Jony Ive isn't too concerned about your iPhone battery life issues
Tired of recharging your iPhone several times a day? That's just because the iPhone's thin and light design is encouraging you to use it more, according to Apple's design guru Jony Ive. In an interview with the Financial Times today, Ive dove deep into the design process of the Apple Watch, but when asked about the need to recharge iPhones often he didn't see much of an issue. Instead, he noted that stuffing in a bigger battery would make it heavier and less "compelling." Never mind that battery life remains the single biggest concern for most smartphone users, according to a survey by Cat. If this interview had occurred a year ago, Ive would seem even less sympathetic. Now, at least, Apple has the iPhone 6 Plus available, which offers a significantly bigger battery thanks to its larger 5.5-inch frame.
Of course, there's nothing stopping you from snapping up a separate battery pack or charging case to keep your iPhone juiced up for a full day. But still, it's hard not to read Ive's comments as sounding a tad out of touch.
While he doesn't go so far as to say "You're using it wrong!" -- something that Apple was criticized for during the Antennagate debacle -- Ive basically sounds like the classic designer who isn't quite aware of how normal people use his creations. Sure, he's got a point: The iPhone's design is likely a big reason why consumers use it so often (and why they get peeved when they've got no more battery life). But it would be far more useful to acknowledge legitimate consumer complaints, and reassure us that it's a problem that he's still dealing with, rather than deflecting back to the user.
[Photo credit: Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Vanity Fair]
