9to5 Mac reports that Apple’s renowned chief design officer, Jony Ive, is to return to the helm of Apple’s design group after 2 years away from the post during which he oversaw the development of the Apple Park campus project.
Here’s what Apple spokeswoman Amy Bessette told Bloomberg about Ive returning to his previous management role:
“With the completion of Apple Park, Apple’s design leaders and teams are again reporting directly to Jony Ive, who remains focused purely on design.”
When Ive was fully involved in the Apple Park project over the past two years, Apple’s hardware and software design teams were under the command of Alan Dye and Richard Howarth, who both reported directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Ive has been at the head of Apple’s design team since 1996, even before Steve Jobs’ return to the company, and has been responsible for designing some of the most iconic devices ever known, such as the iMac desktop, the first iPod, and the iPad.
Could Ive’s return mean big changes for Apple device design, possibly away from some of the more controversial recent elements such as the iPhone X notch and the removal of the headphone jack. Well, not necessarily, as going by a recent interview with Smithsonian Magazine, via MacRumors, Ive is a big fan of the iPhone X, referring to it as “something we’ve aspired to for years,” but talking about the iPhone 7 Plus he said, “It now seems to me a rather disconnected component housed in an enclosure.”
Sources: Jony Ive returns to Apple design management role after two years
Apple's Ive Regains Management of Design Team After 2 Years
Jony Ive is apparently not a fan of last year’s iPhone design
