Apple Design Legend Jony Ive Wanted To Merge MacBook Air And Pro Lines: Report

Design legend Jony Ive once considered consolidating Apple’s MacBook Air and MacBook Pro into a single product line.

What Happened: Ive, who was instrumental in shaping Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) product designs, aimed to simplify the MacBook lineup, according to an anecdote shared by journalist Walt Mossberg on The Vergecast, as spotted by Apple Insider.

Mossberg shared the tidbit, citing a “high-level source” familiar with the company’s products.

He added that due to the contrasting management styles of co-founders Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, there was a time when the MacBook lineup could have been trimmed from two ranges to just one.

Cook reportedly acknowledged his limited product knowledge and granted Ive more authority over hardware and software decisions, unlike Jobs, who acted as Ive’s "editor."

Ive wanted to make the Pro model just as sleek and lightweight as the MacBook Air, but with a higher price tag. This concept ignited a “big war” between the design team led by Ive and the engineering and product manager side of the company.

Why It Matters: Jony Ive’s influence on Apple’s product design is well-documented. His departure from Apple led him to establish his design firm LoveFrom, which has since collaborated with British audio brand Linn to launch a $60,000 record player.

More recently, in September 2023, Ive’s firm was reportedly in advanced talks with OpenAI’s chief Sam Altman and SoftBank Group Corp.'s Masayoshi Son to build the “iPhone of AI”.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Photo courtesy: Wikimedia