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For Jony Ive, the Apple Watch is all about the tiny ‘fantastic’ details

Published Oct 1st, 2014 10:45PM EDT
Apple Watch Jony Ive
Image: Apple Inc.

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Apple isn’t ready to sell you a brand new Apple Watch just yet, but the company is certainly interested in making you want to buy one. In addition to showing the device in Paris in celebration of Fashion Week, Apple also allowed fashion magazine Vogue to write an ample Jony Ive profile, providing the publication access to its top designer. Most importantly, Apple offered the magazine access to the unannounced device weeks ahead of the actual iPhone 6 event where the Watch was unveiled, although Vogue only published its interview on Wednesday, almost a month after the Watch was first introduced to the world.

FROM EARLIER: Publication says Apple has banned it from official events over ‘Bendgate’ coverage

The magazine’s Ive profile follows a similar Apple profile published by Bloomberg Businessweek — which also revealed various details about the upcoming device — offering additional information on Ive’s personal and professional life. Interestingly, when detailing Ive’s work habits at Apple, Vogue points out that not even Ive’s wife and twin sons are aware of what he is working on at Apple, and they’re not even allowed inside his secret design lab where gadgets such as the Apple Watch are conceived.

Vogue’s story further offers the same Apple Watch angle as previous reports, focusing on the device’s design and features, further building anticipation for a product that Apple has yet to convince customers they need. The publication doesn’t offer the tech specs some smartphone buyers are still waiting for, as, after all, the Watch has to appeal to a variety of buyers, including customers that aren’t necessarily tech enthusiasts.

Ive worked on the Watch for three years, something he also told Bloomberg recently, trying to create a device that’s very simple to use, and which can enable better human interactions than other unnamed gadgets. Unsurprisingly, Ive focused during the interview on the tiny “fantastic” details that make the Watch stand out from the smartwatch crowd, especially to non techies, such as its pulse transmitting capabilities, or the sound the watch band switching mechanism makes.

“Everything we’ve been trying to do,” Ive said, “it’s that pursuit of the very pure and very simple.”

“You know how very often technology tends to inhibit rather than enable more nuanced, subtle communication?” he asked, before demoing the special communication feature of the Watch – transmitting the pulse of the wearer to a chosen person. “You feel this very gentle tap and you can feel my heartbeat. This is a very big deal, I think. It’s being able to communicate in a very gentle way,” he said. “We spent a lot of time working on this special mechanism inside, combined with the built-in speaker,” he added.

Vogue’s extensive Ive profile is available at the source link below.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.