It was announced last week that Apple’s longtime chief of design, Jony Ive, is leaving the company to found his own design firm. Since then, multiple reports have been published speculating as to why Ive left and what may have happened during his tenure at Apple over the last few years.
One such report came from the Wall Street Journal over the weekend, which suggest Ive’s leaving may be rooted from 2015, when the original Apple Watch was released, with an aim of becoming a fashion accessory. The report indicated Ive was dispirited when the Watch “failed” in its intended role, and began backing away from his day-to-day work at the company.
The report went on to suggest that Ive’s hands-off approach began to disrupt Apple’s internal workflow, as he failed to attend meetings and provide needed guidance to design team members, particularly on the iPhone X. The report said Ive was frustrated with Apple’s increasing focus on operations over design.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has fired back at the report in an email to NBC News, calling the story “absurd” and saying the conclusions drawn by the report “don’t match with reality.”
The story is absurd. A lot of the reporting, and certainly the conclusions, just don’t match with reality. At a base level, it shows a lack of understanding about how the design team works and how Apple works. It distorts relationships, decisions and events to the point that we just don’t recognize the company it claims to describe.
The design team is phenomenally talented. As Jony has said, they’re stronger than ever, and I have complete confidence that they will thrive under Jeff, Evans, and Alan’s leadership. We know the truth and we know the incredible things they’re capable of doing. The projects they’re working on will blow you away.
Ive has said that through his new company, LoveFrom, he will continue to work with Apple on design projects.