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Apple trademarks new FaceTime logo, settles on green
There's certainly been a lot of brouhaha surrounding the new design language Apple introduced for iOS 7 at WWDC. Some (ourselves included) feel it's modern and fresh while others loathe the brighter palette and simpler, flatter icons. A lot can change between now and the launch of iOS 7 this fall, but if Apple's recent trademark filing is any indication, FaceTime's new logo / icon -- which consists of a stylized white video camera inside a rounded-off green square -- fits squarely (ahem) within the aesthetic we saw on stage in San Francisco. Of course, companies often trademark logos, so we can't really say this comes as much of a surprise, either. If you're curious where Jony Ive might have found his inspiration for the pastel colors and thin lines showcased in iOS 7's iconography, check out Otl Aicher's design work for the 1972 Olympics in the "more coverage" link after the break.
Daily Update for June 18, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Apple shortens Jony Ive's title to 'Senior Vice President, Design'
Well it's official now. With iOS 7 now out of the bag, Jony Ive's title at Apple has recently been changed to reflect his added responsibilities and increased influence across Apple's product line. Whereas he used bear the title of Senior Vice President of Industrial Design (as recently as June 9), he now holds a more comprehensive title -- Senior Vice President of Design. Ive originally made a name for himself as the man behind Apple's gorgeous and often innovative hardware designs. With the October ouster of Scott Forstall, however, Ive began applying his design aesthetic to Apple's software as well, an aesthetic which first became apparent last week when Apple unveiled a complete revamp of iOS. via 9to5Mac
Wired on Jony Ive, iOS 7 and the future of design
John Maeda took issue with Jony Ive's recently unveiled design scheme for iOS 7 in a Wired post this morning, and it's apparent that the writer -- a well-known academic in the design world -- isn't happy with the new, flatter iOS or the direction in which Apple seems to be pointing the world of user interface design. As Maeda points out up front, much of the buzz around the design changes in iOS 7 has been positive, noting that "skeuomorphism teaches by analogy" and that "it's time to remove the 'training wheels'" since most people now understand how a smartphone is supposed to work. Maeda, however, thinks that "design should boldly go where no user or interface has gone before," and that in the world of "infinitely available and infinitely malleable" pixels, designers "should focus on setting them free." Ive and crew, in Maeda's opinion, are "hindering innovation" by sticking "to the dangerously reductionist, technology-usability centric view of design that surfaced in the discussions about flat design versus skeuomorphism." With all due respect to Maeda, who is a graphic designer, computer scientist, president of the Rhode Island School of Design, artist, former associate director of research at MIT Media Lab and "one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century according to Esquire" (which apparently forgot that there are still 87 years left in the century), the Wired guest editorial does nothing to say what direction UI designers should be heading in. Sure, Maeda suggests that Apple and other companies should be moving in the direction of Oblong (co-founded in 2006 by the "chief computer visionary behind the film Minority Report") or Berg (makers of the playful, yet ridiculously expensive Little Printer), but offers nothing concrete in terms of where he thinks the device UI design movement should head next. Using those two particular companies as positive examples of the design seems awkward -- the "waving your arms around like an idiot" UI of Minority Report makes no sense in a mobile world, and Berg's latest product is priced out of mass-market reality. Maeda doesn't seem to acknowledge the fact that iOS 7 isn't the final generation of Apple's vision for device interfaces; it's just another step on the long road towards a UI that will be constantly evolving with technology and what the public expects and desires. Certainly the Apple designers have a vision for the future and are working towards that, but is it really going to do any tech company any good to introduce a user interface that is ahead of its time? I'm sure that Maeda's article is one of the first that we'll see in a long parade by design experts. When one of the experts finally comes up with concrete ideas for a next-generation UI that balances ease of use, user acceptance and device power requirements, then it will be time to start paying attention. In the meantime, posts by the design community either praising or defiling Apple's latest work are, in the words of Shakespeare's Macbeth, tales "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
Tim Cook: Executive change-up at Apple has been great; Jony Ive has been 'really key' to iOS 7 design
In October 2012, Apple casually announced via press release a blockbuster shakeup at the executive level. Scott Forstall, who was arguably the face of iOS, was shown the door as Jony Ive, Bob Mansfield, Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi all assumed additional responsibilities within the company. The reported difficulties of working with Forstall notwithstanding, the expressed purpose of the executive shakeup was to tightly integrate Apple's hardware, software and services to an even greater degree. Seven months later, at the annual All Things D conference, Tim Cook explained to Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher that so far things under the new hierarchy have been going great. "Really, really great," to be exact. Last fall, we changed things up a bit. We did it to enhance collaboration. The key, for us, to have a killer product -- it's to have incredible hardware, incredible software and incredible services. And then you combine them in a way that you can't tell what's what any more. The real magic occurs at the intersection of that. It's what Apple has always been about. This change just amped it up even more. Following that, Kara Swisher asked Cook about Forstall, inquiring as to whether or not the man tapped by Steve Jobs to spearhead the original development of Apple's mobile OS was a collaborative team player. Ever the corporate diplomat, Cook craftily sidestepped the question: I don't want to talk about anyone in particular except for those who are there. The whole concept was to tighten the groups even more, so we could spend more time finding magic in intersections. Seven months later, give or take, I think it has been an incredibly great change. Craig is running both iOS and OS X. This has been fantastic. Eddy Cue is focused on services. These changes have been great -- really, really great. Cook also confirmed that Ive has been lending his aesthetic sensibilities to the next iteration of iOS. While Cook refused to comment on rumors that iOS 7 might see a dramatic UI overhaul, he did note that Ive has been "really key" to its development. Lastly, Cook confirmed that we'll be able to get a full look at the future of both iOS and OS X at this year's WWDC which is scheduled to kick off on Monday, June 10.
