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Another point is that I’m sure Ive doesn’t have the time to devote that is needed for UI development. If I had to guess (and that’s all we can do) I would say their are hundreds of people designing and testing various ideas and Federighi is making sure these will work smoothly and efficiently within the overall iOS vision. Ive on the other hand is taking on the roll Jobs had, the tastemaker. People will bring ideas to him and he will try it out and give his opinion on how to make it better or simpler. That’s all one person could really do if they want input on a whole OS.

Just as Steve got too much credit for Apple products Ive will as well. While this isn’t good as far transparency it is great for giving Apple back the feeling it had under Steve. I think this is what Cook had in mind by appointing Ive to this roll. By having one person seemingly in charge of all the customer facing products and software the company makes Apple can keep the dynamic it had under Jobs.

2 days ago on Forstall to Ive 1 recommend

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You are right about that poll and I would vote for UI as well. It is the most important thing, but design is only one part of that. Ive has no proven software UI chops but Federighi does. The job titles were not clear as you said and neither are the terms UI/UX. For example by their job descriptions if Apple came out with a feature like pull to refresh who would we assume had that idea? Would it come from the design or engineering side. They are both so intertwined we can not make that call from the outside. And it is those kind of UI innovations I am looking for more then colors or texture or flatness or whatever.

2 days ago on Forstall to Ive

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Correction, this is speculated by everyone. There is no hard evidence to suggest that Forstall is a driving force behind that design. I would believe that Steve Jobs loved it and Forstall made his boss happy but again I can’t say for sure. That being said the pace of change was very slow under Forstall. This is not all bad though, making sure features are really useful and polished earns Apple it’s reputation.

3 days ago on Forstall to Ive

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You pegged my frustration perfectly. People get hung up on click bait headlines and rock stars like Ive. Not only do people like Federighi matter more for everyday use but all the people under Ive and Federighi don’t even enter the conversations.

Question for those who praise iOS for its speed, smoothness or ease of use. Who did that? Forstall! And Federighi not Ive has been handed that task.

4 days ago on Forstall to Ive 1 reply

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What I want is the whole solution, which luckily for me (if they can release it) is what Apple always offers. I’m pretty sure they will offer an updated puck that they sell now but they will also offer a whole TV.

The reason? TV UIs all suck from turning them on to simply choosing a channel. For the cable cutters out there this really matters. Not so much for those that turn on directly through a cable box. Imagine the over the air content being part of a smooth UI that presents choices based off viewing habits while including content from all of your subscribed services. You could also have smart inputs that know what device is attached and present specific options for it. And they would show up like any other app. It would make devices act more like accessories that augment the TV then a separate experience.

Apps will be a huge part of it and I think this is how they will sneak a la carte packages in. Hopefully they will integrate system wide content search for all video content within every app (required). All of the things a TV does other then showing an image Apple can blow out of the park compared to the other brands. The line of reasoning that says ‘my TV’s good enough now I just want another box’ is forgetting how Apple upended every market they have entered. MP3 players worked well enough and smartphones did their job as good as we could imagine.

If Apple does enter this market the experience of the product will change how every TV is made from here on out. No more sluggish UIs on cheap hardware. The focus will change from specs to UI and content selection just like it did with phones. In the short term a box will be necessary but in the long term all of our TVs will be smarter and the software will be iOS or Android (unless someone else can do a better job). As for all the techies wanting access to NAS (I have one as well) and other niche uses, those will be answered with apps quickly enough.

Apple will just be providing a powerful platform developers can access. The great thing is content providers like cable companies could tie into this as well. Instead of having to worry about the UI they could provide a box that simply decodes and authenticates their content while having any UI they want show up as an ‘app’.

If people want this TV then cable providers won’t have a choice but to support it. Just like the carriers and the iPhone. Before the iPhone carriers based their profits on minutes and text messages. Now those are usually unlimited and it’s all about data. The prices have not gone down and won’t with TV content either but Apple doesn’t care about that. What they do care about is the horrible user experience both TV makers and cable companies offer users.

4 days ago on What do you want from a future Apple TV? 1 recommend

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Glad someone’s on the same page.

4 days ago on Forstall to Ive 1 reply

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Every point is spot on here but… Forstall was rumored to refuse apologizing for Maps. While I don’t agree an apology was necessary this probably played a roll in him getting fired. Apple should have released it as a beta and talked about it’s incomplete nature up front. They should have built in better error reporting for users and poured more money into it. Google has a reputation of releasing unfinished products early and users seem okay with that. With Apple users expect perfection right away. Everything that happened after they released Maps was a PR problem and nothing more. As you said what they did release in v1 was amazing.

5 days ago on Forstall to Ive

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Yes, which is the point I was trying to make. But people keep talking about how Ive will make iOS so much better which shortchanges Federighi and doesn’t give Forstall the credit for the amazing OS he created. I love design, it makes Apple products seem complete were others are at 80% but it is not everything.

5 days ago on Forstall to Ive 1 reply 3 recommends

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He fiercely supported ugly skeuomorphic design in iOS.

This is unknown and I think it is reaching to assume even if Cook thought the design was lacking that he would fire such an important Apple employee over it.

5 days ago on Forstall to Ive 1 reply 1 recommend

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The first thing that pops to mind is the ecosystem. Yes, it is smooth and the hardware is the right size as well but…

The ecosystem of Apple devices and services along with the apps available blow away Android. If all I had or wanted was just a phone I may be willing to try Android but that’s not the case for me. Some see this as lock in but I don’t. 6 years ago I made the choice to switch all my family’s gear to Apple, it was expensive but well worth it. And the reasons it has been worth it keep growing (can’t wait for a full TV solution). IF Google puts together a compelling ecosystem of products to meet my needs I will switch. As for you I would say if you don’t see the benefits of the whole ecosystem don’t switch, Android on its own is great at this point. But if you want your phone, tablet, computer and TV to work together in the most effortless way possible then switch your whole ecosystem. In short don’t focus so much on the OS, they are both fine at this point.

5 days ago on What makes the iPhone so good? 6 recommends