Full video of Vogue interview with Apple designers Jony Ive and Marc Newson posted to Web
British Vogue on Friday posted full video footage of a recent interview that had editor Suzy Menkes talking with Apple design gurus Jony Ive and Marc Newson about Apple Watch and its place in the luxury market.
Amidst softball questions regarding Apple's design philosophy, the answers to which have been repeated ad nauseum by Ive and other Apple executives, Menkes tossed in a probing inquiry about Apple's potential play at the luxury market. With the Apple Watch campaign, the company is aggressively targeting well-heeled, fashion forward consumers, apparent with $17,000 Apple Watch Edition models and exclusive launch day availability at high-end boutiques.
The panel, held on Wednesday at the inaugural Conde Nast International Luxury Conference, saw Ive do most of the talking. Newson chimed in from time to time, but mostly ceded the floor to Apple's design chief.
Menkes asked how Ive would respond to brands that might view Apple Watch as an attempt on the "luxury world," an entrenched industry defined by expensive handbags, jewelry, clothing and other high-priced items.
"I think that we're on a path that's the same path that Apple really determined to be on in the 70s, which was to try and make technology approachable and relevant and personal," Ive said.
Menkes followed up with a more pointed question, "There's no doubt that you are now producing things that may be more desirable than traditional luxury to consumers, particularly the younger consumers. Don't you think that's true?"
"I don't know, we'll see. We'll see," Ive said, eliciting a chuckle from the crowd. He hedged somewhat, adding, "That was not our intent at all. Our intent has remained the same and is consistent which has been to try and take what is remarkable technology in terms of its capability and its utility, and to make it more and more personal."
Only a handful of tech companies have attempted to break into the exclusive luxury market -- phone maker Vertu comes to mind -- and even fewer have gained any sort of traction. Menkes later brought up a good point about inevitable hardware upgrades, a cyclical process easily understood and accepted by tech savvy consumers, but perhaps foreign to buyers in the market for a $20,000 Hermes handbag.
By its very nature, technology is constantly evolving, iterating, changing and improving. The Apple Watch, for example, will likely be obsolete in one or two years.
"We can only imagine, given how much we upgrade our phones, that this is going to need an upgrade at some stage," Menkes said. "It isn't a watch in the ones that you collect. You both collect watches and thee are watches that have stood the test of time. Is it the same with your devices? Is it going to be the same with your watch?"
Ive said he thinks Apple Watch will remain beautiful, but more importantly pointed out that a digital device is in a different class than mechanical contraptions. For Ive, a device whose capability is defined by software is an intriguing concept.
"The product that I buy next week -- it will be more capable and will do things I cannot possibly imagine in just six months time," Ive said. "Now I think that's extraordinary. I don't know how we can compare these wonderful mechanical watches that we own and the product that has such a comprehensive functionality and capability that will grow and change beyond our imagining."
Of course, for that elite echelon of consumer in the market for handbags priced well beyond $20,000, spending a few ducats on a $17,000 Apple Watch falls in the category of impulse buy.
Amidst softball questions regarding Apple's design philosophy, the answers to which have been repeated ad nauseum by Ive and other Apple executives, Menkes tossed in a probing inquiry about Apple's potential play at the luxury market. With the Apple Watch campaign, the company is aggressively targeting well-heeled, fashion forward consumers, apparent with $17,000 Apple Watch Edition models and exclusive launch day availability at high-end boutiques.
The panel, held on Wednesday at the inaugural Conde Nast International Luxury Conference, saw Ive do most of the talking. Newson chimed in from time to time, but mostly ceded the floor to Apple's design chief.
Menkes asked how Ive would respond to brands that might view Apple Watch as an attempt on the "luxury world," an entrenched industry defined by expensive handbags, jewelry, clothing and other high-priced items.
"I think that we're on a path that's the same path that Apple really determined to be on in the 70s, which was to try and make technology approachable and relevant and personal," Ive said.
