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Apple Park and Apple Watch. I worked on Apple Park and was in meetings with Ive. He was amazing.

by Bud 4y ago

jessriedel 4y ago
Thanks. Apple Park of course wasn’t a consumer product, and Apple Watch has only been modestly successful (and isn’t particularly beautiful or useful in my opinion). I read half the article and didn’t see anything about the design of the Apple Watch being compromised. It mostly discussed how Apple did not follow Ive’s preferred marketing approach. of course, he could’ve been right that it would’ve been more popular if they had marketed it as he recommended. What did you find impressive about him?
- mmmpop 4y ago
  > Apple Watch has only been modestly successful Oh come on, no need to be an edge-lord with this sort of comment. They’re utterly ubiquitous and the next closest competitor is probably Garmin. I never see Android watches outside of the Verizon store.
- tpush 4y ago
  [...] and Apple Watch has only been modestly successful [...] It is literally the most popular and most profitable watch (not just smart watch) in the whole world.
- armadsen 4y ago
  Apple's Wearables business is a ~$8 billion per quarter business. That includes AirPods and a few other products, but Apple Watch is obviously a major part of it. To me, $8 billion per quarter is far more than "modestly successful". Of course, comparing anything to the iPhone's success will make it look modest.
  - jessriedel 4y ago
    I think the wearables revenue is overwhelmingly AirPods? I can’t find clear data easily, but the first hit on google is $23B in revenue per year for just AirPods. It also looks like the number of Apple Watches sold is a tenth of the number of iPhones sold. Like, the biggest contribution of Ive, the chief designer at Apple over a decade, was a product that augments 10% of phones (and of course costs much less than a phone). If you were hiring for design Czar, wouldn’t you expect more?
- Bud 4y ago
  Not only has Apple Watch been hugely successful by any reasonable standard, it has wildly exceeded any standards of success that were even considered possible at the time of its introduction. And this is obvious. It has basically obsoleted the entire Swiss watch industry and has replaced it as a status symbol except for itinerant rich watch nerds who can afford Patek Philippe and Rolex collections. It has also created an entire new category of watches as a fitness and lifestyle device with capabilities that simply did not exist before. And of course in the smartwatch market, Apple Watch created that market as it exists today and dominates said market. (Yes, I am aware that a tiny, nascent version of this market existed before. That's now irrelevant.)
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  What measure would have afforded Apple Watch a better rating than “modestly successful”?
teakettle42 4y ago
Anyone who has worked in Apple Park (as opposed to on it) can comfortably state that the place is terrible and ridiculous. There wasn’t enough room for the people Apple already employed at the time it was finished, much less now. The collaborative spaces that eat up huge square footage are never used, because (1) that’s not how most people actually work, and (2) they’re right outside people’s offices, and conversations in those spaces are hugely disruptive. If you’re fortunate enough to be afforded a private office, it’s a glass fishbowl. You constantly feel the need to watch over your shoulder. Most people are in large shared desk spaces. They’re noisy, distracting, and frustrating to be in, and they’re also a fishbowl. Sure, Apple Park has tons of high-end mass market designer furniture. Looking like a DWR showroom doesn’t make it a nice place to work. I genuinely believe Apple Park has had a measurable negative impact on the quality and value of the work being produced by people there.
- sylens 4y ago
  Does this also play a role in many Apple employees wanting to continue remote work?
jbverschoor 4y ago
Take Apple Park off your list. Steve Jobs went to the city council to present it
- jbverschoor 4y ago
  Downvote all you want.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtuz5OmOh_M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtuz5OmOh_M The main designs were done already..
snowwrestler 4y ago
Apple Watch was an incredible achievement of hardware design given that it is essentially unchanged since launch. The shape has been slightly tweaked and there are some new bands and sensors. But they got the basics of the design right the first time. It’s easy to overlook how rare and difficult that is.

