back to article Apple designer Sir Jony Ive holding up iOS 7 development: Report

Visionary designer Sir Jonathan Ive’s perfectionism could be holding back the development of the latest version of the software used on iPads and iPhones, according to a recent report. Famed as the head of Cupertino’s industrial design division, the knighted Essex lad was recently handed control of software design in a …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "People familiar with the matter...."

    Are they the same people who newspapers quote as "our source says", or "a friend who did not wished to be named said". I.e it's something a journo made up because nobody would talk to them.

    1. GBL Initialiser

      Re: "People familiar with the matter...."

      I generally read it as "This is where we got the info from, you're a big boy who can make up your own mind so we decided to tell you about it rather than pretend nobody said anything."

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "People familiar with the matter...."

      Microsoft should have done the same thing with their phone software and the Surface. They could learn a lot from this guy.

  2. DAN*tastik
    Unhappy

    I feel for them

    Those differently rounded corner icons won't just redesign themselves, and it's not something they can copy from Braun's 1960s appliances!

  3. Turtle

    Exacty The Kind Of Situation...

    "Famed as the head of Cupertino’s product design devision, the recently knighted Ive was recently handed control of software design in a surprise move by CEO Tim Cook."

    This is exactly the kind of situation in which The Peter Principle manifests itself.

    1. asdf

      Re: Exacty The Kind Of Situation...

      Who Ive or Tim Cook? In my opinion its more obvious Cook is in over his head. The only thing he seems to share in common with Jobs is being an arrogant douche bag. The talent is not there.

      1. Turtle

        @asdf Re: Exacty The Kind Of Situation...

        "Ive or Tim Cook?"

        I was actually referring to Ive but now that you mention it, it might very well also apply to Cook. So that's a very good point right there. On the other hand, Jobs' position in Apple was kind of specifically tailored to Jobs and so anyone who took the job was going to be a poor fit at best. But it was necessary for someone to take his place - and Cook it was. Still, whether Cook is cut out to be any kind of CEO at all is a good question and time will tell.

        But giving Jon Ive his new, expanded responsibilities does not seem to have been done as a result of the same type of iron necessity that forced the advancement of someone - anyone! - into the role formerly played by Jobs. So while the Peter Principle would apply in Ive's case, it might not really fit the "somebody had to replace Jobs and it might as well as have been Cook as anybody else" situation.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: @asdf Exacty The Kind Of Situation...

          Say the guys slagging off complete strangers of a trashy tabloid IT website. Class act, the pair of you.

          1. asdf
            FAIL

            Re: @asdf Exacty The Kind Of Situation...

            Hey at least we are willing to show our post history. What does that say about you also visiting this trashy tabloid IT website AC? El Reg has its flaws (cough LP human climate change denial propaganda, AO raging on freetards) but compared to the corporate PR release rehash site that is ZDNet etc its at least amusing.

          2. Turtle

            Re: @asdf Exacty The Kind Of Situation...

            "Say the guys slagging off complete strangers of a trashy tabloid IT website. Class act, the pair of you."

            Don't worry your little head about it. Jony and Timmy are big boys now; they can take it. Didn't your mommy ever tell you "sticks and stones may break your bones but names will never hurt you"?

            If she didn't, then she was a negligent mother. And it shows...

  4. Piro Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    Fine.

    I'm sure he'll come up with a clean and tasteful overhaul, I'm no Apple fan, but iOS 7 may prove to be interesting.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Fine.

      Indeed. Fandroids can be dismissive but anything Apple does tends to get imitated by others.

      1. David Barrett

        Re: Fine.

        "Indeed. Fandroids can be dismissive but anything Apple does tends to get imitated by others."

        yeah, anything.... Maps? *cough*

        1. Oninoshiko
          Devil

          Re: Fine.

          Yes! Google is still working to catch up to the level of bugs in their map product!

          Seriously though, I am glad no one else thought the horrid idea of decoupling the menu from the window was a good idea.

      2. Craigness

        Re: Fine.

        Imitated by others? Flat design is already in Windows, Android and in Google's websites. Galaxy S4 already has 3d gestures. Apple has been playing catch up for a few years now.