Bloomberg: Jony Ive said to be considering 'more dramatic' changes to email and calendar amid iOS 7 overhaul
It's hardly been a secret that Apple's Jony Ive is exploring some more radical changes to iOS since taking the design reins for software in addition to hardware, but Bloomberg is now reporting some new details that paint a better picture of just what's going on in the lead-up to iOS 7. As previously reported, that includes what's sure to be iOS' biggest visual overhaul to date, with a decidedly more flat and minimalist design replacing Apple's current skeuomorphic tendencies. What's more, Bloomberg is also reporting that Ive is exploring "more dramatic changes" to the e-mail and calendar apps, and that he's "methodically" reviewing all the new designs himself to avoid a repeat of the Maps fiasco. Also as previously rumoured, Bloomberg reports that Apple is pulling people from the Mac team to work on iOS in order to get it done in time, and that Ive has been encouraging collaboration between the software and hardware teams -- which, as Bloomberg notes, have previously been operating in separate silos. That all comes as Apple is apparently pushing things closer to the deadline than usual; while Bloomberg reports that iOS 7 is still on track for a release "as soon as September," internal testing dates are reportedly being set later than they have in the past, and the sweeping changes Ive has embarked on are said to have put Apple "at risk of falling behind." Of course, Apple does have one upcoming date that's now set in stone: WWDC on June 10th, when it has already promised to show off new versions of both iOS and OS X. Update: All Things D is now offering its own confirmation of much of what Bloomberg is reporting, and quotes one source who describes iOS 7's new look as "de-glitzed."
Jony Ive named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world
Time magazine's annual list of the top 100 most influential people in the world is out and Apple design guru Jony Ive made the list. Ive's write-up in the magazine was penned by none other than U2 frontman Bono, who you might remember had a particularly close relationship with Steve Jobs and a long-standing working relationship with Apple with respect to Bono's Project Red initiative. Bono writes of Ive: Jony Ive is himself classic Apple. Brushed-steel, polished-glass hardware, complicated software honed to simplicity. His genius is not just his ability to see what others cannot, but also how he applies it. To watch him with his workmates in the holy of holies, Apple's design lab, or on a night out is to observe a very rare esprit de corps. They love their boss, and he loves them. What the competitors don't seem to understand is you cannot get people this smart to work this hard just for money. Jony is Obi-Wan. Ive's inclusion on the list shouldn't be all that surprising when you consider that there are currently hundreds of millions of Apple products in use worldwide that bear the design influence and sensibilities of Ive. What's more, Ive's influence on the products we use is only bound to increase in the years to come. While Ive has historically been a driving force in the industrial design of Apple's products, his design taste will soon be apparent in Apple's software as well. Remember that Ive, following the unceremonious departure of Scott Forstall, was put in charge of Apple's Human Interface design this past October. We should get a first glimpse of Ive's software aesthetic when Apple unveils iOS 7 at WWDC this year. That is, of course, if Apple can get it finished on time. Recent reports have suggested that Apple's next-gen mobile OS is running a tad behind schedule, so much so that Apple was reportedly forced to pull engineers working on OS X 10.9 to help out with iOS 7 development efforts. Returning to Time's list of 100 influential figures for a second, there are two other points of interest worth mentioning. First, Samsung CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon made the cut, and his write-up was, oddly enough, penned by former Apple CEO John Sculley. Second, Greenlight Capital hedge fund manager David Einhorn also made the list. You might remember that Einhorn caused a small stir in financial circles earlier this year when he sued Apple for not returning enough of its cash to shareholders. Einhorn subsequently dropped the suit in March.
