August 2019 • Macworld 33NEWS ANALYSISmaybe some fresh blood will help the company find
that jaw-dropping magic once again.
With that in mind, it’s probably a good idea for
Apple to not get too hung up on worrying about
‘what Jony would do’ for future projects. It may
be no accident that the news of Ive’s departure
comes in the midst of a year when we’ve seen Apple
sweep away a number of software-related design
frustrations it clung to for years, ranging from
prohibition of Xbox and PlayStation controllers
on the iPad and Apple TV or the lack of mouse
support for the iPad (the introduction of which, to
be fair, leaves much to be desired). Perhaps it’s now
ready to apply similar rethinking to hardware. The
loosening of these restrictions point to a new Apple
- one that’s once again interested in the practical
ways ordinary people use its devices. In its push
toward services, Apple seems willing to bring its
head out of the clouds. It’s an Apple that looks
ready to rely more on instinct than theory.
Much as it did after Jobs died, Apple is entering
a new era. We’re seeing a dose of the same
uncertainty that we did then, and indeed, its stock
took a beating in after-hours trading. We should
all brace ourselves for a shower of editorials
proclaiming doom and gloom and possibly a year
or more of floundering as Apple tries to find a new
voice for its design.
Apple managed to emerge victorious from that
uncertainty in 2011, and it will do the same in the
wake of Ive’s departure. To do so, though, it will
have to find another unnaturally talented lead