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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

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.
  - slantyyz 9y ago
    All those links are from before Jobs' return to Apple. He matured a lot after Next/Pixar.
- jiveturkey 9y ago
  In defense of the pencil, as terrible as it seems, the charging method has a functional reason behind it. You can't expect to keep it charged, therefore there must be a way to charge instantly with what you're guaranteed to have on hand. If it had been designed any differently, there would be a litany of complaints about having to always carry a dongle or cable or something.
  - dpkonofa 9y ago
    Same the applies to the complaints about the mouse. It was designed with the charger port on the bottom specifically for 2 reasons: 1) to keep the design aesthetic as similar to the original Magic Mouse as possible and 2) to prevent people from leaving it plugged in all the time while they're using it thereby defeating the purpose of a wireless mouse. Things seem terrible until you take an open-minded look at the priorities of the design. What might seem stupid at first might actually have a well-thought out background.
    - vl 9y ago
      They should have put port on the side so it's possible to continue to use discharged mouse and charge it at the same time.
      - dpkonofa 9y ago
        This kills the battery.
    - JohnCohorn 9y ago
      Actually both #1 and #2 seem almost entirely unimportant to me, the end user, and great examples of their prioritizing the needs and wants of Apple and its designers to the detriment of end users. Appearing like the previous mouse provides me with no utility and I’d much prefer to leave my work provided mouse plugged in at all times and have one less thing to charge.
      - dpkonofa 9y ago
- gehsty 9y ago
  Having read a lot of the comments on this posting a lot people are judging Ive on how the apple pencil charges, and how the mouse charge. Neither of which are ideal, but hey ho but you have to accept that not everything you do is perfect. If you look at the computing devices you use day to day I think no person has had a greater effect that Jonny Ive. All laptops are now cut from the unibody macbook mold, all phones are cut from the iPhone mold, and the same seems to be happening with the Apple watch (though no body seems to be able to make a track pad anywhere near as good as a macbook trackpad). I think if we were to hold other companies to the same level of scrutiny that we do with Apple they would look worse. I think one of the things that make Ives designs so great is their timelessness. My favourite iPhone is the 4S, it still looks great now. The current iMac design has been in use for 7/8yrs and looks great. Very few other designers are able to achieve this.
slantyyz 9y ago
With respect to Ive, I think there's something to be said of being in the right place at the right time. Steve Jobs was the rare executive who truly valued design. He did not nickel and dime on design even when it added cost. Most designers at other companies would likely get shot down any time they presented a novel idea that might be a little harder or expensive to manufacture. I don't think you can achieve greatness in a vacuum, and I tend to think that Ive was very fortunate to be working for Apple under Jobs. Had he been at any other company, I don't think any of us would have even heard of him.
- seem_2211 9y ago
  I think this is the heart of Apple's competitive advantage. They're not trying to save pennies when it comes to the consumer experience, whereas other companies consistently do the details poorly. Apple products are in no way perfect, but they're consistently the best in class, and it's always fascinating reading about the detail that goes into the manufacturing behind it. One thing that I think they do really well consistently stay with products, which gives them breathing room to release a polished V1 and then iterate on top of that. The iPod might be dead, but it's over 15 years old. We've had the iPhone for 10 years. Compare that with Google's dizzying number of new product releases that mysteriously disappear after 6 months.
  - dpkonofa 9y ago
    This is one of the few reasons why I'm totally ok with being an early adopter for most of Apple's products. They're not perfect but they're definitely best in class and I feel like they improve with each generation. I could hold off on most of them (and I do for a lot of them - I only update my phones when they die completely and rarely do for new features) but they're one of the few companies whose products have genuinely made my life better.
vl 9y ago
>written on an ancient macbook air because they haven't come up with a good replacement yet For all intents and purposes current Macbook and Macbook Pro 13 are excellent replacements for both Macbook Airs.

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.
- slantyyz 9y ago
  All those links are from before Jobs' return to Apple. He matured a lot after Next/Pixar.
jiveturkey 9y ago
In defense of the pencil, as terrible as it seems, the charging method has a functional reason behind it. You can't expect to keep it charged, therefore there must be a way to charge instantly with what you're guaranteed to have on hand. If it had been designed any differently, there would be a litany of complaints about having to always carry a dongle or cable or something.
- dpkonofa 9y ago
  Same the applies to the complaints about the mouse. It was designed with the charger port on the bottom specifically for 2 reasons: 1) to keep the design aesthetic as similar to the original Magic Mouse as possible and 2) to prevent people from leaving it plugged in all the time while they're using it thereby defeating the purpose of a wireless mouse. Things seem terrible until you take an open-minded look at the priorities of the design. What might seem stupid at first might actually have a well-thought out background.
  - vl 9y ago
    They should have put port on the side so it's possible to continue to use discharged mouse and charge it at the same time.
    - dpkonofa 9y ago
      This kills the battery.
  - JohnCohorn 9y ago
    Actually both #1 and #2 seem almost entirely unimportant to me, the end user, and great examples of their prioritizing the needs and wants of Apple and its designers to the detriment of end users. Appearing like the previous mouse provides me with no utility and I’d much prefer to leave my work provided mouse plugged in at all times and have one less thing to charge.
    - dpkonofa 9y ago
gehsty 9y ago
Having read a lot of the comments on this posting a lot people are judging Ive on how the apple pencil charges, and how the mouse charge. Neither of which are ideal, but hey ho but you have to accept that not everything you do is perfect. If you look at the computing devices you use day to day I think no person has had a greater effect that Jonny Ive. All laptops are now cut from the unibody macbook mold, all phones are cut from the iPhone mold, and the same seems to be happening with the Apple watch (though no body seems to be able to make a track pad anywhere near as good as a macbook trackpad). I think if we were to hold other companies to the same level of scrutiny that we do with Apple they would look worse. I think one of the things that make Ives designs so great is their timelessness. My favourite iPhone is the 4S, it still looks great now. The current iMac design has been in use for 7/8yrs and looks great. Very few other designers are able to achieve this.

slantyyz 9y ago

With respect to Ive, I think there's something to be said of being in the right place at the right time. Steve Jobs was the rare executive who truly valued design. He did not nickel and dime on design even when it added cost. Most designers at other companies would likely get shot down any time they presented a novel idea that might be a little harder or expensive to manufacture. I don't think you can achieve greatness in a vacuum, and I tend to think that Ive was very fortunate to be working for Apple under Jobs. Had he been at any other company, I don't think any of us would have even heard of him.

seem_2211 9y ago
I think this is the heart of Apple's competitive advantage. They're not trying to save pennies when it comes to the consumer experience, whereas other companies consistently do the details poorly. Apple products are in no way perfect, but they're consistently the best in class, and it's always fascinating reading about the detail that goes into the manufacturing behind it. One thing that I think they do really well consistently stay with products, which gives them breathing room to release a polished V1 and then iterate on top of that. The iPod might be dead, but it's over 15 years old. We've had the iPhone for 10 years. Compare that with Google's dizzying number of new product releases that mysteriously disappear after 6 months.
- dpkonofa 9y ago
  This is one of the few reasons why I'm totally ok with being an early adopter for most of Apple's products. They're not perfect but they're definitely best in class and I feel like they improve with each generation. I could hold off on most of them (and I do for a lot of them - I only update my phones when they die completely and rarely do for new features) but they're one of the few companies whose products have genuinely made my life better.

vl 9y ago

>written on an ancient macbook air because they haven't come up with a good replacement yet For all intents and purposes current Macbook and Macbook Pro 13 are excellent replacements for both Macbook Airs.