      3. imaginarynumber

        Re: Fine.

        Indeed it is probably fair to assert that others (of late) copy the look'n'feel of apple. In and of itself, it does not follow that Apple's approach is better, perhaps it is just an indicator of the fact that the press (present organ excluded) wet their pants whenever apple release or copy something else If apple were original I might sympathise with the tone of your comment but to date all I see is apple claiming to have invented something and the press reporting it as fact without bothering (read:wanting) to double check

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Fine.

      Well, as email, photo and wifi don't work properly on Apple devices, maybe he's doing the right thing!

  5. Paul Shirley

    skeuomorphic has 1 big advantage

    More abstracted graphical elements are potentially much easier to get trademark or design patent protection for. Skeuomorphic designs by definition have obvious precedent from real life.

    If the company that design patented 'rounded corners' abstracts it's UI design its a near certainty they will do the same to every possible individual element of iOS7.

    Just what the world needs, balkanised UIs all the way down to individual icons, graphical flourishes and basic control elements. I already struggle to remember WTF each Google icon means, having icons with shared meaning across all OS and GUI combinations would be a bloody good idea. Even better if it was an obvious meaning to most of us... a bit like skeuomorphic!

    1. Dave 126

      Re: skeuomorphic has 1 big advantage

      > I already struggle to remember WTF each Google icon means,

      Too true... There is a Picasa icon and a Chome icon pinned to my start bar, and sometimes I click the wrong one. They are both multi-coloured circles!

      They have a passing resemblance to the 'Consignia' logo, that was around during the ill-fated Post Office rebranding exercise. Private Eye had a section in which they showed a dozen existing logos that looked more or less identical.

      1. TeeCee Gold badge

        Re: skeuomorphic has 1 big advantage

        Yes, Private Eye's "logowatch" feature.

        Oddly they never once mentioned the ancestor of all the "swirling down the plughole" logos, British Leyland....

    2. jai

      Re: skeuomorphic has 1 big advantage

      the anti-skeumorphic brigade seem to have had very loud voices for the last year or so. it seems to have been a bandwagon that many have jumped on, probably just to get clickthroughs to their blog. i wonder how many of the same will be decrying the minimalist look not 5 minutes after it is shown?

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: skeuomorphic has 1 big advantage

      The point is by making everything look realistic you lower their contrast and you also reduce the amount of possible appearances.

      By making icons more abstract and allowed to have more variation you can improve their clarity. The original icons were simple pictures that were much easer to understand in some cases.

      Just imagine how rubbish everything would look if we only used typewriter style fonts (which is a representation of a physical print).

      1. El Andy

        Re: skeuomorphic has 1 big advantage

        More importantly, by using skeuomorphic designs you constrain yourself by the limitations of the physical design you're aping. Digital systems are capable of much richer interaction but you need to break free of old metaphors in order to take proper advantage.

        1. TeeCee Gold badge

          Re: skeuomorphic has 1 big advantage

          Digital systems are capable of much richer interaction but you need to break free of old metaphors....

          You are Steve Bong and ICMFP!

        2. jai

          Re: skeuomorphic has 1 big advantage

          "Digital systems are capable of much richer interaction"

          They are - but all the great examples of anti-skeuomorphic apps recently have just had bland and unintuitive interfaces.

          the systems are capable, but the designers of the systems apparently aren't

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Does it has to be because of internal warfare?

    iOS 7 will be late because it has the future of Apple riding on it.

    Even the fanbois must admit that the rate of innovation --real, wow!-moment innovation-- has slowed to a crawl in the smartphone market. iOS 7 must innovate in UI design and more importantly provide adequate hooks for the next generation of iDevices, with whatever they come with. The stakes are tremendous.

    If anyone needs another reminder, recall that Apple just issued billions of dollars worth of debt with 30 year terms. They are essentially claiming that they can stay relevant and profitable for several technology lifetimes. One hell of a bet.

    If iOS7 shows up with a significant flaw, Cook is gone.

    1. Dave 126

      Re: Does it has to be because of internal warfare?

