Apple’s iconic designer perceived as a person who lacks confidence on stage

Jun 16, 2014 09:41 GMT  ·  By

One of the biggest problems Apple has been facing for a while now is image. Without its visionary presenter at the helm, the company is perceived as one struggling to find showmanship in the existing ranks.

That may very well be true. As Craig Federighi proved two weeks ago on stage at WWDC14, Apple really needed someone to deliver a more upbeat keynote or risk incurring another wave of editorials comparing Cook’s showmanship to that of Steve Jobs. But some people are relentless.

A thread on Reddit titled “Why doesn't Jony Ive appear on the keynotes?” is a resounding example of how Jonathan Ive, the company’s iconic designer, is perceived by the public.

“He doesn't like speaking in public.” “This. Also, he's always doing pre recorded [expletive] for the keynote.” “He doesn't leave the white room.” “...the white room was built around him in order to contain him.” “I hear that white room is made from bushed aluminum coated in cocaine.” “Unapologetically cocaine.”

One redditor just blurts out, “Dude, can't handle it.”

It’s clear from these harsh responses that these are not Jony’s biggest fans, yet somehow have been able to memorize entire portions of his white-room speeches, Apple's well known marketing technique.

“...and the chamfered edges, don't forget the chamfered edges,” another person chimes in to say. “Made from a single machined piece of aluminium,” adds another.

It’s ok to poke fun at these things, it’s another to ridicule Ive for not coming up on stage. After one user offered up this video as an example of Jony’s evident discomfort speaking on stage, one user noted, “He looked like he was really struggling there. Not a lot of confidence in front of a crowd.”

Another one said, “Have you heard the man speak? He speaks so slowly and quietly. He'd need a good hour just to introduce a new button in iTunes.”

This is not just some hater’s opinion, mind you. This is the consensus among even the biggest tech blogs on the web.

But others prefer a safer approach in an attempt to close a subject that may not even be debatable in the first place. Like this guy:

“He sounds like someone so passionate that he has a hard time organizing his thoughts for a large crowd. You can see at a few points he laughs because he is so confident on how future forward apple's hardware engineering is compared to the current competition. He is so proud of this team in this video, i see nothing flawed in that.”

Another person jumps in with a similarly objective take on Jony’s keynote skills, “Heh, Jony's a really low-key, soft spoken, and proper guy. He's not a fan of the spotlight.”

And the reality is he isn’t. Who says every company executive has to be a flawless presenter? Few people stop to think it’s precisely his sensitive nature that makes all those designs possible. Apple’s priority is to ship great products, not to have its staffers do standup comedy once every three months.

Perhaps Jony’s evident lack of stage fright is best observed at the Tribute Speech to Steve Jobs at Apple Memorial (embedded below). Chances are there were more people watching that speech than at every keynote he ever helped deliver in his entire life. And it seems the more profound is the subject, the less there is to joke about his ability to convey a message.

Disclaimer

This is a Personal Thoughts piece reflecting the author’s personal opinion on matters relating to Apple and / or the products associated with the Apple brand. This article should not be taken as the official stance of Softpedia on Apple-related matters.