05/01, 10:28am
Development behind schedule
Sources for Bloomberg are backing claims that lead Apple designer Jonathan Ive is engaging in a major design overhaul for iOS 7. As has been reported previously, the sources say that Ive is avoiding the skeuomorphism favored by former iOS head Scott Forstall, for example ditching the shelving metaphor used by Newsstand. He is also allegedly pursuing "dramatic changes" to the Mail and Calendar apps, though what that means is unclear.
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04/18, 12:05pm
Tribute written by U2's Bono
Apple's lead designer, Sir Jonathan Ive, is one of the featured people in a newly-published Time 100 list for 2013. The tribute paragraph is written by U2 frontman Bono. "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," the text begins.
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04/03, 9:42am
Engineers being pulled off OS X 10.9 to help, report claims
iOS 7 represents a "rather significant system-wide UI overhaul," Daring Fireball's John Gruber claims to have learned. The blogger also says he has heard the same thing as Rene Ritchie, who alleges that "[Apple lead designer Jonathan] Ive's work is apparently making many people really happy, but will also apparently make rich-texture-loving designers sad." Engineers allowed to have the OS on their iPhones are even rumored to be using polarizing filters to make it harder for passers-by to see the interface changes.
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03/22, 1:30am
Progress made from standoffs with former iOS head Forstall
Following his promotion to head of both hardware and software design at Apple, Sir Jonathan Ive is said to be regularly meeting with Human Interface head Greg Christie and the mobile software teams and is said to be favoring a more cohesive "flat" design for the overall look of the next generation of Mac and iOS software. Ive's efforts will likely be seen in the next major revisions of the two operating systems, and are not expected en masseanytime soon -- but subtle hints of change in the air can be seen even now.
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03/04, 9:54am
Jonathan Ive said to have long interest in watch technology
Apple is hoping to launch its planned smartwatch by the end of 2013, says Bloomberg, elaborating on information it received from sources last month. The sources also indicate that some of the specific features Apple is considering are making phone calls, seeing the identity of incoming callers, and checking map position. It might also build in some health tracking technology, such as a pedometer and a heartrate monitor.
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02/20, 3:05pm
Full interview for BBC show 'Blue Peter' now available
Sir Jonathan Ive, the head of design at Apple and the recent winner of an honor from UK children's television institution Blue Peter gave the program a rare look inside his work area, along with a brief interview that points out how carefully the designer thinks about every aspect of a design question. Also included in the video, which has now made its way to YouTube, is a rare look at an aluminum molding machine in Ive's lab, and some product designs from viewers.
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02/15, 10:23am
Children's show award relatively rare
BBC TV show Blue Peter has awarded the show's gold badge to lead Apple designer Jonathan Ive. Although from a children's show, the gold badge is nevertheless rare, having only been given out to about 1,000 people since the show went on the air in 1958. Some past winners have included soccer star David Beckham and Harry Potter author JK Rowling.
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02/12, 10:40am
iPod credited in part to Jonathan Ive
Apple has won two new design trademarks via the US Patent and Trademark Office. The first is for the fourth-generation iPod classic, at the time still known as just the iPod. The fourth-gen, released in 2004, was the last model to be strictly music-only; later the same year the company put out the Photo, which gave the iPod a color screen and let people view images on it. It also raised capacity to 60GB. The iPod trademark is credited to Apple's lead designer, Jonathan Ive, as well as another long-time designer for the company, Chris Stringer.
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01/18, 12:14am
Rare public photo practically a 'who's who' of Silicon Valley
An unusual photo was posted to Facebook showing a CEO dinner gathering -- hosted by Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer -- that included a significant number of tech CEOs from a wide array of companies, and notably included Sir Jonathan Ive, Apple's SVP of Design. Ive was perhaps the only non-CEO at the table, but was seated next to Mayer in the rare, candid shot. Attendee Mike Cassidy -- of Google X, the experimental project arm of Google -- posted the photo, which includes executives from Dropbox, Path, Twitter, Yelp and more.
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01/15, 10:57am
Jobs, Ive listed among inventors
Apple has won a US patent on the combination of a glass trackpad and a metal unibody chassis, notes AppleInsider. The patent is simply titled Portable Computer, and comes out of a series of application continuations; Apple's filings date back to 2008. Over a dozen people are credited with the invention, including Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and lead designer Jonathan Ive.
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12/04, 1:58pm
Core designs of iPhone 4, iPad 2 secured
Apple has won the rights to several important design patents from the US Patent and Trademark Office. These include the look of the iPhone 4, which is credited in part to lead designer Jonathan Ive, as well as the company's co-founder, Steve Jobs. Ive is also cited in all the other new patents, such as one for the iPhone 4 "Bumper" case.