      >If anyone needs another reminder, recall that Apple just issued billions of dollars worth of debt with 30 year terms. They are essentially claiming that they can stay relevant and profitable for several technology lifetimes.

      According to the financial papers, that is because most of their cash is outside the US, and bonds are the most tax-efficient way of returning $100 billion to share-holders.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Does it has to be because of internal warfare?

        > According to the financial papers, that is because most of their cash is outside the US, and bonds are the most tax-efficient way of returning $100 billion to share-holders.

        Sure, but you're still assuming that they have that pile of cash in 30 years time when the bonds vest. Still a gamble.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Does it has to be because of internal warfare?

      "Cook is gone"

      I had to re-read that.

    3. Tom 35

      iOS 7 must innovate in UI design

      Innovate tends to be kind of a bullshit bingo word.

      Make iOS 7 different? Not too hard.

      Make it different & better? That's not so easy.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: iOS 7 must innovate in UI design

        Apple has a history of better and different. Their GUI and interface guidelines are well thought out and often used by the open source world (jQuery for example) when producing specifications for interface work.

  7. Select * From Handle

    I am no apple fan

    But "Visionary designer Sir Jonathan Ive’s perfectionism could be holding back the development of the latest version of the software used on iPads and iPhones, according to a recent report." i do believe in releasing software when its ready. The new iOS will be interesting but with all software and games, if you leave punters waiting saying "this is going to be awesome" when it comes to the release day and the software falls short of perfection. Punters will look elsewhere, take Diablo 3 for example 10 years or so development 4-5 years of pre release hype, the biggest backlash from customers in the gaming industry. iOS 7 will be very interesting.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Megaphone

    to see if Apple can keep its place at the top of the tech tree.

    Apple lost that several years ago.. Every since the 6 monthly iPhone refresh that offered nothing new that wasn't already in Android.

    I smell another Apple Maps, so going to be stocking up on LOTS of popcorn before WDC, where you can bet much of the talk will again be dissing Android rather than talking about what Apple have to offer...

    1. Andrew James

      Re: to see if Apple can keep its place at the top of the tech tree.

      When was the last time a new iphone was released 6 months after the previous?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: to see if Apple can keep its place at the top of the tech tree.

      Ahh Barry Shitpeas, the 'Eadon' of the Anti Apple world.

      1. RyokuMas
        Coat

        Re: to see if Apple can keep its place at the top of the tech tree.

        Nah, he does the same with Microsoft stuff too. And only every once in a while, rather than every single possible post.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: to see if Apple can keep its place at the top of the tech tree.

          And at least he uses his real name, unlike Eadon.

  9. Jon Green
    Thumb Up

    Good.

    Apple doesn't need another cock-up like the iOS 6 / Apple Maps débacle. Having someone who actually cares about creating good product, even if it takes a little while longer, in the driving seat is a good thing.

    With hardware production, you have to pre-purchase components, reserve whole factories in advance, tool the casework machines, configure hardware pick-and-place component assemblers and gear up a production line. Delays cost fortunes, because the factory will still be charging you for the time the plant isn't making money elsewhere. If software is a little late, it's a lot less expensive. Production lines are much more generic and can be working on other products until the "gold master" is ready to press. If you're delivering electronically - which is far cheaper still - delays cost nearly nothing. Essentially, the costs of software delay are mainly deferred revenues.

    Well done, Jony - seriously. Make it a good 'un, and let's see what Apple can do when its innovators are given the chance.

  10. zooooooom

    So.... Apple criticised for not producing anything new and worthwhile, the chaps being panned for not getting something out on the previous schedule. nice.

  11. Bill the Sys Admin
    Meh

    Laptops and Notebooks

    They will always be king of the laptop/notebook world for me until a manufacture can make a decent laptop! High res screens everywhere, on phones, tablets, and everything else and the only people who put one on a laptop are apple! Its not rocket science. Samsung and likes need to get the finger out!

    1. GregC

      Depending on your definition of laptop...

      Google have the Pixel Chromebook, very nice hi res display by all accounts.

