Jony Ive, a guy you probably never heard about, is leaving Apple

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Sir Jonathan Ive, or Jony as he’s more commonly known, is leaving Apple to start his own design firm. That parting marks the end of an era in which Ive’s designs not only shaped Apple’s future but that of the industry as a whole.

Jony might be leaving a salaried position, but that doesn’t mean his influence over Apple is gone forever. LoveFrom, his new design company, will have Apple as its first client.

https://twitter.com/edzitron/status/1144348763030294528

It’s going to be interesting to see who his other clients will be and if he’s still got some genius innovation inside his mind

Some of the most iconic Apple designs came from Jony’s mind during his three decades with Apple. The neon plastics of the iMac that saved Apple from bankruptcy, the iPod and its iconic scroll wheel, the iPhone (literally all of the design that changed cellphones forever), the aesthetic that came with iOS 7 that still guides the look of all Apple’s software today.

Of course, there’s some epic misses as well

• The Magic Mouse 2 (yes, the one that had the recharging port on the bottom)
• The first Apple Pencil, with its plug-in-the-end to recharge
• His obsession with thinness, resulting in KeyboardGate and battery life limitations on the iPhones

It’s not a stretch to say that modern smartphone wouldn’t be the same without Jony’s influence, or the laptop market which still copies the MacBook Air on a daily basis. We here at KnowTechie wish Jony the best.

What this means for Apple in the future, we can’t say, although so many of its staff studied under Jony so he’ll be very much gone but not forgotten.

Are you going to miss Jony Ive? Does this change the way you look at Apple now? Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.