Jony Ive: Apple has a ‘lot to learn’ about wearables

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A starry-eyed, slurry-tongued Jony Ive raves about the Apple Watch in a new parody video. Photo: Gizmodo
Jony Ive is excited about seeing where the Apple Watch goes in future.
Photo: Gizmodo

Jony Ive suggests that Apple is bound to make some missteps as it continues to explore wearable devices, and offers some vague, tantalizing hints about Apple’s plans for the Apple Watch in a new interview.

“Regardless of whether we declare an interest in fashion or not, we are making products that are more and more personal, products that you wear and you wear every day,” he told Business of Fashion ahead of the Apple-sponsored Met Gala. “We’ve not done that before and we’ve got a lot to learn.”

The comments come shortly after Fitbit CEO James Park accused Apple of pursuing the wrong direction with the Apple Watch. Also, Tim Cook recently acknowledged that Apple had taken things purposely slow with its Apple Watch rollout.

“We know a lot more than we did a year ago,” Cook told Mad Money. “And you’ll see the Apple Watch getting better and better.”

Like his boss, Ive wouldn’t get specific about what’s planned for the Apple Watch next (what else is new?). However, Apple’s top designer did liken the wearable’s development to the progress Apple made with subsequent generations of its most iconic product lines.

“It’s quite interesting that if you look back at the first generation of the iPod or the Phone — what happens in the next two, three, four years is dramatic,” Ive said. “You’d be very surprised about some of the things you would absolutely assume that the first Phone did and it didn’t have [that functionality].”

Ive also took a shot at rivals, saying the Apple Watch wasn’t “us being opportunistic in the way our competitors are. It’s not us thinking, ‘Well, this is a growing category.’ That couldn’t be further from the truth.”

There’s still no consensus on when the Apple Watch 2 will arrive, but last month it was reported that Apple is ordering component parts for the device. In terms of how it will differ from its predecessor, again there is no clear consensus, although it is likely the device will feature far greater levels of iPhone independence, among other improvements.

What would convince you to buy an Apple Watch 2? And when do you think it’ll arrive? Leave your comments below.

Source: Business of Fashion

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