In late June 2019, Apple announced that Jony Ive, Apple’s then chief design officer, would officially depart the company as an employee later that year to form an independent design company which would count Apple among its primary clients. Apple said at the time that Ive would continue to “work closely and on a range of projects with Apple.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the time of the announcement, “I look forward to working with Jony long into the future.”
In July 2022, not so long into the future, Apple has ended design consulting agreement with Jony Ive, 55, and his independent design company, LoveFrom.
Tripp Mickle for The New York Times:
Mr. Ive and Apple have agreed to stop working together, according to two people with knowledge of their contractual agreement, ending a three-decade run during which the designer helped define every rounded corner of an iPhone and guided development of its only new product category in recent years, the Apple Watch.
When Mr. Ive left Apple in 2019 to start his own design firm, LoveFrom, the iPhone maker signed a multiyear contract with him valued at more than $100 million. That made Apple his firm’s primary client, people with knowledge of the agreement said.
The deal restricted Mr. Ive from taking on work that Apple found competitive and ensured that the designer would inform the development of future products, such as an augmented-reality headset that it is expected to ship next year, the people said.
In recent weeks, with the contract coming up for renewal, the parties agreed not to extend it. Some Apple executives had questioned how much the company was paying Mr. Ive and had grown frustrated after several of its designers left to join Mr. Ive’s firm. And Mr. Ive wanted the freedom to take on clients without needing Apple’s clearance, these people said…
Before leaving Apple in June 2019, Mr. Ive had grown disillusioned as Mr. Cook made the increasingly enormous company focused more on operations than on big design leaps, according to more than a dozen people who worked closely with Mr. Ive. The designer shifted to a part-time role as Mr. Cook focused on selling more software and services.
MacDailyNews Take: Well, we called it. Yet again. The final phase in the “Ease Jony Out Without AAPL Disruption” plan has now been executed.
This is the gentlest easing out possible for someone as pivotal to Apple as Jony Ive. – MacDailyNews, June 27, 2019
Clearly the whole “Apple will continue to work with Jony as one of his new firm’s primary clients” spiel did exactly what it was designed to do, soften the blow of the news to a mere whisper. – MacDailyNews, June 28, 2019
The fact of the matter is that if Jony Ive were fully engaged and intellectually challenged, he’d still be an Apple employee.
That the muse lasted this long without his master is actually rather amazing.
Let’s move on to the next phase, shall we? – MacDailyNews, July 1, 2019
In closing:
Cook would do well to remember how Steve Jobs structured Apple upon his return, especially the subservient role of operations – and all else – to design and the unparalleled success that structure engendered. Above all, design – hardware and software – is what built Apple into what is is today. – MacDailyNews, June 28, 2019
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Alternate headline: Apple design team finally fully freed from Svengali (even if he hasn’t done much of anything for the company since 2015).
Or; Jony Ive and LoveFrom no longer needed as Apple continues focus on subscriptions and other cash flow projects where creativity is irrelevant.
Apple still has great design and its current designers – those who are left and those who are coming – have a lot of prior examples from Jony Ive to get inspiration from.
Jony made some terrible decisions with Macbook keyboards, he was the golden child with cloudy days that had silver linings.
While I’m sure we’ll never see a Jony Ive Samsung product, who knows? Give him enough money and anything is possible, but I doubt it.
Jony has had plenty of LoveFrom Apple, but it’s now time for more designers to mature. I wonder if a few of those designers who jumped ship to Jony’s company might come to regret it.
Best of luck to all.
I knew something was up when they were starting to introduce non-alyoominium construction for the upcoming watch.
He should have been fired after putting the mouse charging port on the bottom. WTF has that not change YET?????????????
It’s to stop you from overcharging your battery maybe?
Clearly not.
Apple just isn’t as cool as before. They haven’t had a new meaningful life changing product in a long time. Project Titan is in disarray, AR glasses are not the future. They don’t need Jonny.. They need a new visionary and voice that inspires, Cook is a good caretaker now it’s time to use the bankroll on amazing life changing products rather then buy back the stock.
