LIFE AFTER IVE

It was great to see your Jony Ive: iQuit article in the September issue. It is all too easy to forget some of his iconic work. Without Ive’s vision I wonder what Apple would be like today.

It’s worth noting that good as Jony Ive is, in my opinion, Apple made a number of faux pas under his watch. or that What Pencil about poking the rechargeable out the bottom mouse of the you iPad can’t to use pair while or charge? it’s charging, Those are probably the worst examples, but there have been many more in the name of minimalism – the removal of MagSafe charging, as well as virtually every other port on the MacBook, MacBook Pro and Air, for starters. Having sleek lines looks good but it’s not really practical when it’s surrounded by dongles to enable you to connect to anything. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’d happily give up slimness for more functionality.

Next, the iMac – I love it! But why are all the ports and SD card slot on the back, making it nigh on impossible to get to them without moving the whole unit or risk scratching the case?

The same thing goes for iPhone – that ridiculous camera bump and proprietary charging port, not to mention the lack of headphone socket. Many users, I’m sure, would happily have a phone that is slightly thicker if it did away with the bump and added a bigger battery.

So now that Jony has gone do you think Apple will come to its senses and fix some of these blatant problems? by derek Thow

Rob SAYS…

Much as we love Apple’s hardware and software, its obsession with simplicity sometimes results in too much being taken away, as Matt Bolton pointed out in his column in the September issue.

Luckily, the new Mac Pro proves that Apple is listening – and is tailoring its products accordingly. We’re hopeful that in the post-Ive era, it manages to better balance simplicity and practicality.