Commemorating the 70th birthday: Jony Ive on Steve Jobs

What would Steve Jobs have said about the new iPhone 16e? What would he have thought of the Vision Pro? And what attitude would he have had to his own 70th birthday, which would have taken place these days? Apple's former chief designer Jony Ive always finds himself asking himself the “what would Steve have said” question. The Apple co-founder, who died at the age of 56, told his close friend not to do exactly that.

On the BBC radio program Desert Island Discs, Ive, who left Apple a few years ago, was now asked about his CV and his time at Apple, among other things. Born in the UK, he started at Apple in 1992 and met Steve Jobs when he returned in 1997. He understood him like no other, says Ive to this day, and is unhappy about the rough-and-tumble image Jobs is said to have. Rather, it was necessary to pursue an idea so intensively that it did not remain an idea, says Ive.

For Jobs, Ive would have stayed with Apple

For ten years after Jobs' death, he was unable to read a text about him, confesses Ive, who is still deeply affected by the loss of his friend and companion. It was an ongoing conversation between the two, who also maintained close ties in their private lives. Would he have left Apple if Jobs had still been alive? No, says Ive, he couldn't imagine working somewhere else if Jobs were still alive today.

One of the things he appreciated about Jobs was the focus on creation that would have been possible under his leadership. The two of them were also on the same wavelength with the first iMac, which many people did not even understand in 1997. The use of colors and elements such as a handle was intended to make the relationship between man and machine more lively, he explains.

His departure from Apple was the right decision, even if the transition was not easy, Ive recalls. Since 2019, he has had his own company, LoveFrom, with designer Marc Newson. Since then, Ive has also supervised many projects that have nothing to do with technology. Some time ago, however, it was rumored that he was working on an AI project with OpenAI boss Sam Altman. He has mixed feelings about artificial intelligence: he is worried about the rapid development without taking a breath and thinking about it, but at the same time he is fascinated by the possibilities.

Advantages and disadvantages of the technology

In general, Ive is always weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of technology. The fact that some people become addicted to using smartphones concerns him as the designer of the iPhone, even though he still sees the immense benefits of the invention. In general, Ive says, he has never been interested in technology for the sake of technology alone, but because of people and how they can connect with it.

The almost hour-long program is embedded in various music contributions that Ive has selected and whose significance for him, he explains in the course of the program. For those who know Ive from his Apple days, it is also a reunion with his calm, sonorous voice, which is familiar from the recordings of Apple product presentations.

(mki)