One of the most famous and successful partnerships in the history of technology has been that of Steve Jobs and Jony Ive. When Tim Cook took over as CEO, he did not play the same role in working with Ive on hardware design – and that was the right decision.
John Ternus is apparently taking a much more Steve-like approach to working with Apple's design lab, and I think that too is the right call. Many of Apple's most iconic designs were the product of the unique partnership between Steve Jobs and Jony Ive. The two worked incredibly closely together, usually meeting at least once a day, and what emerged was something far better than could have been achieved by either of them alone.
When Cook took over as CEO, he reportedly took a significantly more hands-off approach with the company's design team, only visiting the lab around once a month. That makes perfect sense, given that Cook's expertise was in operations and people management. Ternus, in contrast, is a hardware guy through and through. He effectively took over Ive's former role as head of hardware engineering prior to becoming CEO, and was credited by Apple as playing a key role in the development of both the iPad and AirPods product lines even before Ive left the company.
Like Steve, Ternus is said to have reversed some of the cases where sleek design had been prioritized over product usability. While the current design partnership of Molly Anderson and Steve Lemay is clearly an extremely effective one, one of the ingredients of that recipe for success appears to be oversight by Ternus. Personally, I'm extremely glad to hear that Ternus continues to prioritize this work even now that he has so many more demands on his time. Team Anderson-Lemay-Ternus works, and long may it continue.
Source: 9to5Mac · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing