Former Apple Watch engineer talks Apple design culture, secrecy, more in interview
Former Apple engineer Bob Messerschmidt, who headed up the group responsible for the highly regarded Apple Watch heart rate sensor, recently sat down with Fast Company to offer an inside look at what it was like working with Jony Ive's secretive Industrial Design Group.
Messerschmidt started at Apple in 2010 after his startup was acquired by what was then a company run by Steve Jobs, reports Fast Company. Over the course of three years, Messerschmidt worked closely with Ive's design team, as well as other teams of engineering specialists, to workshop, research and develop what would become Apple Watch.
Like all Apple products, user experience was of paramount importance to the Apple Watch project. Messerschmidt's group was in charge of developing candidate technologies for integration, which would trickle down to numerous teams of engineers, designers and other divisions for vetting and productization.
The entire process was user focused. For example, Messerschmidt said he floated the idea of integrating heart rate sensors into Apple Watch's band because the underside of the wrist yields more accurate readings than the top. Ive's Industrial Design Group dismissed the idea, citing general design trends and Apple's plan to release interchangeable bands.
Apple owns patents describing watch bands with embedded sensors, and was rumored to release "smart bands" that connect to Apple Watch's diagnostics port. A shipping product has yet to materialize, however.
Messerschmidt came back with a design that integrated the sensor array into the bottom of the watch, but noted the strap would need to be tight to facilitate good contact with a user's skin. Again, Ive's group pushed for more, saying people normally wear watches "really floppy on their wrist." The process, while tedious, results in a product focused around user wants and needs.
"That's kind of what we had to do. We had to listen to them. They are the voice of the user," Messerschmidt said of Ive's team. "There's the whole field of Industrial Design that focuses on the use case, the user experience."
Moving on to other topics, Messerschmidt discussed Apple's penchant for secrecy. With Jobs, stealth was employed mainly to illicit a big surprise when a product was ultimately announced. Under the new guard, however, a contingent is using secrecy to "maintain an empire," or make projects feel more important than they really are, he said.
The sentiment of change within Apple is echoed in Messerschmidt's take on whether the company was successful in carrying on the innovative spirit fostered by its late cofounder. Apple University is a good example of the lengths Apple went to ensure the culture Jobs created, though Messerschmidt believes the effort was in vain.
"You may remember that right after [Jobs] died there was all this stuff about 'can Apple go on?' Could anybody have the capacity to do that job [Jobs' position as CEO]? All I can say at this point is that the jury is still out, but so far I think the signs are kind of pointing to 'No," he said. "It's definitely not the same place."
Messerschmidt goes on to talk about Apple's business model -- which looks more like a startup than a traditional corporation -- Apple marketing, design theory and more.
Messerschmidt started at Apple in 2010 after his startup was acquired by what was then a company run by Steve Jobs, reports Fast Company. Over the course of three years, Messerschmidt worked closely with Ive's design team, as well as other teams of engineering specialists, to workshop, research and develop what would become Apple Watch.
Like all Apple products, user experience was of paramount importance to the Apple Watch project. Messerschmidt's group was in charge of developing candidate technologies for integration, which would trickle down to numerous teams of engineers, designers and other divisions for vetting and productization.
The entire process was user focused. For example, Messerschmidt said he floated the idea of integrating heart rate sensors into Apple Watch's band because the underside of the wrist yields more accurate readings than the top. Ive's Industrial Design Group dismissed the idea, citing general design trends and Apple's plan to release interchangeable bands.
Apple owns patents describing watch bands with embedded sensors, and was rumored to release "smart bands" that connect to Apple Watch's diagnostics port. A shipping product has yet to materialize, however.
Messerschmidt came back with a design that integrated the sensor array into the bottom of the watch, but noted the strap would need to be tight to facilitate good contact with a user's skin. Again, Ive's group pushed for more, saying people normally wear watches "really floppy on their wrist." The process, while tedious, results in a product focused around user wants and needs.
"That's kind of what we had to do. We had to listen to them. They are the voice of the user," Messerschmidt said of Ive's team. "There's the whole field of Industrial Design that focuses on the use case, the user experience."
