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Apple ends consulting agreement with Jony Ive

nytimes.com

41–50 of 52 posts

Re: Apple ends consulting agreement with Jony Ive

#41

I am hoping Ive contributed to development of Apples forthcoming Reality Glasses. Existing VR/AR spectacles are so clunky. I am hoping for something almost light are regular vision glasses.

This isn't the result of existing makers not understanding that thinner/lighter would be ideal; it's the result of current technical/physical limitations. New tech like pancake lenses[1] isn't out the door yet, but advancements like these will be the next step.

[1] https://old.reddit.com/r/AR_MR_XR/comments/utxvkg/3m_pancake...

Re: Apple ends consulting agreement with Jony Ive

#43
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> utilitarian I wouldn't say so. My feeling with Apple software in the past ~5 years or so is that it's been a slow devolution into "growth & engagement" and catering to idiots (and nudging them to do counter-productive things) rather than true utility. True utility would be to do a task, do it well, and don't change all the time. Instead, Apple has been devolving more and more into what you'd expect from a typical "…

This - the nag screen to sign up iCloud when attaching photos in iMessage is prime example of this: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250951130?answerId=2518...

This is for your security. You shall upload all your pictures on iCloud so they can scan them for CP. (and maybe sell some metadata or even data to ad companies) /s

Re: Apple ends consulting agreement with Jony Ive

#44
post #11
post #7

The man has skills but this past due. Apple devices have become sterile, utilitarian, no passion. Sony set a very high watermark practicality and desirability - subjective of course, but just look at what they've done over the years: https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/design/gallery/ I hope Apple can inject some creativity.

Is design supposed to be transient to catch up with the times? Like fashion, the discipline is bound to change over time; fresh new thinkers are always needed to continually keep pace with innovation.

> Is design supposed to be transient to catch up with the times?

The only thing design catches up is money saving. Computer cases from the 90 look infinitely better than the present day ones. Damn, even IBM ones look like someone "worked" on them. Today you will see cheap copies of the same thing with an axe applied here and there for variation. The same with other stuff (TV, monitors, keyboard, mouses). And cars.

Re: Apple ends consulting agreement with Jony Ive

#45
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know I’m in the minority but I really love my work 2019 MBP’s butterfly keyboard. I’m a very light typist, maybe that’s why, I dunno. I’ll miss it when it’s gone. I have a personal M1 MBP, and while I like it more in almost every other way, the keyboard is just ok by comparison.

I loved the feel of the keyboard (contrary to some) but durability and redundancy were god-awful.

Aside from the reliability.. For me the step was too fast too quickly. I skipped one generation of laptops, so for me it felt really weird. I think that right now I'd like it. But if they'd re-introduce it, I'd simply refuse to buy for a few years because of the issues.

Re: Apple ends consulting agreement with Jony Ive

#46
post #22

Is this the guy responsible for the Intel Macbook Pros becoming a useless single-port monstrosity with unusable keyboards? I think his personal motto was "Make it as thin as possible without sacrificing usability, then forget the second half and make it thinner just because I said so." If so, good riddance! I wish Apple would go back to being an engineering company instead of a boutique advertiser.

Apple was originally an arts-based company, and much more concerned with design over engineering. As for what Jony Ive came up with, his Wikipedia page has a lot of detail: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jony_Ive

I wouldn't say that's true. The Apple II was actually the more flexible and engineering focused of the 1977 Trinity with it's multiple expansion slots and built in assembly monitor. It was very much a computer for hobbiests because that's what Woz personally wanted.

Re: Apple ends consulting agreement with Jony Ive

#47
post #44
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is design supposed to be transient to catch up with the times? Like fashion, the discipline is bound to change over time; fresh new thinkers are always needed to continually keep pace with innovation.

> Is design supposed to be transient to catch up with the times? The only thing design catches up is money saving. Computer cases from the 90 look infinitely better than the present day ones. Damn, even IBM ones look like someone "worked" on them. Today you will see cheap copies of the same thing with an axe applied here and there for variation. The same with other stuff (TV, monitors, keyboard, mouses). And cars.

To you. They look infinitely better to you.

Re: Apple ends consulting agreement with Jony Ive

#48
post #22

Is this the guy responsible for the Intel Macbook Pros becoming a useless single-port monstrosity with unusable keyboards? I think his personal motto was "Make it as thin as possible without sacrificing usability, then forget the second half and make it thinner just because I said so." If so, good riddance! I wish Apple would go back to being an engineering company instead of a boutique advertiser.

Apple was originally an arts-based company, and much more concerned with design over engineering. As for what Jony Ive came up with, his Wikipedia page has a lot of detail: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jony_Ive

I dunno, their designs for the last decade or so, before the most recent years, have been entirely unimpressive. Yeah, they're supposed to be known for it, but IMHO their outputs were pretty ordinary and caused a lot of usability issues. Disposable trash-can desktops? Pro laptops with no ports? iPads that bend every which way? iPhones that didn't have working antennas? Whoever was responsible for those, whether it's Ive or anyone else... I just hope Apple is using this separation to turn a new leaf.

So much of design is subjective, but my particular problem with them is that they emphasized form over function so much that their products were unusable in the end. I remember needing a new laptop for a few years, and kept looking at the Mac ones year after year but unable to type on them.

Then, whatever happened in the last 2-3 years has been AMAZING. I thought Ive had already left in some capacity and that was why. Finally, usable pro machines again (still wish they had a USB-A port). I look forward to what they will produce without being under a bad design dictator anymore.

Re: Apple ends consulting agreement with Jony Ive

#49
post #26

Is this the guy responsible for the Intel Macbook Pros becoming a useless single-port monstrosity with unusable keyboards? I think his personal motto was "Make it as thin as possible without sacrificing usability, then forget the second half and make it thinner just because I said so." If so, good riddance! I wish Apple would go back to being an engineering company instead of a boutique advertiser.

I know I’m in the minority but I really love my work 2019 MBP’s butterfly keyboard. I’m a very light typist, maybe that’s why, I dunno. I’ll miss it when it’s gone. I have a personal M1 MBP, and while I like it more in almost every other way, the keyboard is just ok by comparison.

I didn't realize anyone actually liked those! Thanks for sharing.

As someone with a very particular keyboard preference (Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop), I know what it's like to find that one keyboard you finally mesh with. It's tough when that happens to be built in to a laptop.

At least there'll probably be a lot of those flooding the used markets soon...

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