AR glasses are not the future… tell us another one.
How else would you re-create the Reality Distortion Field?
Just photocopy your chocolate starfish, AC. Problem solved, everything looks like the bull you spout. And your moronic cousin AppleBS
Apple BS says Hi
But we also learned that Apple can grow also when not releasing “even thinner devices”. Jony was good but overdone the design part by focussing on design as a goal instead of taking customer needs in mind when designing (read: larger batteries).
Design doesn’t seem to be Apple’s focus anymore. Granted, how can you refine the sublime? And there are cheaper options to Mr. Ive. Just copy/paste and make alterations as technology permits.
This is not all bad. After a while, I found Ive’s involvement tedious. It got to the point where I didn’t even keep up with his design choices, because the products were by and large sexy and mature by 2012.
It seems to me that Cook and Federighi run the show. The World Wide Consumer Conferences of the past years become increasingly unwatchable. A mix of Cause du Jour and cringe-worthy “comedy” turns me off. And it is noteworthy, since those antics barely distract from horrid program features and GUI changes. And I believe it was Apple that coined “We can’t wait what you…” line, but I digress.
I see Ive’s final departure as a worrisome event. It ends an era that gave some of the most awesome hardware with the best GUI for a unix based system. When presented (not in an infantile or pandering manner), it felt complete. A rounded product. I even appreciated Apple’s environmental concern, which seemed more genuine, then.
Maybe it is time for Mr Ive to go on. As I understand, it is a notable that he didn’t burn out after 5 years. But it marks almost a defined break from what Apple worked towards, to what they now are under Cook’s reign.
1.For some reason to me, Jony’s “fresh off the incarceration” look never really gave me a flair of artistic genius to me. Yes, you cannot judge people by appearance, I know….
2. His room to maneuvre (Bondi Blue etc?) had an almost instant death when CRT transitioned to flat panel display, losing much of “volume” to play with.
3. Then he started meddling (obsessed?) with thinness, strange ports and all that.
4. Apple’s donut ring gave him a plausible reason to stay longer. He was trying to equip it with stupid desk imported from the UK. BTW, he was knighted before (whatever it is), right?
5. For a while, Jony was fooling around notebook which produced “aesthetics over functions”. There was not much anyone can do when all computers were using flat panels. Also, as someone above pointed out, nice wireless mouth but the charging port on its belly instead of head? What kind of genius was that?
6. So, what did he do next? He appealed Cook (my speculation) to let him tinker with software (aesthetics over function again, fonts and suff you know…. He started meddling with thinner font and such. Immediately Scott Forstall rushed into Cook’s office and told Cook/Ive to f–k off. This evolved into a shouting match and Cook kept Jony, while immediately firing Scott.
I appreciate Jony’s accomplishments, whatever they were, but I am so sure there are so many “young talents” in Apple who has genuine design flair and sense.
Good bye Jony. It has been a long journey with you… Good luck!
I knew something was seriously wrong the minute the new M1 iMacs came out. Steve Jobs would have never okayed a design that ugly. It was the beginning of the end for sure. And to eliminate the 27″ iMac and a space grey option in favor of Easter Egg pastels with no Apple Logo on the front and the tired silver we’ve seen for a hundred years was simply foolish. Apple has rainbow written all over it with Cook at the Helm. Goodbye Apple. It was great while it lasted.
Jony Ives sealed thin little boxes have kept apple design in a rut for years. You could change almost anything in a titanium PowerBook in a few minutes.. memory storage and battery. Even with the right tools and iPhone battery or screen is almost irreplaceable due to the programmed cables and chips inside. Both parties need to change and evolve. If jony wants to work for Samsung or Lenovo that is ok with me
Agree. This obsession with “thinner and lighter”, and the parallel desire to create computer “appliances” have made the product ever harder to service, or even do routine upgrades. When one has to disassemble a computer just to replace a drive, or decide how much RAM one will ever need at time of purchase because the RAM is soldered and can’t be upgraded, design as first priority has gone too far.