      I agree though, the regular notebook makers need to get their finger out and produce some machines with up to date screens.

      1. Bill the Sys Admin

        Re: Depending on your definition of laptop...

        No doubt about that, but I want to run Linux or Unix based OS. The pixel looks great just problem is it runs Chrome OS. Don't see that being ideal for me. Plus I reckon the Pixel is priced way to high.

    2. imaginarynumber

      Re: Laptops and Notebooks

      Pixel Chromebook aside, I concede that MBPs have the highest resolution screens but that has only been the case since summer last year. Prior to that the MBPs had relatively low resolution and poor graphics.

      To suggest that any given firm has the "best" anything all of the time is silly. When I got my Vaio Z11 in March 2000 it blew the 13" MBP out of the water (and continued to do so for 2 years).

      1. Bill the Sys Admin

        Re: Laptops and Notebooks

        Well I don’t understand how they have poor graphics? My Macbook Pro has 512MB ATI card in it. Very good graphics card by all accounts. Plays games on the native resolution on the 1440x900, the screen is also of higher quality to many of the manufactures that churn out windows PC's. Quite aggressive MATE screen but still nice.

        Im not debating that 13 years ago your laptop was better! Im talking about now. God back then I was only 10 years old! The fact is right now I don’t think there is a machine that rivals the build quality or the screens on the Macbook line. They really are great notebooks.

        1. imaginarynumber

          Re: Laptops and Notebooks

          Sorry Bill, a typo on my behalf, I intended to say back in 2010 and not 2000.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Article

    "Basically, the little ‘i’ in all these products might as well stand for Ive."

    Apple's fascination with the letter "i" started when Steve Jobs returned back to Apple. He was given the title iCEO :) The "i" stood for "interim".

    1. Dave 126

      The 'i' in 'iMac' wasn't Jobs' idea, and he was initially opposed to it.

  13. JDX Gold badge

    That bloody bookshelf

    please do kill it

    1. Ben Holmes
      Unhappy

      Re: That bloody bookshelf

      Or, you know, let ME kill it.

      I wouldn't even mind if it it reappeared after each OS update, as long as I could delete it. Same with the 'default' apps iOS ships with these days which you can't get rid of.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    All aboard the hype train. First stop WDC...

    Using emotive bullshit like "Visionary designer Sir Jonathan Ive’s perfectionism" is just trying to convince iTards that Apple have a new Steve Jobs.

    1. SuperTim
      Trollface

      Re: All aboard the hype train. First stop WDC...

      He is visionary, he uses his vision to look at old braun designs!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: All aboard the hype train. First stop WDC...

        The stupidity and ignorance of some people is hard to credit. I venture to say, there must be hardly a single genius in any field who would not acknowledge the influence of the work and ideas of others, whether a good teacher or the proponent of a good theory or design or even a bad one!

        Your comment displays not just copying others but also the inability to build on it to create a new one.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: All aboard the hype train. First stop WDC...

          And your post reads like those hard to understand wordpress spam posts that make no sense.

        2. SuperTim
          Devil

          Re: All aboard the hype train. First stop WDC...

          Troll icon is happy with his work...Hooked an AC easy peasy!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: All aboard the hype train. First stop WDC...

      Erm, Dieter Brams (of Braun) has a lot of respect for Jonny Ive and even says he is the only designer following his guidelines.

      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/8555503/Dieter-Rams-Apple-has-achieved-something-I-never-did.html

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It's really not that urgent (I don't think)

    The mail and calender apps are hardly uncompetitive. The core weaknesses with iOS that make it worse at some things than Android (inter app communications and sharing, for example) aren't going any time soon. On its own strengths, iOS is competitive enough. I doubt Apple will lose many sales if, for example, the 5s comes out before iOS 7.

    1. jonathanb Silver badge

      Re: It's really not that urgent (I don't think)

      I agree. If you compare the Mail apps for iOS and Android, I'd say they are about the same; and both do their job just fine. I've never had a problem with the Calendar App on iOS, I'd say it is slightly better than the Samsung one on my Android but it is a close call. I don't have the stock Android Calendar App so can't comment on that.

