Famous designer says Apple will reveal 'revolutionary' product within 8 months

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014


Acclaimed French designer Phillippe Starck revealed in a recent interview that he has been working with Apple on a "revolutionary" new product that will be revealed within the next 8 months.



Starck revealed the information in a radio interview with France Info, as discovered by HardMac. No further details were given on what the product may be.



"Indeed, there is a big project together which will be out in eight months," Starck said, according to . He cited Apple's "religious cult of secrecy" for declining to divulge any further information, though he did say the new project is "quite revolutionary."



Starck also revealed that he met regularly with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs before he passed away last October. The designer said he would see Jobs around once a month in his Palo Alto home for seven years, and he now meets with Jobs's widow, Laurene Powell, when he is in California.



The design work of Starck is wide reaching, ranging from products like toothbrushes and motorcycles to furnishings, building interiors, and even windmills.



There's no indication that Starck has worked with Apple in any capacity before, though he did design premium iPhone/iPod speakers and headphones for the company Parrot in 2008. The Zikmu Parrot speakers by Starck currently sell for around $1,600, while the ZIK Parrot headphones are advertised as "coming in 2012."











The comments from Starck will undoubtedly fuel speculation about a rumored Apple television set that the company is believed to be working on. Early this year, one report claimed that Apple's own design chief, Jony Ive, has a 50-inch Apple television housed in his secure design studio.



As for Starck's "revolutionary" comment, it could be related to comments made by Jobs himself to biographer Walter Isaacson. In interviews for Isaacson's book released last year, Jobs said he had "cracked" the secret to building an integrated, easy-to-use television set that will have "the simplest user interface you imagine."



Of course, Starck's apparent work with Apple could also be related to something entirely different, such as a forthcoming redesigned iPhone. The company is expected to launch a new iPhone late this year, featuring a completely redesigned exterior for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.



[ View article on AppleInsider ]

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 180
    hittrj01hittrj01 Posts: 753member
    Okay, that quote from Jobs' biography was literally a single paragraph in an over 600 page book. If the TV happens, awesome, but it's not the fact that it's a TV that will sell it. It's the content. iPod = iTunes. iPhone/iPad = App Store. This hypothetical TV is going to need some kind of blow-away, revolutionary content store much like the two previous examples in order to take off.
  • Reply 2 of 180
    vesves Posts: 3member
    Was thinking TV as well or perhaps a new design for Macbook's
  • Reply 3 of 180
    postulantpostulant Posts: 1,272member
    I wonder if it's a new product category... Revolutionary is a bold declaration and I'm excited to learn more.
  • Reply 4 of 180
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    ...Of course, Starck's apparent work with Apple could also be related to something entirely different, such as a forthcoming redesigned iPhone.



    I don't think the next iPhone would be considered a "revolutionary new product"
  • Reply 5 of 180
    originalgoriginalg Posts: 383member
    Interesting, another product from the Jobs era. I wonder how long it'll be before we see something conceived entirely since Cook took over.
  • Reply 6 of 180
    kibitzerkibitzer Posts: 1,114member
    This "news" is akin to blowing up a paper bag inside a chicken coop and then popping it. No real substance, but guaranteed to get the clickers clucking and the feathers flying. Like most successful designers, Starck is no stranger to self-promotion and puffery.
  • Reply 7 of 180
    isheldonisheldon Posts: 570member
    iMac please.



    If it's a Phillippe Starck TV then we are talking too few penetration and way too expensive.
  • Reply 8 of 180
    cutykamucutykamu Posts: 229member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Postulant View Post


    I wonder if it's a new product category... Revolutionary is a bold declaration and I'm excited to learn more.



    Exactly, same thoughts here.
  • Reply 9 of 180
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Acclaimed French designer Phillippe Starck revealed in a recent interview that he has been working with Apple on a "revolutionary" new product that will be revealed within the next 8 months.