Jonathan Ive on Apple's design philosophy
Late last year, Tim Cook put Jony Ive in the position of heading up Apple's Human Interface (HI) design across the company's products. Known for his work on Apple hardware, the British designer has worked his way up the ranks at Apple. He was highly regarded by Steve Jobs, who called him his "spiritual partner at Apple" in Walter Isaacson's biography of the Apple co-founder. While his hardware products speak for themselves, a spate of recent interviews gives us some insight into the design philosophy that drives this Apple executive. We know that Ive, like Tim Cook, is focused on making products the best they can be. In a May 2012 interview with the Telegraph, Ive said, "We're keenly aware that when we develop and make something and bring it to market that it really does speak to a set of values. And what preoccupies us is that sense of care, and what our products will not speak to is a schedule, what our products will not speak to is trying to respond to some corporate or competitive agenda. We're very genuinely designing the best products that we can for people." Ive also looks at products in their own right, and doesn't design a new model as a copycat or a clone. In this iPad mini video, he explains that "there is inherent loss in just reducing a product in size" and notes that Apple looked at the mini and "took the time to go back to the beginning and design a product that was a concentration of, not a reduction of, the original." Ive also spoke recently on Blue Peter about how Apple names its products and suggested that Apple is as careful with names as it is with outward design. Ive spoke about the term lunchbox and noted that Apple wouldn't use that name as it conjures up the image of a cube. He said "we're quite careful with the words we use, because those can determine the path that you go down." So what Ive influences will we see in the next version of iOS and OS X now that he is in charge of HI design? I honestly don't know, but I will say this -- if Ive puts his mark on it, it will be outstanding.
Daily Update for February 18, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Sir Jony Ive discusses design on Blue Peter show, receives Gold Badge
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television program, broadcast on BBC since 1959, so it's not surprising that Apple Senior Vice President of Industrial Design Sir Jony Ive was an avid viewer of the show as a child. Ive was recently a guest on Blue Peter where he talked about an early design experience tied to the show and then commented on children's designs for a combination school bag / lunch bag / pencil case. As you can see in the video clip below, Sir Jony was also awarded the rare high honor of a Blue Peter Gold Badge. Ive seemed genuinely touched by receiving the award from host Barney Harwood, and reciprocated by having a CNC milling machine make a large "aluminium" badge for the show staff.
BBC's Blue Peter honours Jony Ive with gold Blue Peter badge
The BBC's long-standing children's program, Blue Peter, has honoured Jony Ive with a gold Blue Peter badge, the show's highest accolade. The show has a tradition of inspiring and encouraging young children to design, create and make things. As reported by the BBC, a special gadget edition of Blue Peter will be broadcast this Saturday, where a prefilmed segment -- already available on the BBC's Media Centre website -- shows Ive receiving the award from Blue Peter presenter Barney Harwood. Ive, who grew up in London and watched the show as a child, viewed children's designs submitted to Blue Peter of an all-in-one school bag, lunch box and pencil case, and reminisced on one particular episode that had really stuck with him, where a presenter made a paint brush holder from an old plastic bottle. Upon receiving the award, Ive said, "That's absolutely incredible, " and that he was "very grateful." Ive also presented the show with his own rather large design of the Blue Peter badge, made out of solid aluminium, cut on one of Apple's CNC machines. The special Blue Peter show will air tomorrow in the UK at 10 AM GMT on the CBBC channel.
Apple's Sir Ive honored with BBC kids TV's greatest honor, the gold Blue Peter badge (video)
Knighthood, schmighthood. Apple's British design head has just picked up a golden Blue Peter badge. The show, which has been running on UK TV for over 50 years, even had their gift reciprocated, with Sir Jonathan Ive offering up a solid aluminum Blue Peter badge (above) that took over 10 hours to craft. Ive can count himself in good company, joining other luminaries like JK Rowling and David Beckham. The segment will air during a gadget special tomorrow, but you can watch the exchange between kids TV and Apple design right after the break.
Jony Ive, Marissa Mayer, others attend all-star Silicon Valley dinner
Some of the most powerful people in Silicon Valley got together last night...for pizza. As reported by Business Insider, Nextdoor CEO Nirav Tolia hosted the dinner that included Jony Ive and Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer as well as the CEO's of Twitter, Yelp, Dropbox and Path. Google X director Mike Cassidy was also there and he posted the above photo on his Facebook page. So what was the dinner all about? Mergers? Acquisitions? World Domination? Who knows. A spokesperson for Yelp confirmed to BI that Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman was in attendance "at a dinner with a bunch of execs last night. Nothing more to report."
