Tim Cook strongly disputes report of creative differences with Jony Ive

A Wall Street Journal report purported to describe Jony Ive’s departure from Apple as one that was inevitable. The designer was characterised as a bored executive who had grown disinterested and dispassionate with the work he was doing. Tim Cook was also contrasted against Steve Jobs as one who was not in tune with design, further alienating Ive from the firm.

Apple CEO Tim Cook strongly disputed the report a few hours later, stating:

“The story is absurd. A lot of the reporting, and certainly the conclusions don’t just match with reality. At a base level, it shows a lack of understanding about how the design team works and how Apple works.” He continued, “We just don’t recognise the company it claims to describe.”

Exclusive: In scathing email, Apple CEO Tim Cook tells me the @WSJ report about Jony Ive’s departure — and his frustration with Cook’s alleged lack of interest in design — is “absurd.” Says reporting and conclusions "don’t match with reality.”

Full story coming soon @NBCNews … pic.twitter.com/QX9L4MvjFs

— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) July 1, 2019

Since Apple typically doesn’t respond to specific stories in this manner, it is remarkable and noteworthy in that context. The only other story in recent memory was one that originated from Bloomberg which claimed that Apple hardware had been infiltrated by tiny Chinese chips. The story has been vigorously denied by Apple and left experts scratching their heads. For its part, Bloomberg failed to produce any evidence backing its story.