    Is it any coincidence that 8 months from now also happens to be the same time that experts predict the world will come to an end? I think not!
  • Reply 10 of 180
    isheldonisheldon Posts: 570member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OriginalG View Post


    Interesting, another product from the Jobs era. I wonder how long it'll be before we see something conceived entirely since Cook took over.



    re-edit



    Sir' Jony's toys without Jobs' insight or direction should be vedy interesting.
  • Reply 11 of 180






    This guy's design sense sucks.



    He puts Bauhous inspired furniture in a Victorian setting. The couch on the right sticks out into the doorway. The one on the left blocks the radiator. The heat will ruin the leather, and it is facing nowhere.



    The photo sucks too. It is overexposed in the bright parts, and underexposed elsewhere. The iPod column fades into the darkness behind it. The other one is in the middle of the floor, waiting to be bumped into.



    How is this picture supposed to showcase the work of a talented designer?







    Besides all that, he is a blabbermouth!
  • Reply 12 of 180
    qrmqrm Posts: 9member
    ...fails us. We have a rumour the Steve J had laid out a roadmap of products for the next four or five years, said to include some of the best yet. We have another rumour from a famous designer that Apple will release something revolutionary within 8 months. And the best we can imagine is an Apple-branded TV set or a redesigned iPhone?



    I have no desire to rush out and replace my recently purchased ($1500) large screen or my relatively new iPhone 4S. The next iPhone will be evolutionary, regardless of how much more advanced. A TV set would be a stretch--the key is delivering the content, as the previous post notes. Unless Apple can replace the user interface in the TV AND the cable box at once or crack the content delivery issue without busting the home bandwidth limits (cable companies again!), what would be the point?



    No, I expect something entirely new, radical, revolutionary and so intuitively obvious once we see and touch it...but something for which we mere mortals lack the imagination yet to see...
  • Reply 13 of 180
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,897member
    I respect Starck's work. I own a few products of his design. And the nightclub he designed in Dallas in the 80s was pretty awesome. However, many things he creates are not particularly accessible - they don't have mass appeal. I doubt he has designed anything specific for Apple, but rather consulted more conceptually with Jobs. I would even question whether he knows any specific details at all regarding this "revolutionary" product.
  • Reply 14 of 180
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OnePotato View Post


    Is it any coincidence that 8 months from now also happens to be the same time that experts predict the world will come to an end? I think not!



    The revolutionary iApocalypse
  • Reply 15 of 180
    jj.yuanjj.yuan Posts: 213member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OriginalG View Post


    Interesting, another product from the Jobs era. I wonder how long it'll be before we see something conceived entirely since Cook took over.



    I think this new product was conceived when Steve was still at the helm of Apple. Still, Cook should get the credit for making it happen
  • Reply 16 of 180
    andysolandysol Posts: 2,506member
    Didn't even notice the iPod zither- ya... He sucks.





    On another note, Tommy Hillfiger is predicting an apple Tv in October and Vera Wang is predicting a 7" iPad before Christmas.
  • Reply 17 of 180
    spleckspleck Posts: 5member
    The iPod nano will complete its transition to a watch, designed by Starck.
  • Reply 18 of 180
    Probably just talking about the next iPhone. I don't see how a TV could fit a revolutionary design.
  • Reply 19 of 180
    flabberflabber Posts: 100member
    Well that's pretty obvious… they always reveal a revolutionary new product every 12 months, so chances are that if you mention such a thing there will actually be a revolutionary new product. Anyone can make predictions like that.
  • Reply 20 of 180
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by I am a Zither Zather Zuzz View Post








    This guy's design sense sucks.



    He puts Bauhous inspired furniture in a Victorian setting. The couch on the right sticks out into the doorway. The one on the left blocks the radiator. The heat will ruin the leather, and it is facing nowhere.



    The photo sucks too. It is overexposed in the bright parts, and underexposed elsewhere. The iPod column fades into the darkness behind it. The other one is in the middle of the floor, waiting to be bumped into.



    How is this picture supposed to showcase the work of a talented designer?







    Besides all that, he is a blabbermouth!



    Excellent post.
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