Moving on to other topics, Messerschmidt discussed Apple's penchant for secrecy. With Jobs, stealth was employed mainly to illicit a big surprise when a product was ultimately announced. Under the new guard, however, a contingent is using secrecy to "maintain an empire," or make projects feel more important than they really are, he said.
The sentiment of change within Apple is echoed in Messerschmidt's take on whether the company was successful in carrying on the innovative spirit fostered by its late cofounder. Apple University is a good example of the lengths Apple went to ensure the culture Jobs created, though Messerschmidt believes the effort was in vain.
"You may remember that right after [Jobs] died there was all this stuff about 'can Apple go on?' Could anybody have the capacity to do that job [Jobs' position as CEO]? All I can say at this point is that the jury is still out, but so far I think the signs are kind of pointing to 'No," he said. "It's definitely not the same place."
Messerschmidt goes on to talk about Apple's business model -- which looks more like a startup than a traditional corporation -- Apple marketing, design theory and more.
Comments
http://www.fastcompany.com/3062576/tim-cooks-apple/what-i-learned-working-with-jony-ives-team-on-the-apple-watch
I do not think Messershmidt does any Apple bashing. The worst he says is that people at Apple failed to replicate S Job's thinking, which is probably true but maybe not because it can't be taught, as he suggests, but rather because the company moved on and there is no place for a new Steve in Tim's Apple.
Whats the matter...worried about Apple's stock price going down?
It may be that Jobs was a rare entity in that he had the right ideology in mind for changing the anti-consumer computer industry and no one in line for the leadership throne has the same. Most anyone else in line for the position is either solely a business administrator or a myopic tech geek with unwillingness to see the bigger picture, thinking their own individual/personal specialist focus is the most important part of making good technology.
Jobs was a user, not a narrowly-focused specialist. He pushed for user-centric things, which is what makes good product for users. He apparently forced the various in-house myopic geniuses onto a path that served the collective good. What we heard reported after he was gone was that the individuals he kept in line were all seeking to make their own areas of specialty into empires to lead Apple. This is what happens with [arrogant] smart people who don't have leadership they respect and who also keeps them in line (whether via truly charismatic leadership or via very effective social engineering).
https://www.google.com/search?q=dumbest+idea+in+the+world
I don't know how many more interviews Apple execs could do where they specifically say and show they hold your same opinion... does that mean you're going to think everything they do is perfect? no, of course not. if you've ever produced a product you'll find that nothing is perfect. ever.
Overall, it seemed like an interesting and enjoyable read to me.
As an aside, it's amazing to me that people continue to have this embarrassingly simplistic idea that since Jobs is gone somehow Apple is doomed. He built the Apple locomotive, set it on it's path, and laid out a few miles of track. Apple has been full steam ahead, and even accelerating, ever since thanks to Tim Cook. And that track keeps getting longer as well.
The product has a good number of Stanford folks involved so I doubt it's a scam. The Cor reader doesn't sound too far out there technology wise and has a guy that built hyperspectral microscopes on the team. There's a lot of low cost sensors appearing on the market including Raman ones.
At a wild guess, without reading much on their website, I'd say it's a variation on SERS with the cartridges providing the blood collection and SERS substrate. My guess is that the patents are related to the cartridge rather than the sensor package but didn't bother to look them up.
I guess Raman because I don't think the other forms of rotational spectroscopy fit within the size and budget of the reader. That and there are reasonably inexpensive SERS sensors out although I don't know if you can actually do rotational spectroscopy with SERS.
The last time I did this they said "The next appointment available is Thursday" which is non-optimal for a small business user who needs their laptop fixed today. So they could wait hours for a walk in slot. Fortunately for me it was just an iPhone and I could use my old one so I just went back Thursday.
You can buy Joint Venture which provides equipment loaners for any repair that takes more than 24 hours. It also gets you priority access to Genius Bars since the 1st level triage is done by a Genius over the phone.
But I think it costs around $500/year so you might be better off buying the cheapest 13" MacBook Pro as a backup machine ($1099) and waiting until Thursday. If you religiously backup you can get back running fairly quickly.
An "apple dealer" should have known about the Joint Venture program and priority access to genius bars at the Apple Store.