> The iPod was by no means the
first MP3 player, but it was the
first one that really got it right.
Previous attempts by Apple’s
rivals were ugly creations with
fiddly controls and tiny screens.
In other words, they were a
design and usability nightmare.
Apple knew it could do
better. With a large screen and
simple clean, white design, it
was very different to the other
MP3 players on the market. It
was portable, giving you “1,000
songs in your pocket”, and even
automatically synced your songs
when connected to a computer –
notable for the time.
But what really made it stand
out was the ingenious scroll
wheel. To move down a list or
increase volume, you’d move
your thumb clockwise; to do the
reverse, you’d simply move it anti-
clockwise. It was so easy to grasp
that it’s a wonder no one had
thought of it before.
The whole device, from
the hardware to the software,
emphasised Apple’s legendary
position in the world of consumer
electronics design.iPod, 2001
>Jony Ive once said the iMac G3 was
“unashamedly plastic”. But in 2007, the first
aluminium iMac hit the streets. Apple described
the design as “elegant and professional”, and
the new look showed it had fully regained its
confidence after years of trying to convince
buyers that computers were not their enemy.Aluminium iMac, 2007
Jony Ive’s greatest hits FEATURE
SEPTEMBER 2019 | MACFORMAT | 65
> How do you make wireless
earphones sound great
and look great at the same
time? That was Ive’s task
with AirPods. The press
howled that they’d fall out
of your ears, but Ive knew
what he was doing. These
days they’ve become a
roaring success, with people
wearing them on every
street corner and every
gym treadmill.AirPods, 2016
>The iMac G3 was
undoubtedly a design
breakthrough in the world
of computers. Nothing
before it had allowed you
to gaze into the guts of
the machine and see its
inner workings, nothing
before it had appeared
so friendly and pulled
back the veil of mystery
that had previously
obscured PCs.
But that radical
approach to design
didn’t translate quite so
successfully to the iMac
G3’s mouse. Designed to
be fully circular, it quickly
became known as the
‘hockey puck’ mouse.
Sadly, it wasn’t as beloved
as the Mac it came with.
That’s because its
circular shape made it
incredibly difficult to
orient in your hand. If
you were looking at your
computer screen and
placed your hand on the
mouse, there was no
tactile feedback telling
you that you were holding
it correctly. Though Jony
Ive defended it, deep
down we think he knew
he made a mistake, as
his next mouse took on a
more conventional shape.Hockey
puck
mouse, 1998>Ive mistake 1