During a recent interview with the New York Times, legendary ex-Apple designer Jony Ive confirmed that his company, LoveFrom, is spearheading the design of a mobile device in collaboration with OpenAI. The goal is to create a device that “is less socially disruptive than the iPhone,” with the use of AI.
There are several other big names associated with this new AI focused hardware project. Tang Tan and Evans Hankey, two key figures from Ive’s days at Apple when the company was developing the iPhone, are coming along for the ride. In theory, this should be a strong design team capable of creating an attractive device.
However, there are two sides to Jony Ive. First, there’s the capacity to create designs that still live in the memory of Apple fans, such as the iPod and its little white earbuds that became instantly recognizable, the colorful lineup of Macs that were part of Apple’s revival in 1998, the futuristic iMac G4 with its pedestal design, and several iPhones including the very first one.
Then, there’s the other Jony Ive. The designer who became obsessed with making devices ever thinner and more minimalist. This obsession led to Apple having to design a keyboard that would fit in Ive’s MacBook designs that had to be even thinner than the previous model. It was a keyboard that everyone hated and was unreliable to the point that Apple recently had send payments to customers who were affected by it as part of a class action settlement.
It will be interesting to see which Jony Ive shows up for this new AI powered device. The Ive that pumps out iconic products or, the Ive that focuses on one aspect to the detriment of everything else.