      But the book case, actually there's three of them, for iBooks, iTunesU and Newspapers; they need to go. The Podcasts app needs to go. The Maps app is probably OK from a UI perspective, it is the underlying data that is the problem there, and that isn't Ive's department.

      1. slhilly

        Re: It's really not that urgent (I don't think)

        I disagree about the Maps app. I've not seen a content error in quite a while, but there are things I want to be able to do, such as look at alternative routes, or switch transport mode, that just don't work very well.

        Agree that the bookcase apps are especially rubbish.

    2. BigAndos

      Re: It's really not that urgent (I don't think)

      I agree, the mail and calendar apps fulfill their basic purposes just fine. The main thing I'd like to see is an active standby screen. Instead of just notifications and the time, it would be good to pin things like train departures and transport status so you can check them out easily!

  16. EddieD

    Copland again?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copland_%28operating_system%29

    It does seem that unless Apple has someone suitably dictatorial at the helm, projects don't run to schedule.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Copland again?

      Name me an organisation or project where that is not true.

  17. General Pance
    Happy

    Most important change in the next iPhone

    I don't give a damn about anything else: it's just got to be the thinner than the iPhone 5.

    But if you really want to spoil us how about letting App publishers push ads into the lockscreen? That would be really cool.

  18. Stevie

    Bah!

    Three dimensional gestures?

    Magic. Now not only will my commute be riddled with oblivious fucktards playing tinny music at full volume but I'll stand a chance of having an eye put out by someone playing Angry Birds.

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Its all a stock manipulation scheme

    Apple stock has dropped back because everyone is waiting for the next iThingy.

    Apple buys back lots of stock... Because the price is low.

    Apple keeps dropping the stock by holding back products.

    Its not like they really need the sales right now, theyve got plenty cash.

    At the crucial moment.. 'TaDa!' New iThing released. Much hooray from the analysts. Stock price goes up.

    Apple makes money on its own money.

    1. Yet Another Commentard

      Re: Its all a stock manipulation scheme

      Sadly stock buybacks don't work that way. Buy back share, share nullified, removed, zapped.

      Stock held by Apple's employees, however, might.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Its all a stock manipulation scheme

        Shows how little you know about markets. Apple is actually making well over a billion dollars from this buyback, even if the stock price never moves at all. How? Because they're currently paying about a 3% dividend, but borrowing money at about 2% to buy back stock. Every share they buy back is one they no longer have to pay dividends to. The whole thing is in essence no different than if you had a 3% mortgage and refinanced it at 2%. You'd be an idiot not to take that deal, so why shouldn't Apple?

        The fact that that they might save money on taxes by not bringing overseas money into the US (if the tax laws are changed or a new "tax holiday" happens) is potential icing on the cake. Who knows what the odds are but just about every large company in the US with any significant overseas earnings is playing the same game, that's why US corporations have record holdings of over $2 trillion in cash these days

        One can of course argue that this is unfair, immortal, etc. or that "everyone is doing it" is not an excuse, but the way US securities laws work, if a company like Apple brought in $100 billion in overseas cash, paid ~$25 billion in taxes on it, and then next year another corporate tax holiday was passed taxing repatriated money at only 10%, meaning Apple threw away $25 billion by not waiting a year, they'd be subject to shareholder lawsuits for breach of fiduciary duty. The suits may not be successful, but a CFO/CEO wouldn't want to take a chance on that. Passing that first corporate tax holiday was a huge mistake, because companies will wait forever hoping for another bite of the apple (small 'a')

  20. DB2DBA

    Making a late project later

    The remark about throwing staff from other Apple products onto the iOS7 fire makes me wonder if anyone there has ever heard of Fred Brooks and "The Mythical Man Month"...

    http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month

    1. Hyper72

      Re: Making a late project later

      Very few people don't know about the mythical man month as its always being waved around triumphantly. The truth is that only the project teams within Apple know what's going on and most of those people are probably not idiots.

  21. Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse
    Meh

    Hmmmm...

