Apple designer behind original iPhone may be creating AI device
Jony Ive, the former Chief Design Officer at Apple, is said to be working on a generative artificial intelligence (AI) device. According to a report, Ive is working with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to build this new device, which is said to be inspired by the original iPhone. Interestingly, Ive was behind the design language of the first iPhone, which was launched in 2007. The design aesthetic of the new AI device is said to be handled by Ive’s company LoveFrom.
Former Apple executive reportedly building AI device
With the rise of Generative AI, a number of new devices have been launched into the market. From Humane’s AI Pin to the Rabbit R1, new devices claiming to be the future of smartphones have arrived and failed to impress. However, with the collaboration between the person responsible for the original iPhone and the person who started the whole Generative AI trend, things may be different.
The New York Times reports that Ive was introduced to Altman by Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, who was also an early client of the former Apple design head’s LoveFrom venture. Details about the project are currently unknown.
According to the report, the current team for this project is very small, with about ten employees. But the small list includes veterans such as Tang Tan and Evans Hankey, who both left Apple last year. Interestingly, both Tan and Hankey were involved in the development of the iPhone and other Apple devices.
For now, all that’s known is that the team is building an AI device that offers a less socially disruptive experience than the modern iPhone, according to the NYT. Interestingly, the same pitch was used for the AI Pin and Rabbit R1.
While the technology will be handled by the new team, Ive’s LoveFrom will be handling the design language of the device. The team has also reportedly set up a massive 32,000 square feet office in San Francisco worth $90 million (approximately Rs. 751.5 crore).
Some of the funding for the project is said to come from Laurene Powell Jobs’ venture capital firm Emerson Collective, with the rest provided by Ive himself. There’s no word on when the product might hit the market.
