If Apple Designed a Turntable, This Is Probably What It Would Look Like

Former Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive has revealed his latest project, a collaboration with British audio brand Linn to design a 50th anniversary edition of its Sondek LP12 turntable.

jony ive turntable2
The luxury $60,000 record player is the first non-Apple hardware project Ive is known to have been involved in since he and four other colleagues left the company in 2019 to found the design firm LoveFrom.

The premium piece of audio technology features many of the classic hallmarks of an Ive-approved product, right down to the smoothed off aluminum edges, circular elements, and neutral, minimalist aesthetic.

Speaking to Fast Company, Ive said he had owned multiple Linn products over the years, explaining that "music has always been profoundly important to me." He continued:

"So you can imagine, I think the first consequential music player that I designed was the first iPod, and that began a journey of multiple generations of iPod, and multiple AirPods and music accessories. I feel really fortunate to have gone the full circle... so many years on from my first visit to the factory."

Ive describes the LP12-50 as "a very gentle and modest project for us that was really motivated by our love and respect for Linn." Indeed, according to Fast Company, LoveFrom completed the work pro bono, and has no contract or other financial arrangement with the company.

jony ive turntable1
"There's a substantial percentage of our work which we do purely for the love of doing it," Ive told the website, which noted that the design firm relies on its longer-term contracts with the likes of Airbnb and Ferrari to make money.

Since leaving Apple to found LoveFrom, Ive and fellow designer Marc Newson have designed a typeface, an emblem for the coronation of King Charles III, and a red clown nose for British charity Comic Relief.

Apple said in 2019 that Ive would continue to be involved in design at Apple and that it would be one of LoveFrom's primary clients. For example, Ive was reportedly involved in the creation of the 2021 iMac. It's unknown whether LoveFrom has worked with Apple since, and the design firm tends to keep a low profile.

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Top Rated Comments

MacWiz_007 Avatar
21 months ago
Dropping $60k on this record player would be unapologetically stupid! ?
Score: 69 Votes (Like | Disagree)
UltimateSyn Avatar
21 months ago
That’s really nice. If it was 400 bucks, I’d buy one.
Score: 46 Votes (Like | Disagree)
The Cockney Rebel Avatar
21 months ago
"There's a substantial percentage of our work which we do purely for the love of doing it,"

HaHa, yeah alright.

I’d say it’s the 60k asking price.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DEMinSoCAL Avatar
21 months ago
It's interesting how people spend so much money to reproduce music from a piece of vinyl that is far from accurate to the master recording. Imagine not only $60K for the turntable, but what pre-amps and amps and speakers this is connected to. The total price tag is unreal. To play music from a piece of plastic.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
trhoffmann Avatar
21 months ago
“Ive describes the LP12-50 as "a very gentle and modest project for us”

The price certainly is not modest.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spaceboi Scaphandre Avatar
21 months ago
Add another reason why I am so glad Jony Ive is not with Apple anymore.

Ive's fixation of making everything barebones and form over function while absolutely overpriced is in full display just from the fact this thing is $60,000, when most turntables that look like this are $200.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)