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Jony Ive on new materials, software design, Tim Cook’s leadership

Jony Ive via Telegraph.co.uk

Following a few quotes from a Jony Ive interview with The New York Times appearing in a longer piece about Tim Cook over the weekend, the publication has now published a longer transcript from the interview. In the interview, Ive was asked about working with Cook, how things have changed post Steve Jobs, and he also gave some insight into his daily work routine.  We meet on average three times a week. Sometimes those meetings are over in his space, sometimes here in the design studio. We all see the same physical object. Something happens between what we objectively see and what we perceive it to be.”

Ive described his new role leading software design at the company as “some leadership and direction in terms of user interface – a subset of software,” and most interestingly seemed to hint at using new materials for products that the company hasn’t worked with before. Naturally, Ive would have loved to say more but couldn’t: I would love to talk about future stuff – they’re materials we haven’t worked in before. I’ve been working on this stuff for a few years now. Tim is fundamentally involved in pushing into these new areas and into these materials.”

It is hard for us all to be patient. It was hard for Steve. It is hard for Tim. At any point in time, working on something, it’s always hard to just keep focusing on the product. One of the things different between us and some of our competitors is we just focus on the product, developing good products.

The full interview with Ive available on The New York Times is an interesting read.

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Comments

  1. oreomuncher - 10 years ago

    Liquid Metal, please.

    • irelandjnr - 10 years ago

      But aren’t two parts of the iPhone already liquid metal? (sim ejection tool and a minor internal part too).

      But he said: they’re materials we haven’t worked in before.

      • distressedcactus - 10 years ago

        He means larger liquid metal incorporation, such is in the frame work, perhaps?

  2. RP - 10 years ago

    I read somewhere by someone tieing recent Apple patents in aggregate and pondering how all of the mock-up we are seeing are not actual parts from apple, but accurate “depictions” based on leaked schematics. And that the reason we are seeing “mock-ups” is because the actual material Apple is planning on using is not in the hands of anyone just yet. Hinting that Apple may be in the process of using liquidmetal fused with sapphire screens for their next iPhone,

    We’ll see if it happens in this iteration, but it is coming.

    • Ryan Pesso - 10 years ago

      2016 will be the year for liquid metal to debut.

    • irelandjnr - 10 years ago

      You seem to know a liquid metal iPhone is coming, but you can’t know that.

      • 1sugomac - 10 years ago

        Look at this patent and tell me what you think. http://1.usa.gov/1lNACcE

      • Mr. Grey (@mister_grey) - 10 years ago

        @ 1sugomac: Except they have been working on that process (metal moulded around radio-transparent crystal inserts) for quite a few years with nothing public to show yet.

        Also, one of the big drawbacks of liquid metal is that any moulded product is never going to be as accurate in terms of size and shape and especially fitting as the products they carve out of the metal/plastic blocks. Liquid Metal is especially good in this area of being able to mould fine detail, but it’s still not as accurate as the carving process is, and Liquid Metal cannot really be carved as aluminium can.

        We have all gotten used to the incredible fit and finish of the iPhone. A moulded iPhone is simply not going to be as nicely finished at the edges. They would probably even need a gasket around the screen to fit it to the irregular form of the back.

  3. 1sugomac - 10 years ago

    liquid metal, sapphire, graphene, areogel, carbon fiber, transparent aluminum?

    • irelandjnr - 10 years ago

      Graphene? So many patents out there on uses for and ways of manufacturing structered objects in the material. I can only imagine the court cases if that happened. And that thought I’d indeed sad

    • Mr. Grey (@mister_grey) - 10 years ago

      They actually have the rights to a special form of zirconia crystal that’s radio-transparent and very durable that’s more likely in the number three spot behind sapphire and liquid metal. They have a world-wide exclusive arrangement in regards it’s use in mobile devices just like the Liquid Metal.

      Aerogel would seem to have no benefit for mobile electronic devices at all, carbon fibre has been used to death, and “transparent aluminium” (sic) is of course a fantasy product that doesn’t actually exist.

  4. Gabriel (@GabrielCastilh) - 10 years ago

    a bamboo Macbook Air.

  5. Jesse Supaman Nichols - 10 years ago

    Cardboard iPhones… Wait no… Solid Gold iPods… Wait… CARBON FIBER MacBooks!

    Ok… I don’t know.

  6. exapple - 10 years ago

    Jony shouldn’t speak. It’s like listening to paint dry.

    • Alfred Norris (@AEN3) - 10 years ago

      Eat shit!

      • exapple - 10 years ago

        Is that how you’ve lost so much weight? Only 380 pounds to go! Keep it up!

      • Tim Jr. - 10 years ago

        and yet, you fail to take your own advice..

    • rogifan - 10 years ago

      I’m sure you’d be so much more exciting to listen to.

      • exapple - 10 years ago

        Never said I would be, fanboy, but I can call a spade a spade.

    • Mr. Grey (@mister_grey) - 10 years ago

      Agreed. I love the products his team produces, but if I fast forward through the parts where he speaks at their events. So terribly annoying he is. And he says the exact same things and uses the exact same adjectives for each and every product year after year.

  7. Eli Matar - 10 years ago

    God, so many changes.
    Scott’s out.
    Ron’s out.
    Angles in.
    Beats.
    Johny and the guys speaks more to media.
    Is this all for the better?
    Too much changing. I cant take it anymore.

    • rogifan - 10 years ago

      Good grief. You’re speaking as if this impacts you personally. What does it matter to you?

  8. spiralynth - 10 years ago

    Note date on this patent: http://1.usa.gov/1lNACcE

    • 1sugomac - 10 years ago

      Nice find! That patent seems to imply that the liquid metal and sapphire would be cast into a unibody shell. The electronics would then slid into the unibody shell and then capped off at the ends. Wow! technically impressive and I’m sure the actual device will look amazing too.

      • Mr. Grey (@mister_grey) - 10 years ago

        No. The screen would still be a separate part on the front.

        The “transparent members” are more likely to be zirconia crystal inserts than sapphire also and constitute the radio transparent windows on the back of the phone. This is because they have been working on this process for several years already, and sapphire only became cost effective last year.

        Also the zirconia material is itself a moulded product and thus easier to integrate into an assembly line making moulded products, and it is lighter. Sapphire, being currently a machined product is still more likely to be used for the flat, front screen only.

  9. distressedcactus - 10 years ago

    GASP! He’s not wearing a grey shirt!

Author

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.