Menkes followed up with a more pointed question, "There's no doubt that you are now producing things that may be more desirable than traditional luxury to consumers, particularly the younger consumers. Don't you think that's true?"
"I don't know, we'll see. We'll see," Ive said, eliciting a chuckle from the crowd. He hedged somewhat, adding, "That was not our intent at all. Our intent has remained the same and is consistent which has been to try and take what is remarkable technology in terms of its capability and its utility, and to make it more and more personal."
Only a handful of tech companies have attempted to break into the exclusive luxury market -- phone maker Vertu comes to mind -- and even fewer have gained any sort of traction. Menkes later brought up a good point about inevitable hardware upgrades, a cyclical process easily understood and accepted by tech savvy consumers, but perhaps foreign to buyers in the market for a $20,000 Hermes handbag.
By its very nature, technology is constantly evolving, iterating, changing and improving. The Apple Watch, for example, will likely be obsolete in one or two years.
"We can only imagine, given how much we upgrade our phones, that this is going to need an upgrade at some stage," Menkes said. "It isn't a watch in the ones that you collect. You both collect watches and thee are watches that have stood the test of time. Is it the same with your devices? Is it going to be the same with your watch?"
Ive said he thinks Apple Watch will remain beautiful, but more importantly pointed out that a digital device is in a different class than mechanical contraptions. For Ive, a device whose capability is defined by software is an intriguing concept.
"The product that I buy next week -- it will be more capable and will do things I cannot possibly imagine in just six months time," Ive said. "Now I think that's extraordinary. I don't know how we can compare these wonderful mechanical watches that we own and the product that has such a comprehensive functionality and capability that will grow and change beyond our imagining."
Of course, for that elite echelon of consumer in the market for handbags priced well beyond $20,000, spending a few ducats on a $17,000 Apple Watch falls in the category of impulse buy.
Comments
This can be easily compared to the way in which similarly priced fashion items are also quickly obsoleted, by fast changing fashion trends if not by technology. I doubt any fashionista who spends $2000 on a pair of shoes would be caught dead still wearing them in a couple of years. Many celebrities will not wear the same outfit twice.
I can see that path, as I've been involved with Apple products since those days. One of my first computers was indeed the Apple ][ which I discovered in 1979.
I think that if there wasn't ever a Macintosh computer that I would not be doing what I've been doing on Macs since the first model. I was drawn to the Mac in part because I recognized its genius and its aesthetics, and thereby, as Jony also said in the interview, I had an impression of the people who designed and manufactured it.
Along that Apple path, another factor has the inexorable one of miniaturization, as well as the incorporation of newer technologies, all of which made the iPhone possible. Later models became far more capable.
So what was to be the next step along Apple's path? The %uF8FFWatch was rather inevitable. It's computing power and miniaturization all in the very personal form factor of a watch. I believe they called it a watch for both convenience and familiarity's sake. But it's obviously going to be far more than a mere timepiece, just as the iPhone is far more than a mere telephone.
Now if there ever was a barometer of good sense, it is my dear wife. She is not easily convinced of a product's worthiness%u2014especially a tech one. She's told me a number of times how the iPhone was the first phone she didn't have to ask me how to use.
Even she now is making subtle murmurings in favor of us getting our %uF8FFWatches.
I really do feel that Apple has yet another killer product on their hands.
So Ive said Apple Watch is not competing with high-end mechanical watches and Apple's intention was not to compete with traditional watchmakers. I see Apple Watch being a threat to cheaper to mid priced watches not high end mechanical watches.
Ive is very measured when speaking in public, as well he should be. Publicly, he will wax poetic about how the Watch Edition sprung from his design team's appreciation for gold's beauty and nobility as a design material. From a business perspective, though, it's clear that Apple created the Edition to tap a luxury market where irrationally high prices and profit margins are not only tolerated but demanded. If they truly only cared about gold's qualities as a material, they wouldn't have priced the Edition at 5X its rational value.
