Report says Jony Ive was involved in the new M1 iMac design, but details are unclear

Apple’s redesigned iMac was crafted, at least in part, by the company’s long-time design executive Jony Ive. Wired reports that even though Ive officially departed Apple in 2019, he was still involved in designing the first new iMac chassis in a decade.

Unfortunately, details here are pretty vague. Apple reportedly would not confirm the timeline of Ive’s involvement in the new iMac design, only that he “had worked on it.” The tidbit was first spotted by MacRumors.

The Wired review explains:

Jony Ive was involved in the design of this new iMac, despite having left Apple back in 2019. Hardware design is a long process, so perhaps it’s not surprising that Ive’s fingerprints are all over this new desktop. But, interestingly, Apple would not confirm or deny if he worked on the 2021 iMac after he left the company – just that he had worked on it.

Product design is something that takes years, particularly at Apple and particularly for a product that is as drastically redesigned as the M1 iMac. Therefore, it’s unsurprising that Ive was potentially involved in the iMac design in 2018 and 2019, before his departure. Although some reports indicated that he had started stepping back from Apple prior to the official departure.

What’s interesting to consider, however, is whether or not Ive was only involved in earlier stages of the iMac’s redesign, or if he continued to work on it after departing Apple. As a reminder, Ive departed Apple to form his own independent design firm LoveFrom, and it was said that Apple would be a client of LoveFrom. We have not learned more about the extent of that relationship, though.

It’s easy to see how Jony Ive potentially influenced the new iMac’s design, ranging from the ultra-thin body to the iconic chin persisting. The design has proven to be somewhat polarizing because of that chin and the white bezels.

Even if Ive was somewhat involved with the new iMac’s design, it seems fair to assume that the bulk of the inspiration came from the current Apple Industrial Design Group, which is spearheaded by Evans Hankey and Alan Dye.

What do you think of the new iMac design? Are you surprised to hear about Jony Ive’s involvement? Let us know down in the comments.

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