Apple Park and Apple Watch. I worked on Apple Park and was in meetings with Ive. He was amazing.

by Bud 4y ago

Apple Park and Apple Watch. I worked on Apple Park and was in meetings with Ive. He was amazing.

Thanks. Apple Park of course wasn’t a consumer product, and Apple Watch has only been modestly successful (and isn’t particularly beautiful or useful in my opinion). I read half the article and didn’t see anything about the design of the Apple Watch being compromised. It mostly discussed how Apple did not follow Ive’s preferred marketing approach. of course, he could’ve been right that it would’ve been more popular if they had marketed it as he recommended. What did you find impressive about him?

mmmpop 4y ago
> Apple Watch has only been modestly successful Oh come on, no need to be an edge-lord with this sort of comment. They’re utterly ubiquitous and the next closest competitor is probably Garmin. I never see Android watches outside of the Verizon store.
tpush 4y ago
[...] and Apple Watch has only been modestly successful [...] It is literally the most popular and most profitable watch (not just smart watch) in the whole world.
armadsen 4y ago
Apple's Wearables business is a ~$8 billion per quarter business. That includes AirPods and a few other products, but Apple Watch is obviously a major part of it. To me, $8 billion per quarter is far more than "modestly successful". Of course, comparing anything to the iPhone's success will make it look modest.
- jessriedel 4y ago
  I think the wearables revenue is overwhelmingly AirPods? I can’t find clear data easily, but the first hit on google is $23B in revenue per year for just AirPods. It also looks like the number of Apple Watches sold is a tenth of the number of iPhones sold. Like, the biggest contribution of Ive, the chief designer at Apple over a decade, was a product that augments 10% of phones (and of course costs much less than a phone). If you were hiring for design Czar, wouldn’t you expect more?
Bud 4y ago
Not only has Apple Watch been hugely successful by any reasonable standard, it has wildly exceeded any standards of success that were even considered possible at the time of its introduction. And this is obvious. It has basically obsoleted the entire Swiss watch industry and has replaced it as a status symbol except for itinerant rich watch nerds who can afford Patek Philippe and Rolex collections. It has also created an entire new category of watches as a fitness and lifestyle device with capabilities that simply did not exist before. And of course in the smartwatch market, Apple Watch created that market as it exists today and dominates said market. (Yes, I am aware that a tiny, nascent version of this market existed before. That's now irrelevant.)
lotsofpulp 4y ago
What measure would have afforded Apple Watch a better rating than “modestly successful”?

teakettle42 4y ago

Anyone who has worked in Apple Park (as opposed to on it) can comfortably state that the place is terrible and ridiculous. There wasn’t enough room for the people Apple already employed at the time it was finished, much less now. The collaborative spaces that eat up huge square footage are never used, because (1) that’s not how most people actually work, and (2) they’re right outside people’s offices, and conversations in those spaces are hugely disruptive. If you’re fortunate enough to be afforded a private office, it’s a glass fishbowl. You constantly feel the need to watch over your shoulder. Most people are in large shared desk spaces. They’re noisy, distracting, and frustrating to be in, and they’re also a fishbowl. Sure, Apple Park has tons of high-end mass market designer furniture. Looking like a DWR showroom doesn’t make it a nice place to work. I genuinely believe Apple Park has had a measurable negative impact on the quality and value of the work being produced by people there.

sylens 4y ago
Does this also play a role in many Apple employees wanting to continue remote work?

jbverschoor 4y ago

Take Apple Park off your list. Steve Jobs went to the city council to present it

jbverschoor 4y ago
Downvote all you want.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtuz5OmOh_M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtuz5OmOh_M The main designs were done already..

snowwrestler 4y ago

Apple Watch was an incredible achievement of hardware design given that it is essentially unchanged since launch. The shape has been slightly tweaked and there are some new bands and sensors. But they got the basics of the design right the first time. It’s easy to overlook how rare and difficult that is.