No one is going to choose an Apple Watch over a Rolex as a family heirloom. But many people who routinely spend thousands of dollars on luxury products will shift some of their spending to Apple, and that will take money from the pockets of luxury brands.
I agree with Jony's comment that too many things are not made with enough care. You really notice that a lot when you work as a software developer, people think no one sees the code, only the user interface, so you often find a real mess behind the scenes.
I agree with Jony's comment that too many things are not made with enough care. You really notice that a lot when you work as a software developer, people think no one sees the code, only the user interface, so you often find a real mess behind the scenes.
Yep.
To me, the fact that Apple actually labels the S1 and the Taptic Engine is a sign of care.
Think about it; no one but the .5% looking at teardowns and repairmen will see it. But Ive and co know it's there, so they did it right. That is a big chunk of Steve's legacy.
Perhaps Apple could do a bi-annual upgrade on the hardware, annual software upgrades?
I'm not completely convinced. By pricing it where they did it's so out of reach for most people and watch connoisseurs with lots of money are probably not interested in it. I think it was more about getting the watch on the wrist of celebrities and taste makers and dipping a toe in the luxury market. I don't see it as much more than that. I certainly don't expect 18-karat gold iPhones any time soon. And since Ive has so much respect for traditional watchmakers I think he's being completely honest when he says Apple is not trying to compete with them. And like he said it's impossible to compare something with the capability and functionality of Apple Watch to a mechanical watch.
I'm not completely convinced. By pricing it where they did it's so out of reach for most people and watch connoisseurs with lots of money are probably not interested in it. I think it was more about getting the watch on the wrist of celebrities and taste makers and dipping a toe in the luxury market. I don't see it as much more than that. I certainly don't expect 18-karat gold iPhones any time soon. And since Ive has so much respect for traditional watchmakers I think he's being completely honest when he says Apple is not trying to compete with them. And like he said it's impossible to compare something with the capability and functionality of Apple Watch to a mechanical watch.
Don't think "watch connoisseurs". Think "luxury market".
Apple priced the Watch and Watch Sport to be eminently affordable to their existing customer base while boasting full feature parity with their more expensive Edition models. So the Watch is in no way "out of reach." It's the most egalitarian product they've ever sold.
With the Edition they are tapping what has been, until now, an extremely lucrative market that has remained totally untouched by Apple or any of their competitors. Apple is uniquely positioned to compete in this market, compared to other tech companies. Apple couldn't care less whether "watch connoisseurs" buy one or not (though many will.) All they need is to get a tiny percentage of affluent consumers to buy a high margin Apple product that wouldn't otherwise appeal to them unless it were both expensive and exclusive. Due to their stratospheric markup, the Edition watches can boost the company's overall profit margins and could potentially account for a disproportionate share (1/3?) of their overall revenues and profits.
Check out this presentation by Scott Galloway, Professor of Marketing from NYU Stern:
Edit: Link updated to skip to 10:40
I agree that Ive has enormous respect for traditional watchmakers. The Apple Watch Edition will never be marketed as a better choice than a Rolex. It only needs to be a worthy object for those who appreciate its value and can afford its price.
Don't think "watch connoisseurs". Think "luxury market".
Apple priced the Watch and Watch Sport to be eminently affordable to their existing customer base while boasting full feature parity with their more expensive Edition models. So the Watch is in no way "out of reach."
What Apple is doing with the Edition is tapping what has been, until now, an extremely lucrative market that has remained totally untouched by Apple. Apple couldn't care less whether "watch connoisseurs" buy one or not (though many will.) All they need is to get a tiny percentage of affluent consumers to buy a high margin Apple product that wouldn't otherwise appeal to them unless it were both expensive and exclusive. Due to their stratospheric markup, the Edition watches can boost the company's overall profit margins and could potentially account for a disproportionate share (1/3?) of their overall revenues and profits.
