen, instead of tapping. Just do light taps, and it should work fine. Maybe you are used to a different type of device. Wallpaper can be changed to anything you want. You can Google it and find out how to do it.
- lisper 9y ago
  It wasn't free. It cost me the price of a battery replacement, which was nearly half the cost of a new device. And no, my wife is not pressing the screen. She's tapping it. And she is used to Apple devices. She has had an iPhone for years. Yes, I know I can change the wallpaper to anything I want. The point is that Apple's default choices have horrible aesthetics. Steve Jobs once famously said in an interview that the problem with Microsoft is that they had no taste. So now that Apple doesn't have any either I think it's fair game to levy that same criticism at them.
1123581321 9y ago
What are you trying to do that requires a touch, but gives no visual feedback? I can’t think of a situation where a touch would do something and not change the screen in some way. I agree the design is a little flat, though. The flat, minimal design benefits sophisticated users at the expense of new, unpracticed users. If you’re having trouble because of how hard you press, take a look at the Accessibility settings for touch. As mentioned, it’s easy to change the wallpaper. If you want a solid color, I agree a native picker should exist, but there are plenty of free native apps that do this.

natch 9y ago

I'm surprised that Ive did an interview with such a bad writer (as evidenced by overuse of needless adjectives) and one who so obsessively namedrops designer brands as if it's the brand, not the substance, that matters. Fortunately after the inane introduction, the questions were real questions and not just the interviewer taking the opportunity to make points. So still a good read.

089723645897236 9y ago

"The greatest designer of our generation." Pffft. Greatest stylist maybe. Once again the distinction between design and styling is lost on journalists.

tzaman 9y ago
Ok, I'll bite - enlighten us.
- freehunter 9y ago
  There is a difference, even if I disagree with 089723645897236 that the distinction matters here. Design incorporates function as well as looks. A sports car can be beautifully styled, but if the electronics don't work and the engine is underpowered and the transmission has too few gears and the seats don't sit at the right angle, it's certainly not well designed despite its good looks. What they're saying is that Apple's products are nice to look at but do not function well, which is a very arguable statement.
  - TheOtherHobbes 9y ago
    Apple's products have been increasingly driven by form over function after Jobs died - most obviously slimness over practicality, and gimmicks like the TouchBar over user delight. To some extent the change started while Jobs was alive, but there's certainly limited evidence of commitment to beautiful friction-free computing at Apple now - as there was, more or less, when Jobs was in charge. Watch is a low point, because the case design is far from a classic, and the functionality is crippled by poor performance and limited battery life. So I agree with those who think Ives is overhyped. He can make hits under supervision, but if he's left unsupervised, he's the design equivalent of an architecture astronaut. The fact that Jobs had zero interest in a watch speaks volumes. I suspect - but can't prove - that he would also have had zero interest in Hermès branding, and the rest.
gehsty 9y ago
iMac, unibody macbook, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch. All Ive designs which define their category. Please provide someone who meets your criteria as a designer and make the distinction between design and styling as it is lost on me.

aetherson 9y ago

"As I did, I looked down at the small section of my life situated at that airport dining table: my new Nike Air Max sneakers, my cashmere swacket (that’s 50% jacket, 50% sweater, 100% cozy), my almost-too-soft-to-be-taken-outside leather duffel bag, and my iPhone. All of these objects were central to me – I felt like they defined me." These sentences are severely misaligned with my "take this author seriously" algorithm.

Artistry121 9y ago
If there weren't an actual interview I'd have read it as satire.
beautifulfreak 9y ago
I agree. The author wants to write about himself, but I'm not interested in that person, I wanted to read about Ive. I gave up after the second or third paragraph.
jiveturkey 9y ago
Keep in mind, this is hodinkee. They peddle style. It's the wristwatch equivalent of auto "journalism" (R&T, C&D, that kind of thing, not Motorsport). So yes, you read it correctly.
vl 9y ago
But this is exactly what is expected from Hodinkee. Their audience are people who define themselves by buying expensive watches they love as objects. If you want different perspective, read different publication.
kbob 9y ago
If it was in the third person, it would be a perfect William Gibson paragraph. In fact, I scrolled to the top to check that it wasn't Gibson. (You may or may not take Gibson seriously as an author. I generally do.)

the_rosentotter 9y ago

The self-conciousness, the fawning... This was a toe-curling read. And then it turns out ultimately Steve Jobs did not give a flying fuck about watches but happily wore a cheapo Seiko on the few occasions that he did use one. Ouch. Yet the author's great regret is that he did not get to spend ~$50,000 on that watch, as if it is has some special significance, rather than being a statement of the opposite, that takes missing the point to another level. I'm not saying there is not a finer point to extremely expensive watches, beyond the status symbolism, but this article kind of makes me think, no.

Gorbzel 9y ago

“The thing that struck me was the vitriol from some commenters. It is not surprising, but it is unnecessary. It’s just that we’ve been here so many times before, and we’ve sat through people pouring scorn on us with the iPhone. I don’t understand the reaction – while others haven’t been critical and have been more curious and inquisitive. And I think they will do well because of it and the others will fail, partly as a consequence of that dogma.” Describes 90% of comments re: Apple on this site. Keep ignoring them Jony.

crispinb 9y ago

Quite uncanny. Jony 'wanky' Ive is precisely as vapid as you'd imagine a person who makes his design decisions would be.