Apple and Jony Ive, it's over

Sir Johnatan Ive, better known as Jony Ive, revealed yesterdayleave Apple by the end of the year. This is a major event in the history of the Californian company, as the influence of the designer has been significant on the various products marked with the apple over the last 30 years.

Who is Jony Ive?

Jony Ive is British and an industrial designer by trade, probably one of the best known in the world. He joined Apple in 1996, alongside Steve Jobs. He was named vice-president in charge of industrial design in 1998, senior vice-president in 2005 and then director of design in 2015. It was then that he joined the quartet of “C”s at the head of the Californian firm as as CDO (Chief Design Officer), alongside Tim Cook (CEO), Luca Maestri (CFO) and Jeff Williams (COO).

During his long career within the Cupertino company, he signed the design of various flagship products. Here are some of its notable achievements: the first iPod released in 2001, the first Mac mini released in 2005, but also the iPhone released in 2007, the MacBook Air released in 2008, the iPad released in 2010 and even the Apple Watch, released in 2014.

Why such fame?

Jony Ive is clearly associated with the aesthetic of Apple products. He also had the gift of creating a sort of mystery around his character, appearing only rarely during Apple keynotes. But he did not remain discreet. Indeed, he has lent his voice to numerous product presentation videos, visible during Apple events, but also on the internet and on television.

And then he knew how to make himself seen in key moments. During the announcement of the first iPhone in 2007, Steve Jobs made a call to Jony Ive on stage among other actions wanting to demonstrate the ease of use of the smartphone. Three years later, for the launch of the FaceTime videoconferencing service, Steve Jobs again called the designer on stage, during the keynote, for a video conversation in front of the public.

Jony Ive was also very close to the former CEO of Apple, to the point that many specialists in the Apple firm consider the Briton to be one of the people of equal importance to the late boss in the success of the society.

What future for Ive and Apple?

Johnatan Ive is expected to work at Apple for a few more months before leaving the Californian company. He announced the creation of his own design company,Love Forms, for 2020. The designer Marc Newson, also an Apple employee for several years, should join him in this project.

Ive, however, added that he did not want to cut ties with the Apple firm. He says he and Tim Cook will continue to collaborate from time to time, and that Apple will remain one of LoveForme's priority clients.

The current CEO, for his part, would not have planned to replace Jony Ive in the short term. However, two employees of the company, Evans Hankey and Alan Dye will form a new duo at the head of design at Apple, with Jeff Williams, the head of operations, as their referent. Evans Hankey will be responsible for industrial design. Alan Dye will be in charge of interface design and therefore more focused on the software aspect of the products, iOS, macOS and other Apple operating systems in particular.

Finally, regarding the separation of Ive and Apple, two bells can be heard. Some analysts regret the departure of the Briton. According to them, Apple will greatly miss the designer's vision for its future products. Other voices are more optimistic for the future. According to them, Apple could benefit from a new start, even though certain designs of recent products have been highly criticized, such as the 2013 Mac Pro, or the butterfly keyboard of the latest MacBook Pros.

And you, rather optimistic or pessimistic for the future of Apple without Jony Ive?

Editor-in-chief for iPhon.fr. Pierre is like Indiana Jones, looking for the lost iOS trick. Also a long-time Mac user, Apple devices hold no secrets for him. Contact: pierre[a]iphon.fr.