Jonathan Ive: Apple Nearly Shelved the iPhone 'Multiple Times'

Speaking at a British Business Conference, Apple SVP of Industrial Design, Jonathan Ive said that Apple nearly shelved the iPhone 'multiple times' due to design flaws that they didn't think could be solved, reports The Telegraph.

"We nearly shelved the phone because we thought there were fundamental problems that we can't solve. With the early prototypes, I held the phone to my ear and my ear [would] dial the number," he said. "You have to detect all sorts of ear-shapes and chin shapes, skin colour and hairdo...that was one of just many examples where we really thought, perhaps this isn't going to work."

He also notes that you shouldn't need to convince someone about a good design decision.


"We have been, on a number of occasions, preparing for mass production and in a room and realised we are talking a little too loud about the virtues of something. That to me is always the danger, if I'm trying to talk a little too loud about something and realising I'm trying to convince myself that something's good," he said.

An earlier report from the same event has Ive revealing that Apple's "goal isn't to make money."

Read More [via MacRumors]