The technology space has been in a tizzy over the last 24-hours following Apple’s chief design officer, Jony Ive announcing his departure from the company.
While Apple has put up a stoic front amid the major change in its executive structure, several commentators have pointed out the funny and not too funny sides of the situation. Ive’s departure is being considered the culminating point of the Steve Jobs era at Apple. The design chief is known for creating the minimalist staple looks of the iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch in collaboration with and later taking over for the late CEO.
Now, a waning consumer focus on hardware products could be among the reasons Ive has decided to leave his post. The slight decline already seen in iPhone sales had not been taken with alarm. Apple has used the opportunity to put more focus on software and services, such as Apple News Plus, Apple TV Plus, and Apple Arcade Plus. The company also announced a dedicated iPadOS for its tablets.
Many believe that Ive lost his dedication to the design chief role after Jobs’ death in 2011. Now, with his magnum opus, Apple Park constructed and open for business, Ive may very well no longer feel the drive that made his role so important to the company.
There are currently no plans to instate Ive’s immediate successor. Several leaders from Apple’s design team, including Evans Hankey, vice president of Industrial Design, and Alan Dye, vice president of Human Interface Design will fill his place, being overseen by chief operating officer, Jeff Williams.
Some pundits believe that without a true design visionary at the helm of Apple, there will be no one to give that artistic je ne sais quoi to its products that make them so desirable.
There was a similar blind spot when Ive took over design after Jobs’ death. While Apple products retained their beauty many suffered in terms of software design and actual manufacturing. This lead to many criticisms on the quality of some of Apple’s products in recent years. Though Apple was able to maintain its luxury staple staus with Ive, a current concern could be having several leads with less expertise could lead to a further decline in the seamless detail expected of Apple devices.
This could be an opportunity for Apple to bring in some new talent to lead the company’s future designs, but there is no telling how long that could take. Despite the insistence in continued collaboration with Ive, he likely won’t have as much power over future products as he had while in an executive role.
Ive confirmed the end of his nearly 30-year tenure at Apple in an interview with the Financial Times. He detailed that he will be starting his own creative agency, called LoveFrom which will have Apple as one of its main clients. The firm will open in 2020 and will allow Ive to work on other creative projects in addition to collaborating with Apple.
Apple stocks do not seem to have been affected as the design chief takes his leave; however, reports indicate that the prices of Apple products have already begun to drop. The HomePod is now $199.99 at Target, while its price is usually $299.
