Jony Ive Talks Design, Steve Jobs, Future Tech and More on Stage at TechFest 2017

Apple design chief Jony Ive spoke this afternoon at TechFest 2017, an event held in New York City. Ive sat down for an interview with The New Yorker editor David Remnick to answer some questions about his design philosophies, his time at Apple, and what it was like working with Steve Jobs, who served as a "wonderful teacher" for Ive.

Ive's TechFest talk wasn't streamed live, but Business Insider was on hand at the interview and shared a live blog with some of Ive's responses and discussion points, and The New Yorker also shared several quotes on its Twitter account.

jonyivetechfest

Image via The New Yorker

Perhaps the most interesting part of the conversation centered on upcoming technology Apple is exploring. Ive said that there are "certain ideas" Apple has in mind, and that the company is "waiting for the technology to catch up with the idea." In response to a question about whether he was still hungry for new designs and new products, Ive answered "Absolutely."

He went on to say that there are "many opportunities" around displays, and as silicon becomes smaller and more efficient, "the opportunities are extraordinary." Ive also says he's excited about AI and the kind of "good tools" it can lead to.

"The phone we just announced a few weeks ago. That technology is something we'd been working on for five years. We had prototypes. This is an interesting one, theres's a tendency, and I understand it, with the benefit of hindsight, it all seems inevitable."

"For 99 percent of the time, it didn't work for us. For 99% of the development cycle all we had were things that failed."

Developing new products, says Ive, requires a mix of curiosity and focus, to ask the right questions while staying focused on getting a product into development. "There are 55 reasons it hasn't been done before," he said. "So you have to be so focused, determined." Ive says maintaining that level of focus is "exhausting."

Ive touched on his relationship with Steve and the ideals that Jobs instilled in the company. Money was never the focus for Steve Jobs, even when he returned to the company and started making major cuts to the product lineup at the time. "The focus was 'the products aren't every good, are they. Let's focus on making some good products,'" said Ive.

Sometimes design inspiration at Apple comes from poorly designed products, and that was the case with the iPhone. According to Ive, a loathing for the current phones at the time motivated Apple to come up with something new. "You think there has to be a better way of doing it," said Ive.

Apple executives have said several times that Apple's products are designed for people and not for profit, a sentiment that Ive echoed in his interview. "Most things are built in an opportunistic way, to a cost, or to a schedule, they're not built to people," he said.

On the topic of design overall, Ive says that he remembers the process most fondly, not the product. He says he's been fortunate to work with extraordinary people. "If I get to sit down for 2 hours with one of the world's best silicon chip designers, I could not be happier," said Ive.

Top Rated Comments

rpmurray Avatar
78 months ago
"For 99 percent of the time, it didn't work for us. For 99% of the development cycle all we had were things that failed."

And then the deadline came so we shipped it.
Score: 47 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HJM.NL Avatar
78 months ago
Apple executives have said several times that Apple's products are designed for people and not for profit, a sentiment that Ive echoed in his interview. "Most things are built in an opportunistic way, to a cost, or to a schedule, they're not built to people," he said.
What planet does he come from? This is so not true coming from a company who has the biggest profit margins on all its products from any. :mad:
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HJM.NL Avatar
78 months ago
Article quote:

"Sometimes design inspiration at Apple comes from poorly designed products, and that was the case with the iPhone. According to Ive, a loathing for the current phones at the time motivated Apple to come up with something new. "You think there has to be a better way of doing it," said Ive."


I like this quote. Because I feel this is so true about Apple, where they want to make a product better and a more refined experience than what the competitors do. This is what separates Apple from everybody else and what makes their products and software so unique.
I would fully agree with you when you stated that 5 years ago. The Apple of today has lost that vision. Their software is buggy, their designs are compromised and they got leapfrogged in every category today.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pat500000 Avatar
78 months ago
For someone that designs incredible culture defining devices, he has a TERRIBLE dress sense. He dresses like my grandad. Good God man, use your gazillions to get a stylist. Or a mirror. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Huh?



Let him be?

Attachment Image
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
78 months ago
Article quote:

"Sometimes design inspiration at Apple comes from poorly designed products, and that was the case with the iPhone. According to Ive, a loathing for the current phones at the time motivated Apple to come up with something new. "You think there has to be a better way of doing it," said Ive."


I like this quote. Because I feel this is so true about Apple, where they want to make a product better and a more refined experience than what the competitors do. This is what separates Apple from everybody else and what makes their products and software so unique. They don't want to be the first, they want to be the best.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mi7chy Avatar
78 months ago
Cook, Ive, Cue, etc. all need to retire so Apple can hire on fresh new talent like Microsoft had to do. Their old thinking and complacency are dragging down the products and services.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 for All iPhones and iPads

Tuesday September 26, 2023 12:47 pm PDT by
Apple today released iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 updates, with the software coming five days after the releases of iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1. Today's iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 updates arrive as build 21A351 and can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Note that iOS 17.0.2 was previously made available for iPhone...
Apple WWDC23 macOS Sonoma hero

macOS Sonoma Launching This Week With These New Features

Sunday September 24, 2023 12:45 pm PDT by
Apple previously announced that macOS Sonoma will be released this Tuesday, September 26. The free software update includes many new features and changes for the Mac, including the five that we have highlighted below. In addition to these five features, we have shared the full release notes for macOS Sonoma below for a complete overview of everything new. Desktop Widgets macOS Sonoma...
iPhone 15 Pro Lineup Feature

Kuo: iPhone 15 Pro Overheating Issues Likely Due to Thermal Compromises, Not 3nm Node

Tuesday September 26, 2023 9:12 am PDT by
Complaints about heat issues with the iPhone 15 Pro models are not related to TSMC's 3-nanometer node that was used for the A17 Pro chip, according to well-respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo says that overheating could be caused by "compromises made in the thermal system design" that allowed Apple to cut down on the weight of the iPhone 15 Pro models. Kuo says that the reduced heat...
iPhone 16 Side Feature

iPhone 16 to Include an Additional Capacitive 'Capture' Button

Monday September 25, 2023 12:50 pm PDT by
The iPhone 16 series is expected to gain an additional capacitive button, known internally as the "Capture Button." Codenamed "Project Nova," the button is likely to be one of the main selling points of the iPhone 16 lineup, assuming it gets past the initial testing phase. The Capture Button is located on the same side as the Power button, only positioned slightly lower - where the mmWave cutout...
ipad mini blue

Apple to Launch iPad Mini 7 Later This Year, Industry Report Suggests

Monday September 25, 2023 3:16 am PDT by
Apple could be preparing to release a seventh-generation iPad mini before the end of the year, based on a new report by DigiTimes. In an article discussing stagnating global tablet demand in the second half of 2023, the Taiwan-based outlet forecasts an uptick in Apple's share of the market owing to orders for a "small-size" iPad in the fourth quarter. From the report (see bold): In the...
macos sonoma 4

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma With New Widget Features, Safari Updates, Screen Sharing Improvements and More

Tuesday September 26, 2023 10:01 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS 14 Sonoma, the newest version of the operating system that runs on the Mac. macOS Sonoma has been in beta testing for several months, and it is compatible with the 2019 and later iMac, the iMac Pro, the 2018 and later Mac mini, the 2018 and later MacBook Pro, the 2019 and later Mac Pro, and the Mac Studio. The ‌macOS Sonoma update can be downloaded for free on...