Check out this presentation by Scott Galloway, Professor of Marketing from NYU Stern:
I agree that Ive has enormous respect for traditional watchmakers. The Apple Watch Edition will never be marketed as a better choice than a Rolex. It only needs to be a worthy object for those who appreciate its value and can afford its price.
Exactly.
Rich people buy an iPhone because it's the best phone on the market, and is widely acknowledged as such, so they don't feel "tacky" having one.
A watch is different. Apple needed a high end one for that demographic.
Exactly.
Rich people buy an iPhone because it's the best phone on the market, and is widely acknowledged as such, so they don't feel "tacky" having one.
Even there, Apple was leaving money on the table for companies like Vertu.
Even there, Apple was leaving money on the table for companies like Vertu.
Probably not as much as they would have if they hadn't had the Edition. Vertu still runs Android, so it lacks that ease of use.
Re: the luxury market and Apple's unique potential to exploit it...
"Luxury brands signal something about you. This is not a timepiece. I have not wound it in five years. It is my vain attempt to express Italian masculinity and signal that if you mate with me I'm more likely to take care of your offspring than someone wearing a Swatch Watch."
"Google Glass is not a wearable. It's a prophylactic ensuring you will not conceive a child as no one will get near you."
I don't hear others being questioned with luxury items.
In fact, Apple Waych Edition is simply another entrant in the history of luxury.
It may be a game changer.
But so was the clock that did away with the Sundial. Lol
The question itself seemed flawed. She treated Apple like a competitor, which they are. But so are the other designers and companies represented there.
The only difference is, Apple is upping the entire game. And once again, history shows That's a good thing, for Apple, for people, and even for competitors who now can bring up their efforts to compete at a higher level.
Lol
How true.
And another distinction between Apple and the Also-rans.
While their technology resembles Borg assimilation, Apple respectfully humanizes it.
Where is Ive's Apple Watch?
It's a bit like people who could never afford a Porsche, but try to achieve some status by buying a Porsche-brand keyring.
People who are fashionable like to color-match items. The gold iPhone for example can match all of someone's gold jewellery and now the gold Macbook. All the same price as the other colors. The watch colors are different prices. If you had gold bracelets, rings and necklaces and a gold iPhone but were not very well-off, you can't get a gold colored watch to match everything else. 3rd party gold plating will likely solve this problem but I don't agree that having a $10k-17k unique style is egalitarian, especially considering the margins. The limited availability and inflated pricing seems deliberately to price it out of reach of a lot of people and yet they are marketing it alongside the others. If they priced it too low then they wouldn't be able to get an adequate supply of gold but they didn't have to use so much gold in each.
It looks like Jony Ive is wearing the stainless steel with the leather buckle:
https://www.apple.com/watch/apple-watch/stainless-steel-case-midnight-blue-modern-buckle/
I wonder if any of the Apple staff wear the gold one.
I found it funny that she's apparently qualified to even talk about fashion when she looks ridiculous with a giant bald patch from sweeping her hair into that There's Something About Mary slick while wearing the most outdated clothes:
DO NOT SKIP!!! - This is a great presentation! All I can say is, "WOW!" and this is a must see preso for anyone interested in tech, retail and economics.
Jony and his team are an island at Apple and are allowed to do just about anything they want to without regards to cost, pricing or marketing. It is what Steve Jobs fought so very hard to achieve at Apple before he was kicked out. It is also probably why he and Jony were such great trusted friends after SJ's return, because neither could give a flying F-Bomb about price-points or dev costs, because in his own words (paraphrasing), "if you create a great product than people will viscerally feel it and buy it whatever the cost, and aspire to it when they have to compromise."
Jony and Team creates.
Accounting and operations does cost ROI.
Marketing and retail do pricing.
And Tim Cook is the Man that creates the environment that lets every department do their very best work.
First Trillion $ Company made simple. :smokey:
I gotta say though if we ever see an 18-karat gold iPhone I might just vomit a little in the mouth. Thankfully I don't think we ever will.