iOS 7 Changes

There’s little doubt that iOS will see some revisions when iOS 7 is announced shortly. Scott Forstall is gone and Jony Ive has been installed as the director of Human Interface across all software. Nobody knows for sure how the software will be affected. Changes to both the visual and functional nature of the software are inevitable, and welcome.

9To5Mac’s Mark Gurman has a good post about the nature of some of the changes that are in store.

Jony Ive

The absolute best news to come out of Apple's Monday press release was the elevation of Steve Job's "spiritual partner" Jony Ive to head of human interface design across all product lines. Apple's hardware under Ive is unmatched. Not just in the tech industry, but anywhere. It will be exciting to see where software design is headed under his guidance.

There can no longer be any worries about Jony's place at Apple moving forward. Tim Cook assured everyone that he has full confidence in Ive's abilities with this change.

I particularly like the takes of Ken Segall, Daring Fireball's John Gruber and  All Things D's John Paczkowski on this matter.

Tim Cook's Apple

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, Apple has now officially entered the Tim Cook era. That was assured when Scott Forstall, who had a very close relationship with Steve Jobs, was shown the door. The company's leadership team has now been remade to fit with Tim's vision of the company.

In the short term, I like the new structure. I can't see any way that having Jony Ive involved in software UI design won't be an improvement. His sense of style and design is unmatched. I'm excited for the future. The other executives with new roles seem like good fits as well and have proven histories of doing good work. My big worry in all cases is that these talented people will be spread too thin. Having quality people underneath them will be critically important going forward. How does the bench look?

Tim has proven for more than a decade at Apple that he's unmatched as an operations guy. I also feel like he understands what has propelled Apple to these lofty heights. My concerns for the future of Apple are composed of two things:

  1. Who heads up the whole vision thing in the absence of Steve Jobs?
  2. Can Tim manage personnel at Apple?

The answer to the first will take a long time to be answered. It's a complex question and time will tell if Apple has anyone capable of a vision for finding the next big thing.

The answer to the second question concerns me. Nobody who's ever had to identify talent and manage capable people has ever said it's an easy job. Does Tim have the skills to get the job done? Some early signs are distressing.

The first major position Tim needed to fill was the departure of Ron Johnson, the head of retail who lead the Apple Stores to such lofty heights. When Tim announced the hiring of John Browett in January, he had this to say;

“Our retail stores are all about customer service, and John shares that commitment like no one else we’ve met,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are thrilled to have him join our team and bring his incredible retail experience to Apple.”

Whoops! That didn’t work out too well and he's gone in less than seven months. What allowed Tim to make such a poor assessment?

Other personnel matters also offer some potential cause for concern. The retirement, un-retirement and subsequent promotion of Bob Mansfield smacks of indecision. The decision to dismiss Scott Forstall is also interesting. Scott made significant contributions to creating both OS X and iOS. He worked closely with Steve Jobs at both NeXT Computer and Apple. Steve didn’t suffer fools and saw value in having Scott involved on his team. His role as the head of iOS in particular is noteworthy. Apple’s revenue is now primarily driven by the two products running iOS. How will that software evolve now in his absence? Is Scott’s dismissal a reflection in any way of Tim’s lack of managerial talents? If so, where else may that manifest itself?

It’s an interesting time for Apple. I firmly believe their current products are the best they’ve ever made. There’s no question they’re poised for tremendous growth over the course of the next couple years. I’m also doubting, for the first time in the Tim Cook era, if the new CEO has all the skills required to keep Apple operating as it has in the past. I really hope I’m worrying about nothing.

"Increase Collaboration Across Hardware, Software & Services"

A bombshell in the form of a press release with the above title was released late this afternoon. The explosion echoed throughout the technology and business world.

In the little more than a year since Steve Jobs passed away, there have been countless stupid statements invoking his name in regards to a decision Apple has made. I've resisted because it's impossible to know what would have happened. I'm not even going to do it in light of today's Apple press release.

In what may be the biggest restructuring of Apples’s leadership team in over a decade, the headline news is that Scott Forstall is out and Jony Ive “will provide leadership and direction for Human Interface (HI) across the company in addition to his role as the leader of Industrial Design.”

I will say this. Apple is now fully Tim Cook’s company. Tim has made many decisions since his elevation to CEO, but they all pale in comparison to this one. Scott Forstall has been with Apple since Steve Jobs returned. He’s the man most responsible for the success that is iOS. We're all going to find out if there is a capable successor to take the reigns.

Jony Ive has long been universally respected for his design skills. That he’ll have a role overseeing the UI across the product line seems like a great move on the surface. My big fear is that his talents will be spread too thin. Again, we’ll see.

I'll have more to say in a follow up post. I leave you with links to many other comments on today's events. The times, they are a changing.

External links:

Details

I've owned white iPhones since they became available in the second design iteration. I loved my white iPhone 4S, but one design detail always bugged me. The tiny plastic strips that separated the external antenna were black, and didn't match the rest of the phone. I always found it odd since less obvious features like the inside of the headphone jack and dock connector were color matched to the body. I always wondered if this drove Jony Ive crazy as it did me.

It's a very minor point, but I'm really happy when I look at my iPhone 5 and see white stripes interrupting the aluminum structure. Call me crazy.​ I wear it as a badge.

White stripes make me happy.​​

White stripes make me happy.​​