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11/02, 1:35pm
Sources illustrate extent of conflict between executives
Apple's former head of iOS, Scott Forstall, was left out of iPhone design meetings held by lead designer Jonathan Ive, according to Bloomberg sources. Despite the importance of software to the iPhone platform, the previously-known conflict between Ive and Forstall is said to have been so deep that the two executives were rarely in the same room. The absence from Ive's design meetings allegedly reaches back to before the first-generation iPhone shipped.
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09/10, 10:08pm
Dispels rumors that he could be leaving US, Apple
Sir Jonathan Ive, Apple's senior VP of industrial design and the man responsible for most of the iconic looks of the products that have come from the company for the last 20 years, has bought a new home in the exclusive Pacific Heights neighborhood known as San Francisco's "Gold Coast." Though listed for $25 million, Ive is said to have bought the 1927 estate, which features six bedrooms in a 7,274 square foot, five-level brick home with a slate roof for $17 million. Ive, who has a wife and twin sons, has lived in the San Francisco area for 20 years during his time at Apple.
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07/18, 3:40pm
Pre-iPhone designs show thick backs, small bezels
Documents from a December deposition of Apple's lead designer, Jonathan Ive, show images of the earliest iPad prototypes, NetworkWorld notes. During one point in the videotaped Q&A session, Ive is shown images of a device referred to as the "035" mockup/prototype. "My recollection of first seeing it is very hazy, but it was, I’m guessing, sometime between 2002 and 2004, some but it was I remember seeing this and perhaps models similar to this when we were first exploring tablet designs that ultimately became the iPad," he says when asked if he's seen the mockup before.
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04/27, 2:15am
Bests WWW inventor Berners-Lee, JK Rowling, more
After being mentioned as on the shortlist last week, Sir Jonathan Ive has now been awarded the British Visionary Innovator award, a competition run by the Intellectual Property office in the UK to promote IP awareness. Ive was up against some very notable competition, including Sir Tim Berners-Lee who invented the World Wide Web; fellow industrial designer and engineer Sir James Dyson, and even Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.
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04/18, 3:50pm
Ive up against Bansky, Sir Tim Berners-Lee
Two Apple-related personalities have made TIME's annual list of the 100 most influential people. Among these is the company's CEO, Tim Cook; the TIME essay on him is written by Al Gore, who has served on Apple's board of directors for about nine years. "It is difficult to imagine a harder challenge than following the legendary Steve Jobs as CEO of Apple. Yet Tim Cook, a soft-spoken, genuinely humble and quietly intense son of an Alabama shipyard worker and a homemaker, hasn't missed a single beat," Gore writes.
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04/13, 10:00am
Starck would design Apple product for eight months
Well-known French product designer Philippe Starck has claimed in an interview with France's Le Figaro that he was recently working with Apple on a design. The "revolutionary" project would supposedly be due to arrive in eight months. He wouldn't say more about its nature, citing Apple's "religious cult of secrecy."
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04/03, 5:15pm
Relationship with Jobs was key
The Financial Times has run a new profile of Apple's senior VP of Industrial Design, Jonathan Ive. Ive is often credited with the look and feel of Apple products; the Times comments, though, that Ive is "emerging from [Steve] Jobs' shadow," referring to the former Apple CEO's tendency to micromanage the details of products. An anonymous ex-Apple worker in fact tells the Times that Ive's "main talent was his ability to manage his relationship with Jobs."
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03/14, 9:30pm
Part of a 'Brit Pack' of guests to honor Cameron
Sir Jonathan Ive, Apple's senior VP of Industrial Design, will be attended a White House state dinner this evening in honor of British Prime Minister David Cameron's visit to the US, but he and Cameron will not be the only UK citizens at the affair -- the Obama adminstration has invited a clutch of notable British names to also attend, including actor Hugh Bonneville from Downton Abbey, which the President is said to be a fan of; golfer Rory McIlroy; Sir Richard Branson, and UK rock band Mumford & Sons, which the Prime Minister is said to enjoy.
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01/04, 12:25pm
May dispel rumors of smaller sets
Apple is working on a TV set measuring 42 inches "or larger," according to a USA Today source. The person is said to have worked at Apple, and claims that the unit is an LCD with built-in Wi-Fi. Jonathan Ive -- the company's senior VP of industrial design -- is moreover said to have a 50-inch TV sitting in his design studio.
