The final years of Jony Ive at Apple: relationship with Tim Cook, Apple Watch vision, and burnout to come

“What would happen to Apple now that Steve Jobs is dead?” That was the billion-dollar question made by Wall Street, Apple fans, and the company’s employees in 2011.

More than a decade later since Apple’s cofounder died, the Cupertino company is doing better than ever, but a new book by New York Times Tripp Mickle called After Steve talks about how Apple became a trillion-dollar company and lost its soul.

One of the reasons was Jony Ive leaving the company.

It was 2014, and Apple’s future, more than ever, seemed to hinge on Mr. Ive. His love of pure, simple lines had already redrawn the world through such popular products as the iMac, iPod and iPhone.

Now, he was seated at a conference table with Tim Cook, the company’s chief executive (…). They both wanted another hit, but Mr. Ive was pushing for a product reveal more audacious than any in the theatrical company’s history.

Jony Ive envisioned the future of the Apple Watch as a luxury product. Not only did he want to build a $25 million lavish white tent to promote the first Watch, but he “regarded a rave from Vogue as more important than any tech reviewer’s opinion.”

According to Mickle, “the tent was critical to making the event as glamorous as a high-end fashion show.”