The man who designed Apple's most iconic devices reveals which one just might be his favorite
Getty Images/Michael Kovac
- Apple's former design chief, Jony Ive, revealed the creation that left a "deep" impression on him.
- Ive said Apple's first wearable product device reflects the evolution of our intimacy with tech.
- A decade later, the Apple Watch is one of the most popular wearables ever.
If you're unfamiliar with Jony Ive, odds are you might be reading this on a device he designed.
Apple's legendary former design chief has helped develop some of the company's most iconic products, including the iPhone, iPad, and Macbook.
Yet the device that might just be his favorite isn't in your hand, but it may be on your wrist — the Apple Watch.
When asked recently which Apple product left "a deep impression" on him, Ive mentioned the device.
"I'm proud of what we did with the watch because that's something that I started after Steve had passed," Ive said in a podcast episode of "Life in Seven Songs," referring to Apple's late cofounder, Steve Jobs.
Three years after Jobs' death, Apple unveiled the Apple Watch, its first wearable device and major product line since the iPad. The company then officially released the watch the following year, and it has since undergone nine generations.
Ive described the watch as "one of the most personal products" when looking at the trajectory of Apple devices.
Apple products started off "sitting on your desk, and then they ended up in your bag, and then they ended up in your pocket," he said. "And then it's on your wrist, and it's something that's worn."
The designer noted that people "have a different sort of relationship" with things they wear and "that are that intimate" — an observation that could probably explain why wearable tech is still a fickle product to get right to this day (just look to the mixed reviews of Apple's latest major product, the Vision Pro headset).
"And I've always loved watches anyway," he said. "So as a category, I think this is an interesting one."
Ive, who left Apple in 2019 after more than two decades with the company, has since started his own design firm, LoveFrom.
The Apple Watch has gone on to become a major seller for Apple, helping drive the company's wearables division to $7.9 billion in quarterly revenue in the first three months of 2024.