Well, not all attitudes, it turns out. And the struggle for event logistics and the $ 25 million price tag that Ive asked for to achieve it was one of the moments that led Ive to eventually leave the company. This, according to a new report in the New York Times, an excerpt from the new book by journalist Tripp Mickle, After Steve: How Apple Became a Trillion Dollar Company and Lost its Soul. Ive been eager to portray the watch as a fashion accessory, writes Mickle, and wanted to present it with grandeur and matching circumstances. I finally got his way, but I felt I had no support from Apple’s new regime. This was reportedly the beginning of the end. After years of reporting that Ive was no longer involved in the company, he finally left to start his own design company, LoveFrom, in 2019. (For what it’s worth, Apple CEO Tim Cook has always rejected idea that Ive been frustrated or unhappy. and Ive continue to work with Apple through LoveFrom.) The Times story also goes through some of Ive’s legacy and impact on Apple, from the colorful iMac that helped Ive become “happy” to the relentlessly perfectionist atmosphere at the company that Jobs and Ive encouraged and prospered. Over time, as Apple transformed from a product-based company, a flat hierarchy to the ruthlessly optimized beast it is today, and especially as it focused on services, Ive reportedly saw a company that was less important and could to do less. And in his absence, Mickle argues, Apple products remained “largely as they were when Mr. Ive left.” In the case of the iPhone, iPad and Watch, this certainly seems true. But the Mac is another story: with the departure of Ive, Apple laptops and desktops have become much better thanks to both the M-series chips and the fact that Apple has returned to its PC roots. Macs have ports again! And keyboards that really work! The best Macs also created the best selling Macs. And of course, there are rumors and rumors that Apple is close to launching the next big thing: AR glasses. Therefore, the death toll of Apple products may be somewhat exaggerated. After Steve comes out on Tuesday, Mickle will also be a guest on Vergecast this Friday. (Send us questions!) The whole book is worth reading, and Ive’s story in particular is a good thumbnail of how the company changed – for better or worse – in the post-Jobs era.
