Where is your next moonshot Apple?

The recent news made me write this article and to reflect on the brand, the products and what it meant for me.

Jony Ive – Apples design chef and luminary – will be leaving the company later this year.

The news is exploiting the topic. Apple shares been falling. A bulk of comments are showing up after articles on news pages on the thread…

Ive will open up a an own design studio called LoveFrom. The name comes from an inspiring speech from Steve Jobs. Apple will be the first of his new clients. Which means he will keep is influence on upcoming Apple products.

I’ve read some articles and a bunch of comments on the news thread. But it’s hard to get a clear view as there is a lot of gossip and blurred glasses out there.

When I think for some minutes about Apple the following thoughts appeared

Apple? What’s that? KABOOM!
It’s 1998. I’m working for Bronxpark.com Inc – an online shop which sold Hip Hop wear from NYC to Germany in the beginning of the internet. The CEO was working his sleek black Apple Powerbook G3.

The thing was sleek, made sounds when clicking in the finder, had an awesome UI and was my solution against the odd Microsoft world. Sorry Bill 😉

This was the time I was hooked by the product and it’s user interface. It felt just naturally to navigate a computer in this way.

Through this product Apple truly inspired me to work with the tools of the creative industry

From that moment on everything for me was about creativity and the internet. Back then I bout the first iMac DV and I started out to learn Fireworks, Photoshop, Quark Express, etc. Furthermore I’ve studied design principles, desktop publishing and of course how to build websites. Today I apply all of my 20 years background into my current job in digital marketing at Dyson.

Of course I upgraded my machine always through the laptop product lines from Apple and working now on the latest Mac Book Pro. It’s the most intuitive machine ever since I’m working with Apple. The Touch Bar is just genius!

Ive and Jobs have truly build the company into a design and UI powerhouse with user centric product design focus.

It’s hard to say what’s coming for Apple with Ive leaving the company. Ive and Jobs have truly build the company into a design and UI powerhouse with user centric product design focus. They nailed nearly everything.

With Steve Jobs dead Ive lost a great friend and a soulmate for outstanding product design and innovation. There are news saying that Apple is currently more focusing on shareholder value than user centricity, also having installed a leadership team with little design and technology background or knowledge.

As a customer I can agree on this. Since the iPhone launch in 2007 plus its latest product iterations and the product line development (since Steve is gone) I’m missing the real NEXT BIG THING from the formerly known most innovative and moste valuable company.

Round Up

I hope for Jony Ive and Apple that both will be firing the canons of innovation again and everyone is fine with the change.
Sure that Tim Cook – Apple’s CEO – always will be saying that everything is running great and „the product design team has a pipeline that will blow you away“ to keep investors in a good mood.

But actions speak louder than words and we see what will be announced in September … again … only new iPhones … new OSes … new watches?

Where is your next moonshot Apple?