    Can't help thinking that there is (a little) trouble-at-mill, but you are not going to be able to replace a Jobs-like character in a hurry - so you need to change things and do things in another manner... very similar to Riker when Picard is captured by the BORG in the Best of both worlds.

    Saying that - Jobs would never have allowed Maps to go out in the state it did so kudos to Ive for correcting that balance up front.

    Joba also though had Apples divisions "compartmentalised" for a reason. Letting an aesthetic designer (albeit a very lauded one) own both hardware and software, and aesthetic - is a landmine and symptomatic of a weak leader (Cook) wanting to offload the responsibility of managing them all - again, something Jobs wouldn't have done. Si, if that is that case then the very real worry that Apple is now very much a one trick design pony and if Ive decides to leave... well - I probabaly don't need to expand.

    Other than that... I think the Apple and media community needs to be more realistic in its expectations of IOS7 and what it will be - there won't be any "gamechangers" or "killer apps" and also realise that it'll just be an iteration of what has come before with a few updated *shiny* *shiny* bits to distract the ADHD community from that fact that its just another IOS release - end of.

    As the doom mongers - Apple as a company will still be trading many years after IOS7 does release so keep the noise down over there will you...

    1. Dave 126

      Re: Hmmmm...

      >aesthetic designer

      Which Ive isn't. In Dieter Ram's term, he is a 'Form Engineer', a more holistic thing that takes into account everything including manufacturing, functionality, ergonomics and yes, aesthetics. UI design has been taught on Product Design BSc (and to a lesser extent Industrial Design BA) courses since the late 1990s.

      The original iPod was shiny- but an important part of its function was that it slipped into a pocket easily, like cigarette cases have done for decades. So it happened to look like a cigarette case.

  22. TeeCee Gold badge
    Alert

    "....allegedly include getting rid of realistic graphical flourishes..."

    Maybe the real reason for the delay is that they've seen the reaction to someone else's recent, shorn-of-all-graphical-cleverness, crappy OS interface and are having a hasty redesign?

  23. TheOtherHobbes

    >Under Jobs, Ive worked as the head of product design, churning out game-changing products like the iPod, iMac and iPhone.

    The iMac - the original Boni Blue model, with colour options - was certainly an Ive classic.

    The iPod was famously invented by someone else. Ive slapped a reworked design from the 60s on it. The iTunes software to run it was bought in.

    Macs - well, yes. But not so much OS X, so far as anyone can tell.

    The problem for Ive is that although he's good at visible design, I doubt he has much of a clue about APIs and code. Changing iOS isn't just about making the icons brightly coloured and wibbly-wobbly, it's about creating high quality frameworks so devs can use them to do cool things.

    That's not really an Ive strong point. And Forstall, who used to be good at it, has gone.

    So who's doing it now?

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge
      WTF?

      "head of software design"

      I had to do a double take. Head of user interfaces, head of interface design, etc... maybe but head of software design? Next someone will spill all and say they do UI prototypes in Visual Basic then when the boss says it's okay, hastily knock up something behind it which more-or-less works.

      1. Rosco

        Re: "head of software design"

        You seem to have fallen into the common trap of thinking that design means only what it looks like. Design is not just what it looks like, it's how it works and how people use it to achieve their goals.

        1. Dan 55 Silver badge
          Stop

          Re: "head of software design"

          Er, no. That was my point. There's more to software than the application and how it's used. OS X is more than just Aqua, if he gets into something like filesystems or task scheduling all he's going to be able to do is say 'make it so'.

          1. James Hughes 1

            Re: "head of software design"

            @Dan 55. But its his job to say 'make it so'. He doesn't need to know about API's, scheduling, or any software at all. He designs, software monkeys code. It's the monkeys who need to know about API's, and if necessary tell him what he wants isn't possible,. Then implement it anyway.

            In many ways designers should NOT know about the underlying tech, as it will pollute the design process. It's their job to design, not implement.

