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The dissolution of Apple’s legacy design team

fastcompany.com

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Re: The dissolution of Apple’s legacy design team

#71

Post by whywhywhywhy »

ivraatiems wrote: post #17
runjake wrote: post #4

I respect Ive's design skills but I think that Ive leaving is one of the best things to happen to Apple in decades. They're slowly going from Ive's minimalist artistic designs back to useful computing devices and user interfaces.

I saw a woman using one of the new Macbook Pros in an airport a few weeks ago, and I was confused, because it looked exactly like my beloved silver Macbook Pro from 2007. It even had lots of ports! With the speed of the M-series processors, and the fact that I can get one with ports and without an idiotic touchbar, I've started considering an Apple laptop for the first time in years. I'm sure it's just a matter of ti…

If you know what signs to look for the swing has already begun.

Re: The dissolution of Apple’s legacy design team

#72

Post by whywhywhywhy »

scyzoryk_xyz wrote: post #38
ballenf wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see that take on it. Maybe the lesson is that for employees who happen to believe that Apple's river had run dry, the message would be hard to interpret as personal to the author. Or that the river running dry personally is potentially contagious.

That’s the other lesson - don’t use poetry or metaphors to express your self because they will inevitably be twisted to suit the corporate interests and not yours.

Don’t really see how it could have been interpreted any other way.

Re: The dissolution of Apple’s legacy design team

#73

Post by [deleted] »

duped wrote: post #69
tmh88j wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean by that? Multiple monitors without an adapter? I have 2017 and 2019 Macbook Pro's and I use 2 27" monitors with a thunderbolt -> 2 HDMI out adapter. I don't think I'd use it without an adapter even if I could, no need to take up extra ports.

AFAUI that setup is not possible with an M1 Mac today. You can only use one external display.

[deleted]

Re: The dissolution of Apple’s legacy design team

#74

Post by KptMarchewa »

protastus wrote: post #50
scyzoryk_xyz wrote: post #9

That bit about the firing of the designer who used the river metaphor in that email is such a good lesson for anyone: Never ever ever ever announce moves like this if there is still money on the table that can still be taken away from you. No matter how awesome your company is, how great the team, product or how wonderful the atmosphere is. This guy thought he wrote a heartfelt goodbye to his beloved team and was ins…

Anyone in a leadership position has a responsibility to measure their words carefully, especially in a farewell email. "Sadly, rivers dry out, and when they do, you look for a new one." broadcasts extreme negativity to the people who remain. It almost reads like a cautionary warning followed by advice. One can write a heartfelt goodbye without ambiguity. Assuming the ambiguity was unintentional, the author was carele…

>broadcasts extreme negativity to the people who remain

...which was immediately proven right by execs who fired him.

Re: The dissolution of Apple’s legacy design team

#75

Post by infinityio »

jb1991 wrote: post #51
sephamorr wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe by next decade, all the MacBook "pro" models will support more than one external display.

The MacBook Pro can support several external displays simultaneously: Up to two external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors (M1 Pro) or up to three external displays with up to 6K resolution and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors (M1 Max)

The old-chassis pros (incl. the new m2 13") can only do one monitor, if I remember correctly?

Re: The dissolution of Apple’s legacy design team

#76

Post by deanCommie »

> Stringer found the HomePod dissatisfying because Apple treated it as a hobby, depriving it of the cross-division focus it lavished on core products, such as the iPhone and iPad.

I mean...yeah? iPod, iPhone and iPad are Apple's whole 21st century legacy. And most recently, arguably Apple Watch and EarPods.

They all have the same thing in common - they're wearables that you see on the person on the street.

Apple is a trillion dollar company (and not a skeleton in a graveyard of companies crushed by Microsoft in the 1990's that it almost was) because of iPhone and iPad.

Every other Apple product is a "hobby" by comparison, and that includes iMacs, and Macbook Pros.

You have to have your eyes open about the product you work on, and where it sits in the company hierarchy. Not everything is a core product, but that doesn't mean it's not important.

Re: The dissolution of Apple’s legacy design team

#77

Post by duxup »

runjake wrote: post #4

I respect Ive's design skills but I think that Ive leaving is one of the best things to happen to Apple in decades. They're slowly going from Ive's minimalist artistic designs back to useful computing devices and user interfaces.

I wonder how exactly Steve managed Ive, getting his best out of him without ... going full Ive ;)

Re: The dissolution of Apple’s legacy design team

#78

Post by ghaff »

ivraatiems wrote: post #17
runjake wrote: post #4

I respect Ive's design skills but I think that Ive leaving is one of the best things to happen to Apple in decades. They're slowly going from Ive's minimalist artistic designs back to useful computing devices and user interfaces.

I saw a woman using one of the new Macbook Pros in an airport a few weeks ago, and I was confused, because it looked exactly like my beloved silver Macbook Pro from 2007. It even had lots of ports! With the speed of the M-series processors, and the fact that I can get one with ports and without an idiotic touchbar, I've started considering an Apple laptop for the first time in years. I'm sure it's just a matter of ti…

I have an M1 Pro MacBook Pro and it's quite nice. Wish they could have squeezed a USB-A in there for travel but otherwise it's pretty perfect. And the recently announced MacBook Air I assume is nice if you want something a bit lighter--although the MacBook Pro is still a pretty light and svelte laptop by historical standards.

Re: The dissolution of Apple’s legacy design team

#79

Post by ben_w »

tchalla wrote: post #70
ben_w wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not so sure he’s even that, I think the hockey puck iMac mouse was his?

I’m not sure if having some badly designed products doesn’t make one a great physical product designer. It’s completely possible to be a great product designer with few bad products. I’m not arguing that Ive is a great designer. Ok just saying that the iMac hockey puck mouse doesn’t invalidate that claim.

Fair. I use it as an example of uncontroversially bad design, and his most infamous mistake being ages ago does count in his favour (even if the dead cockroach charging mechanism of the modern mouse is also his), even though I chose that example in part because people argue both ways about his more recent design choices. Myself, I do not like any design choice I’ve heard attributed to him, but that’s not enough by itself either.

Re: The dissolution of Apple’s legacy design team

#80

Post by indemnity »

duped wrote: post #69
tmh88j wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean by that? Multiple monitors without an adapter? I have 2017 and 2019 Macbook Pro's and I use 2 27" monitors with a thunderbolt -> 2 HDMI out adapter. I don't think I'd use it without an adapter even if I could, no need to take up extra ports.

AFAUI that setup is not possible with an M1 Mac today. You can only use one external display.

I must be dreaming then, using my M1 Mac with two external 4K displays and the internal display.
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