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12/30, 8:25pm
Jonathan Ive becomes Knight Commander in UK
Queen Elizabeth II finished 2011 by knighting Apple's Senior VP of Industrial Design Jonathan Ive. Sir Jonathan is now a Knight Commander of the British Empire for fostering the UK worldwide and his direct contributions to design. He had already been named a Commander of the British Empire in 2005.
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11/04, 12:45pm
Deals, bulk buys cutting competitors out of market
Apple should be spending about $7.1 billion on its supply chain in 2012, not including another $2.4 billion in prepayments to suppliers, says BusinessWeek. In a profile of Apple's approach to supplies, the publication cites interviews with Apple workers, supplier executives and management experts as evidence that Apple has used deals and bulk prepurchases to ensure a constant flow of cheap parts. The strategy has also reportedly interfered with the ability of competitors to operate, however.
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11/02, 11:20am
Patent case brings key Apple figure to spotlight
As a part of its patent infringement countersuit against Apple, Samsung is planning to take depositions from several key Apple designers by December 1st, says Edible Apple. The most prominent person on the list is Apple's senior VP of industrial design, Jonathan Ive. Ive is credited with much of the look and feel of Apple products, and may now wield even more influence in the absence of Steve Jobs, who was infamous for micromanaging details during his tenure as CEO.
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10/23, 8:55pm
Apple Celebrating Steve video goes online
Apple late Sunday posted a live stream for its Celebrating Steve event online. Previously a company-only event that led it to close stores on October 19, the 80-minute presentation was headed up by CEO Tim Cook on Apple's campus. It also includes guest presentations from Al Gore, Jonathan Ive, and others closely attached to the company.
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10/23, 1:00pm
iPod introduced 10 years ago today
Apple's iPod on Sunday marked its tenth anniversary in a very different landscape. The MP3 player was unveiled on October 23, 2001 at an event in Apple's Town Hall at its Cupertino headquarters in what's now considered one of the late Steve Jobs' crowning achievements. Its first iPod, available in just a 5GB capacity with only Mac and FireWire support, reached stores on November 10 that year for $399.
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10/13, 1:50pm
Exec indirectly responsible for iPhone 4 leak
Apple's senior VP for iOS, Scott Forstall, was indirectly responsible for the leak of an iPhone 4 prototype in 2010, a new Businessweek profile suggests. A former Apple manager claims that Forstall persuaded the company's CEO at the time, Steve Jobs, to allow dozens of engineers to carry prototypes so they could do better testing of network performance and reduce dropped calls. It was one of Forstall's engineers who accidentally left an iPhone 4 in a pub, which eventually resulted in a Gizmodo hands-on piece and a high-profile criminal investigation.
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07/26, 1:15pm
Company taking home 14 new US patents in all
Apple has won the rights to 14 new patents from the US Patent and Trademark Office, reports say. These include four new design patents, most notably one for the MacBook Air, Apple's popular thin-profile notebook. The computer was only just updated with features such as a Thunderbolt port and a choice of Core i5 or i7 processor. Jonathan Ive, Apple's senior VP of industrial design, is among over a dozen people credited with the shape of the Air.
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06/28, 3:45pm
Jobs, Ive get credit for Apple keyboard design
Apple has won 10 new patents through the US Patent and Trademark Office, information shows. One notable example is the design of the current Apple keyboard with a numeric keypad. While the peripheral is relatively mundane outside of its thinness and aluminum chassis, two of the 16 people credited with the invention are Apple CEO Steve Jobs and VP of industrial design Jonathan Ive, signifying how important the shape of the product is.
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05/18, 12:40pm
Effort allegedly led by Jobs, Ive
The impending Apple Store 2.0 overhaul is a major project, reports suggest. The effort is said to be so important that it's being led by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, as well the company's main product designer, Jonathan Ive. Stores are, for example, allegedly getting new "Startup Sessions" areas, an extension of the Personal Setup concept.
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05/10, 5:05pm
Likely abandoned design concept
Among a host of Apple patent wins today is an unusual design concept for the iPad, notes Patently Apple. Diagrams depict what is essentially a 3G iPad 1, but with the key difference of a USB port along one edge, situated near the SIM slot. Why Apple would abandon the concept is unknown, as it would have allowed for landscape docking or connecting multiple peripherals. The patent was originally submitted in Q1 2010 -- around the time of the tablet's announcement -- and credits Apple CEO Steve Jobs and lead designer Jonathan Ive among many others.
