John Ternus and Tim Cook took opposite approaches to design, and both were right

One of the most famous and successful partnerships in the history of technology has been that of Steve Jobs and Jony Ive. When Tim Cook took over as CEO, he did not play the same role in working with Ive on hardware design – and that was the right decision.

John Ternus is apparently taking a much more Steve-like approach to working with Apple’s design lab, and I think that too is the right call …

Many of Apple’s most iconic designs were the product of the unique partnership between Steve Jobs and Jony Ive. The two worked incredibly closely together, usually meeting at least once a day, and what emerged was something far better than could have been achieved by either of them alone.

Both wanted to push the boundaries of what was possible in hardware design, and both shared an extremely thoughtful approach. However, each of them had a different primary focus. Ive was obsessed with making the hardware as slim and minimalist as possible, while Steve was equally obsessed with delivering the best possible user experience.

While Ive talked a lot about design being much more than appearance, he still had a reputation for a tendency to prioritize form over function, resulting in issues like the notoriously problematic butterfly keyboard design, and the prevailing view is that Steve had played a crucial role in reining in this tendency during his time.

When Cook took over as CEO, he reportedly took a significantly more hands-off approach with the company’s design team, only visiting the lab around once a month. That makes perfect sense, given that Cook’s expertise was in operations and people management.

That’s not to say Cook didn’t have useful contributions to make, but it would probably have been counterproductive for him to get too involved in design decisions, especially at an earlier stage. In particular, his obsession with cost might have inhibited the team’s ambitions.

Ternus, in contrast, is a hardware guy through and through. He effectively took over Ive’s former role as head of hardware engineering prior to becoming CEO, and was credited by Apple as playing a key role in the development of both the iPad and AirPods product lines even before Ive left the company.

Like Steve, Ternus is said to have reversed some of the cases where sleek design had been prioritized over product usability. While the current design partnership of Molly Anderson and Steve Lemay is clearly an extremely effective one, one of the ingredients of that recipe for success appears to be oversight by Ternus.

Personally, I’m extremely glad to hear that Ternus continues to prioritize this work even now that he has so many more demands on his time. Team Anderson-Lemay-Ternus works, and long may it continue.

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Image: 9to5Mac/Apple/Martin Martz