Apple and legendary designer Jony Ive have agreed to part ways, according to a new report.
The man who teamed up with Steve Jobs in the ’90s to define Apple as we know it today, and who had a key hand in the look and feel of all of the company’s major product lines, will no longer play a role in designing its devices.
That’s the claim being made in a New York Times report, which cites two people with knowledge of Ive’s contractual agreement with his former company.
Ive left his executive position at Apple in 2019 to start up his own design firm, LoveFrom, but immediately signed Apple up as his primary client. This multi-year deal was reportedly worth more than $100 million, and would see Apple gaining an effective veto over any potential LoveFrom clients they deemed to be competitive.
Now, with that contract coming up for renewal, the two parties have reportedly agreed to part ways. Apparently, some Apple executives had questions the amount of money being paid to Ive for what was effectively a consulting gig, while the number of Apple staff abandoning ship for Ive’s company was also said to be irking some.
For Ive’s part, the English design guru is said to have found the arrangement with his former company overly restrictive, and he wanted the freedom to pick and choose his own clients.
Ive was said to have grown disillusioned with Apple ahead of his 2019 departure, with CEO Tim Cook focusing less on design and more on selling services.
Apple’s next big all-new product is heavily reported to be an augmented reality (AR) headset. It could well prove to be the final Apple product launch that Jony Ive has any direct involvement with.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.