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04/20, 3:00pm
Others cover 'media processing systems'
Apple has scored four more patents beyond ones for activations and RFID technology, notes Patently Apple. The most crucial may be a design patent on the nitriding stainless steel band on the iPhone 4, a signature part of its construction. Numerous people are credited with the work, including lead Apple designer Jonathan Ive; also mentioned is CEO Steve Jobs, which may show the degree of the executive's micromanagement.
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03/21, 9:30am
Somerset mansion 'standing empty'
Jonathan Ive is not preparing to leave the US to return to his native Britain, claims British tabloid the Daily Mail. The Times of London recently suggested that Ive, Apple's lead designer, was interested in having his children educated in the UK, to the point of possibly exercising stock options and/or leaving the company in order to make it happen. A 2008 stock grant was likened to "golden handcuffs," and Ive has allegedly been at "loggerheads" with Apple trying to come up with a new arrangement.
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02/27, 6:30pm
Jonathan Ive rumored to cash out in UK move
A rumor [sub. required] on Sunday from the Times of London has purported that Apple lead designer Jonathan Ive was considering a move to the UK that may force him to exit Apple. The well-known product sculptor was said eager to educate his children in his home country and would exercise his stock options to help make the move. Having received stock options in 2008 at about $100 per share, he would convert them to the equivalent of $30 million, the newspaper claimed.
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01/24, 1:30pm
Forstall seen as trumping Cook, Ive, Schiller
Financial publication Fast Company has published a new ranking of possible replacements for Apple CEO Steve Jobs. The magazine notes that even if Jobs does return from his current medical leave, the company will eventually have to find a replacement. The top potential candidate is argued to be Apple's senior VP of iPhone software, Scott Forstall. He is "young, possesses the right kind of technical knowledge and dynamism, and has become an increasingly important figure in key Apple product decisions," according to the magazine.
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07/09, 11:00am
Jonathan Ive comes in as smartest designer
Apple's Steve Jobs has placed as the smartest CEO in a Fortune list of the 50 smartest people in technology. Jobs is credited with salvaging Apple from near-bankruptcy, and subsequently turning it into the most valuable tech company in the world. He is also described as having radically altered four different industries: music through iTunes, animated movies via Pixar, telecoms by way of the iPhone, and computers as a whole via the iPad.
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07/30, 9:25am
Jobs, Apple at CES 2010?
Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs, has been asked to keynote the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in January, says the head of the Consumer Electronics Association. Gary Shapiro notes that he has extended a formal invitation to Jobs, but that neither Jobs nor Apple have yet responded. Jobs has sometimes failed to answer other contact attempts in the past, Shapiro comments.
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07/10, 12:20pm
Jonathan Ive talks success
Jonathan Ive, the often quiet and reserved head of Apple's design team, discussed the company's drive for success with a group of about 700 Londoners including a BusinessWeek writer. He suggested other companies should not attempt to copy Apple's success, and instead believes companies should define their own "raison d’ętre" -- the French saying, which means "reason for being". He went on to say the reason for Apple's strong following is a testament to the company's belief that a business should focus on the quality of its products.
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06/30, 2:50pm
Ive to get honorary degree
Apple's senior VP of industrial design, Jonathan Ive, is receiving an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Art in the UK. The presentation will take place on July 1st, following tonight's RCA dinner, where Ive is delivering a speech under the theme "Innovation Night." The school is the only institution in the world specializing in postgraduate degrees for art and design.
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05/19, 4:30pm
Ive wins F. Company award
Apple's senior VP of industrial design, Jonathan Ive, has placed first in a Fast Company list of the 100 most creative people in business. Despite being in an executive position Ive is said to be personally responsible for the look of Apple's most important products, including the iPhone and the iPod. The designer's greatest contribution is claimed to be the original iMac, which helped to revive Apple in part because it jettisoned the staid box casing still used by many PCs.
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05/13, 3:20pm
Ive loses domain name
Apple's lead product designer, Jonathan Ive, has lost a bid to reclaim several web addresses using his name, Bloomberg writes. Ive recently registered a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization, charging that he should be the proper owner of domain names including jonathanive.com and some of its related spellings. The domains are currently owned by Harry Jones of London, England, who operates a fansite dedicated to Ive's work.
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07/02, 11:50am
Jonathan Ive MDA award
The Mobile Data Association has presented an award to Apple's lead designer, Jonathan Ive, according to an announcement. Ive -- who is technically the senior VP of Industrial Design at the company -- has received a Personal Achievement Award, given in recognition for his design not only of the iPhone hardware but aspects of the touch-based user interface. The combination has "redefined the mobile phone as we know it," the MDA comments.
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