Sir Jony Ive slams Apple competitors as he reveals the first phone he ever designed
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Apple's head of design has hit out at the firm's competition, accusing them of 'stealing' its designs.
Sir Jonathan Ive told the audience at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit in San Francisco his feelings on the matter were 'a bit harsh'.
'I don't see it as flattery,' he said, 'I actually see it as theft.'
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Sir Jonathan also revealed this - the first phone he ever designed. Thankfully, his vision was refined for the iPhone.
Sir Jonathan said seeing knockoff designs made him think of the lengthy development cycle that went into producing the originals.
'When you're doing something for the first time, for example with the phone, and you don't know it's going to work, and you spend seven or eight years working on something, and then it's copied — I have to be honest, the first thing I think isn't 'ooh, that was flattering.
'All those weekends I could have had at home with my lovely family but didn't, but the flattery made up for it.'
The designer was asked about Xiaomi, a Chinese firm which has been accused of copying Apple's style.
Not an iPhone: the Xiaomi Miui 6 handset, which many have said is simply a copy of the iPhone
The firm's latest software and handset looks extremely similar to Apple's iOS 8 software.
The designer also gave a rare insight into how his team works, revealing there are just 16 or 17 people.
'It's grown steadily over the last 15 years,' he said.
'We've worked hard to keep it small.
Sir Jonathan Ive spoke with Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter in a rare interview
'One of the advantages of being part of a design team that's been around for a long time is we've had the luxury to develop our process.
'We meet three or four times a week.
'The designers gather around the same kind of tablets you see in Apple Stores.
'We stand around those tables...and we draw. It really galvanizes and focuses our team.'
He also spoke about the team's work on Apple Watch.
JONY IVE ON WORKING WITH STEVE JOBS
'Steve was the most focused person I've met in my life.
'It's terrifying that when you really truly focus, it seems a bit illegal.
'You can achieve so much.
'What focus means is saying no with every bone in your body to something you know is a good idea but you say no because you're focused on something else.
I remember talking to Steve Jobs and asked why he was perceived as harsh.
'And I said couldn't we be more moderate? And he said why? And I said because I care about the team.
'And he said: 'No Jony, you're just really vain. You just want people to like you. I'm surprised at you, because I thought you really held the work up as the most important and not how you are perceived by people.''
'People misunderstand Steve because he was so focused'
'On the Apple Watch, there were many technologies that started with the 'what if' and 'how do we do this? he revealed.
'It's a really great place to be able to glance quickly at information.
'When we started working on it, it seemed like a natural place for technology to end up.'
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