Welcome to our regular roundup of all the Apple news you missed this week, in a handy bite-sized summary. We call it Apple Breakfast because we love it with a cup of coffee or tea in the morning, but it’s also cool if you want to read it over lunch or dinner.
The long goodbye
This week, Apple reportedly severed all ties with design legend Jony Ive. But you’d be forgiven for thinking he left the company a long time ago: I turned in his aluminum badge and pistol in 2019 and have been working with Apple on a freelance consultancy basis ever since. How much exactly did he design in those three years? Well, there’s the question.
One theory, convincingly argued by 9to5Mac this week, is that Ive’s advisory deal was just a PR fiction designed to appease shareholders. Ive, the site estimates, essentially checked out in 2015, at least in terms of consumer products; he was tired of the pressure and repetition of looking at iPhone prototypes week after week, and wanted to leave to spend more time in England. Tim Cook bought some time by giving him a promotion and letting him work on fun new projects — namely Apple Park and new Apple Store designs — but members of his team had to get up and take over day-to-day management responsibilities.
By the time 2019 was around, it was therefore operationally easy to manage without Sir Jony. But what would that look like? What was needed was a high-profile arrangement to create the appearance of continuity for the benefit of shareholders who are easily startled. Don’t worry, everyone. Jony is still on the payroll. Everything is fine.
This theory was largely confirmed by the appearance this week of a neatly timed and light-hearted GQ interview with Evans Hankey and Kate Bergeron, two of the hitherto little-known design leaders who took over from Ive in 2019 (officially) and very likely earlier ( in reality). In between raving about the MacBook Air’s brilliant redesign, GQ casually notes: “Having been in charge of Apple’s product design following Jony Ive’s departure from the company in 2019, Hankey has been responsible for the look and feel ever since. of all his devices, from the iPhone to the AirPods.” So what was the $100 million deal with Jony Ive about?
The fact is, industrial design is an uneasy mix of teamwork and individualism. You need a gifted and collaborative team for the actual designing, but you need a charismatic person to sell it idea of the designs. As humans, we want to put artistic effort into one genius, not a committee. That’s why Sir Jony’s somber whiteroom monologues were such an important part of Apple’s 2010 hardware launches: Apple told us this was art, not commerce, and here’s the artist himself.
A look at Apple’s product portfolio from 2019 to 2022 shows that the company is in safe hands in terms of design. (Not everything has been perfect, of course, but that’s true of every era.) But there’s a bigger question about perception. Who will fill the genius hole left by Steve Jobs and now by Jony Ive? With Tim Cook seen as a logistically safe pair of hands and Craig Federighi focused on software, who will customers turn to as the hardware stardust sprinkler in chief?
Maybe that person is Hankey or Bergeron or Alan Dye, who replaced Ive as VP of human interface design. Or maybe it’s someone we haven’t met yet. But whoever it is, Apple has long been preparing for their arrival.
Trending: Top Stories of the Week
Macworld’s M2 MacBook Air Review Is Here, Like Apple’s Everyday Laptop Goldilocks moment.
But now for the bad news. The M2 MacBook Airs webcam is so horribleApple’s only solution is an iPhone.
Jason Snell gives a little reason why he won’t be upgrade to an iPhone 14.
These five little-known AirPods features will: amaze your ears.
missed Prime Day? These Apple deals are still going strong.
The rumor mill
Perhaps the most anticipated camera feature of the iPhone is: exclusive to the Pro Max model.
Don’t be in a rush to get it self-driving cars. Apple’s next big thing is still just around the corner, de Macalope believes.
A titanium Apple Watch Pro with a price tag of as much as $1,000 could be on the way, according to one expert.
Do the Apple Watch Series 8 rumors point to a new design?
Podcast of the week
Apple has made a major update to its popular MacBook Air Laptop, and we have one on our hands. Is the MacBook Air Reaching New Heights? Or does it make us long for the old Sky?
You can watch every episode of the Macworld Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud, the Podcasts app or our own site.
Software updates, bugs and issues
Tend to install the iOS 16 beta? Hold on to your horses: Here are 5 reasons to wait until fall.
But if you not convinced with that argument, here’s how to grab the iOS 16 beta. (And here’s how to install the macOS Ventura beta.)
And assuming you to have Installed the beta, here’s why your iPhone is some features are missing.
We explain how Apple refreshed System Preferences in macOS Ventura.
Apple released the release candidate for macOS Monterey 12.5 this week. There are no obvious new features, suggesting it focuses on optimizations, security patches and bug fixes.
likewise, iOS 15.6 release candidate is now available.
And with that, we’re done for this week. If you would like to receive regular round-ups, sign up for our newsletters. You can also follow us on Twitter for breaking news stories. See you next Saturday, enjoy your weekend and stay Appley.