Jony Ive left Apple because Tim Cook lost his boner for design

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If reports in the WSJ and Bloomberg are to be believed, the shock departure of Apple’s design guru, Jony Ive, might not be that much of a shock to anyone working inside Apple.

That’s because the maestro of iconic products like the iPhone, iPad, iPod, MacBook Air, and Apple Watch had been going into Apple’s campus less and less.

Jony Ive might have only left Apple but he clocked out years ago

Apple has been repositioning into more of an operations-focused company in recent years, something that rankled Ive’s design sensibilities.

There’s also the void left from previous CEO Steve Jobs passing, who shared Ive’s passion for design. Current CEO Tim Cook is less invested in the design process, leading to a shift in company culture that doesn’t appear to be how Ive liked to work.

• Ive was the driving force behind Apple’s iconic designs way back to the neon plastic iMacs of the 1990s
• He is a master of perfecting existing technology for mass consumption
• He leaves Apple to start his own design consultancy, LoveFrom, with Apple as its first client

It’ll be interesting to see how the dynamic works between Apple and Ive now that the designer is working from outside the company.

After all, one of Ive’s favorite saying was: “There are two ways of leaving Apple — the good way is you disappear and don’t make press. The bad way is you make the press. If you leave Apple and then build the Taj Mahal, we’ll chop off your hands.” Will the same ring true for the maestro?

What do you think? Do you think the reports from WSJ and Bloomberg have any merit? 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.