Former Apple CEO John Sculley: Apple is well-run
Although Tim Cook has been at Apple's helm for a while now, concern over his long-term guidance continues to permeate opinions of both shareholders and analysts. For his part, former Apple CEO, John Sculley, is confident in Apple's management. The Motley Fool reports that during a recent interview with CNBC, Sculley was very upbeat about the future of his former company. "I think they're going through a very significant change now in terms of product cycles," Sculley explains. "Traditionally Apple introduces products once a year; now it's really introducing products twice a year. The complexity of that from a supply chain is immense, and Apple seems to be doing it well. So, I think that people are underestimating just how well Apple is run, and just how successful the company can be when it gets to that twice-a-year product introduction cycle." Sculley went on to note that he believes Apple's valuation should remain relatively constant despite the change in leadership, mentioning that product guru Jony Ive brings a lot to the table. Whether investors see it the same way is an entirely different story, and while some analysts consider whether Apple's valuation deserves the so-called "Steve Jobs premium" it once had, the company has its work cut out for it to calm the fears of Wall Street.
Blast from the past: Jony Ive stars in 1997 Apple video sans white backdrop
OS X Daily uncovered an old clip of Jony Ive crooning about the 20th Anniversary Mac. The 20th Anniversary Mac was a limited edition Mac released in 1997 to celebrate Apple's 20th birthday. The short promo should look very familiar as it has the same talking-head style seen in current product videos. The only thing missing is a "y" on the end of Ive's first name and Apple's patented white background.
The iPad mini vs. the competition: fight!
The traditional trail of inventory listings, leaked casings and internal components have teased us enough: it's finally time to get down to the nitty gritty specs, and see how Apple's latest (and daintiest) iPad shapes up to the competition. We've collected a trio of like-sized slabs to pit the device against, just for the fun of it. Read on to see how it stacks up against its peers. For more coverage, visit our Apple Special Event hub!
Jony Ive will design limited-edition Leica camera for charity
Apple's own Sir Jony Ive will design a one-off camera for Leica, to be auctioned off for charity. That's right, only one unit will be produced. The announcement was made at a special event that Ive was supposed to attend. In the end, he couldn't make it, but the company went ahead with the announcement anyway. Collectors with a love of fine design, and very deep pockets, will want to keep an eye out for this one.
Apple's Jony Ive tapped to design one-off Leica M for charity auction
In case the newly announced Leica M simply isn't astronomically expensive enough -- or charity-minded enough, as it were -- Apple's senior VP of design Jony Ive is working with the German photography company on a one-off version set to be auctioned for charity. Given the M's baseline price of €6,200 (about $8,100), we're guessing the one-of-a-kind version designed by one of the world's most influential designers is going to fetch a pretty penny at auction. Like, "sell off one of your extra homes" kind of money. Leica head Dr. Andreas Kaufmann announced the collaboration last night during a Leica event at Photokina -- an event that Ive himself was reportedly set to appear at -- where he said that the auction will be done with U2 frontman (and longtime friend of Ive) Bono Vox. The latest Leica M debuts in early 2013, though we won't see the fruits of Ive and Leica's collaboration for some time as the camera's design has yet to begin.
iPhone 5 vs. iPhone 4S: what's changed?
Its name is enough to send CEOs into cold sweats, which is why the rest of the mobile world spent last week announcing their hardware back-to-back to steal a march on this handset. Now, after all of the rumor, speculation and leaks, Apple's sixth iPhone has finally been unveiled in San Francisco. We've got around 45 minutes before the world begins idly speculating about next year's iteration, so let's spend what little time we have delving into what's changed between now and the last time we were here. Check out our liveblog of Apple's event to get the latest news as it happens! Check out all the coverage at our iPhone 2012 event hub!
Jony Ive: Apple's goal isn't to make money
Speaking at the British Business conference running in London during the 2012 Olympics, Sir Jonathan Ive -- Apple's Senior Vice President of Industrial Design -- told attendees that Apple's "goal isn't to make money." Instead, per the Daily Telegraph, he told attendees that the company's primary goal is to make great products. Ive started with Apple in 1992 and attributes Apple's success to its "near-death" experiences in the mid-1990s. "Apple was very close to bankruptcy and to irrelevance [but] you learn a lot about life through death, and I learnt a lot about vital corporations by experiencing a non-vital corporation," said Ive. Talking about late Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Ive noted that "His observation was that the products weren't good enough and his resolve was we need to make better products. That stood in stark contrast to the previous attempts to turn the company around". Apparently the fixation on making great products nearly resulted in the iPhone never making it to market. According to Ive, "There were multiple times when we nearly shelved the phone because there were multiple problems. I hold the phone to my ear and my ear dials a number. The challenge is that you have to develop all sorts of ear shapes, chin shapes, skin colour, hairdo... it seemed insurmountable". Fortunately for the world and for Apple, the iPhone went on to be an amazing success, with 26 million of the devices selling in the last quarter alone. [via The Loop]
