I know his fingerprints and projects are in the pipeline and still part of things(?) but I do like to imagine Ive’s departure factors in a bit. My impression of him in recent years, right or wrong, has been that of a pretentious, point-missing, form-over-function lump on auto-pilot who was just going through the motions, obsessed only with thinness-over-all-else, weight loss (ironic, considering...) and removing as many useful ports as possible
I got tired of that shit
really fast, believe me. That 2012 iMac redesign was the first time I kinda went “uh-oh...”, and it seemed to just go from there.
I think Steve’s death flipped a switch in him and he just lost the drive or spark without his friend there to partner with on World-Changing Crazy Stuff. He should’ve left years ago, IMO.
I rejoiced at the news of his departure because he seemed directly responsible for more than a few questionable, annoying designs and initiatives. It got to where I was dreading new releases because I knew there was a solid chance they were just gonna piss me off and make me
a lot. I’ve yet to experience this reaction in 2020, so I can’t help but think maybe his input was limited/missing on these recent solid releases.
Whatever the reason(s) it’s just a refreshing change to have positive, hopeful feelings again for a company I’ve spent 25+ years supporting and championing. I’ve been in iBernation for years it seems, reluctant to carry that flag or sing those praises. Makes me happy to feel like I can maybe start to do so again a bit. Based on the Air and SE, I find myself looking forward to what else 2020 may hold. That hasn’t been the case in quite some time!