Jony Ive Still Asks 'What Would Steve Do?' Despite Jobs' Warning

Former Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive says he still frequently asks himself "What would Steve do?" – despite Jobs specifically requesting that he shouldn't.

steve jobs jony ive
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, Ive shared that Jobs had directly told him before his death in 2011: "I really don't want you to be thinking 'Well, what would Steve do?'"

The legendary designer, who helped craft iconic products like the iMac, iPhone, and Apple Watch, spoke warmly of his collaboration with Jobs, defending the Apple co-founder's reputation for being demanding. "If you have such a clear, pure view of creating something new... if you are serious about actually wanting to develop and make it, you can't just say 'well, here's an idea,'" Ive explained. "Because if that's how you're going to behave, it will remain an idea."

The British-born designer, who moved from Essex to San Francisco in 1992 to join Apple, noted that Jobs immediately understood his vision when he returned to the then-struggling company five years later. "It was remarkable that, despite the limitations of my ability to communicate, Steve understood what I thought and how I felt," Ive said.

Ive said he fears that the technology he has helped to create could now be interfering with human creativity, adding that he finds it difficult to monitor his own use of technology. Ive also expressed both his excitement and concern about the threat posed by AI and its unchecked speed of development: "We need time to understand and react," he said.

Steve Jobs died in 2011 from pancreatic cancer. Today would have been his 70th birthday. The emotional impact of Jobs' passing was evident in Ive's admission that he couldn't bring himself to read anything about his former colleague and friend for a decade after his death in 2011.

After leaving his role as chief design officer, Ive continued to work with Apple as a consultant through LoveFrom until 2022, when the partnership officially concluded. Ive has since officially confirmed his involvement in an AI hardware project with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Among Ive's musical choices on the long-running BBC radio show were "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds and part of the soundtrack from the Disney Pixar robot movie Wall-E.

(Via The Guardian.)

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Top Rated Comments

jayducharme Avatar
19 weeks ago
Former Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive says he still frequently asks himself "What would Steve do?" – despite Jobs specifically requesting that he shouldn't.
I find myself asking, "What would Scott Forstall do?"
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Roll0 Avatar
20 weeks ago
If he would ever see an iPhone with a camera bump that big, then he'd throw it in your face!
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Blackstick Avatar
19 weeks ago
Jony is a great designer and artist, but great designers and artists need editors.

Steve was Jony's editor. Once Steve was gone, Ive lost that critical editor. Cook gave Jony CEO-level reign per Steve's wishes, and Ive went rampantly in the wrong direction, putting art and form over functionality on products that decidedly had to be usable.

A MacBook Pro isn't JUST modern art, it needs to be a workhorse for 5-8 years, not just look pretty on a shelf like some overpriced figurine you buy at an art gallery.

Hence, MacBook Pro butterfly keyboards that looked gorgeous but didn't feel great to type on, and wouldn't work if a speck of anything got into them. Removal of usable features like HDMI ports, SD card slots and MagSafe? Thinness for no good reason at the expense of features or more battery life?

I'm happy Apple is building products that are more usable than in the Ive era. Especially on their pro lines.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
the future Avatar
19 weeks ago
That‘s a really great picture of Steve and Jony. You can totally sense that they weren‘t only colleagues, but also friends.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThomasJL Avatar
19 weeks ago

Former Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive says he still frequently asks himself "What would Steve do?" – despite Jobs specifically requesting that he shouldn't.
Tim Cook frequently asks himself the exact same question, but the difference is when Cook asks it, he's referring to Steve Ballmer.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannyyankou Avatar
20 weeks ago
I’m glad Tim doesn’t ask that, because otherwise, iPhone screens would still be under 5 inches.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)