            1. Dan 55 Silver badge

              Re: "head of software design"

              I'll try and explain it again. The UI and how people interact with programs is a component of OS X, OS X isn't a component of the UI. Better to have someone from a technical background saying "make it so" for the UI features than a design background saying "make it so" for the technical features. Not everything is a black-and-white case, there are trade offs to be made over how different parts of the OS interact with each other and if we end up with OS X being driven by how a user interacts with it then everything behind the scenes and OS X Server is by default given a lower priority.

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Mushroom

    Wasn't the Crackberry CEO talking about licensing options for BB10 just last week? Maybe AAPL needs to drop below $100 before they'll call.

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The wonderful fantastic incredible designer that is Jony Ive

    Ten minutes to go, before presenting the new iPhone 4 to the Apple board... as he walks down a Cupertino corridor, suddenly, Mr Ive realises... "I haven't designed the casing for my new wonder gadget"

    "You, lend me your shiny Macbook"... Apple minion hands it over

    "Where's the CAD software?"

    "I'm a beancounter... I don't have any"

    "Damn... err.... Excel... right.... Insert, autoshapes, umm, rectangle, no... rounded rectangle"

    And thus, the beautifully designed iPhone 4 was born.

    Also in the series "The iPhone as a modern design classic"... "The Emperors New Clothes"

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The wonderful fantastic incredible designer that is Jony Ive

      Ah, the old CAD software canard. Son, we've all moved on. Time you should too.

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    skew-whotsit

    "hideous "wood" panels on station wagons " - were once upon a time the real thing.

    On a Moggie (Morris Minor) the external wood was structural, on a Mini Countryman it was decorational (and ash!), inside a Morris Marina it was plastic..

  27. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Does it need a new design?

    I'm perfectly happy with the current design. Works fine. I am not a teenager who needs his icons to look different every 5 minutes. In fact I think it was a mistake to allow people to change the wallpaper for the app launcher, since now I see people with iPhones with such horribly garish backgrounds that I don't know how they can see the app icons.

    The "notification center" does need a redesign though, since its current design and functionality don't square with anything else in the OS.

  28. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Cult of Celebrity

    Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, Jonathan Ives.

    How many readers can name even a single individual from Samsung? Most people probably couldn't name the person responsible for the Android project at Google either.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Coat

      Re: Cult of Celebrity

      Every one knows it was Ann Droid. Though rumors that it was Andy Roid have also circulated.

  29. Inertia

    problem?

    I reckon a bit of "it'll be ready when I say it is" will do them many favours. Was anything ever great when designed in a hurry by a committee?

    /not a apple user but looking forward to Ive's input

  30. ScissorHands
    Holmes

    Take your time, Apple...

    iOS has been stale for at least two years.

  31. tempemeaty

    Sounds like a Blue Blood undoing of Apple

    I don't trust him. Apple is a thorn in the side of the elite by providing the unwashed masses with advanced technology the blue bloods would rather they not have. Now a "knighted' by blue blood individual is in charge of the project? I expect this is going to result in many more problems for Apple to get anything out the door because of it. This, like the move by Sony to put Sir Harry Stringer in charge of operations of the Corp directly in Japan, is likely not to work out well for them. I hope I'm wrong. Like or hate Apple, it is they who forced the hand held device and mobe development forward into the 21st century, without out Apple to keep moving the football down the field we may find ourselves once again in technological stagnation.

  32. Mark Major
    Joke

    I've has find all the Ives confusing

    It's disconcerting to read all those Ives, like the writer has the worst grammar in the world:-

    Ive will be keen to avoid the drama

    Ive has pulled the team so far behind deadline

    Ive was given responsibility for the look and feel of software

    Ive has finished talking rubbish now. Bye! :)

  33. Chris Donald

    Flat n boring look?

    Please please DON'T copy MS with the world's most boring, least data dense crap flat interfaces. Shockingly I LIKE the skeumorphic stuff, at least it follows some reasonable design principles giving cues as to what to touch/not touch and it's far nicer on the eyes than the flat boring (yes I said it again) metro crap.

    Why a whole screen is required for a messenger (MS) I don't know but the flat look deserves to be quite short lived, at least in the forms I've seen so far. If Apple follow it, I'll do everything I can to avoid updates. Yuck.

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