Famous designer says Apple will reveal 'revolutionary' product within 8 months
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 ]
Comments
...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"
If it's a Phillippe Starck TV then we are talking too few penetration and way too expensive.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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...
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
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
On another note, Tommy Hillfiger is predicting an apple Tv in October and Vera Wang is predicting a 7" iPad before Christmas.
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.