Fortune has a lengthy piece addressing the question of whether Apple has lost its design mojo. It opens with some of the customer complaints being made about the company.
And goes on to present conflicting views from tech industry figures …
It cites some of Apple’s design wins and losses over the years, arguing that neither are new phenomenon, As examples of design failures under Steve Jobs’ watch, the piece lists the iMac’s ‘hockey puck’ mouse, the iPod Hi-Fi and original Apple TV.
Not everyone agrees, of course. Says Steve Troughton-Smith, an Irish developer of sleek iOS apps, “I have enough historical context to understand that these things have no relation to [Steve Jobs’ departure], and are not a new aspect of being an Apple user. Things like USB cables and iTunes were bad for many years under Jobs too, and I have a collection of frayed Firewire-to-30-pin cables to remind me of that.”
It argues that Apple doesn’t always get things right first time time, but is good at listening to feedback and improving products over time. Even Jony Ive acknowledges this, with the Apple Watch an example. Apple initially pitched it as a way of running apps when you didn’t want to pull out your iPhone, then effectively reinvented it as a fitness device.
What’s your view? Has Apple lost its design mojo, or has nothing changed? And how many of you avoid first-generation Apple products, waiting for the company to iron out the glitches in later versions? Please take our poll, and share your thoughts in the comments.
