• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026

2

Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup

3

Current price of oil as of June 15, 2026

1

Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026

2

Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup

3

Current price of oil as of June 15, 2026
TechApple

Steve Jobs’ Ad Man Takes Issue With Apple’s iPhone Simplicity

By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 3, 2016, 11:42 AM ET
CUPERTINO, CA - MARCH 21: Apple VP Greg Joswiak announces the new iPhone SE during an Apple special event at the Apple headquarters on March 21, 2016 in Cupertino, California. The company is expected to update its iPhone and iPad lines, and introduce new bands for the Apple Watch. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
CUPERTINO, CA - MARCH 21: Apple VP Greg Joswiak announces the new iPhone SE during an Apple special event at the Apple headquarters on March 21, 2016 in Cupertino, California. The company is expected to update its iPhone and iPad lines, and introduce new bands for the Apple Watch. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)Photograph by Justin Sullivan Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The former Ad Man that worked with Steve Jobs on his “Think Different” campaign thinks Apple might have lost some of the simplicity that made it famous.

In an op-ed in The Guardian on Thursday, Ken Segall, a former ad agency creative director who also claims to have named the company’s all-in-one computer “iMac,” says Jobs had a unique ability to deliver simplicity. Whether it was in design, advertising, or another way to engage with the masses, Jobs believed—and indeed, often said himself—that simplicity was paramount. But now, Segall argues, Apple has lost some of that simplicity and its products are becoming too confusing for customers to easily discern what’s what.

“With the current models consisting of iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus and SE, Apple’s naming scheme is becoming noticeably less simple,” Segall wrote. He added that Apple’s decision use an “S” for iPhone versions that are so-called “off years,” has only caused it to “confuse customers and make it significantly more difficult for marketing to do its job.”

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Segall, who made his name in advertising, also took aim at Apple’s marketing efforts, saying that when Jobs was alive, he ran advertising “like a startup” and would pick the ads without using focus groups or other commonly used techniques to get the best bang for his buck. Now, under Tim Cook’s leadership, Segall says Apple has “teams compete to produce new campaigns,” complicating its advertising efforts.

While Segall acknowledged that Tim Cook needs to be a different chief executive than Steve Jobs and that the Apple co-founder had a “different style” than the company’s current CEO, it’s hard not to hear some Cook criticism in Segall’s comments. While he tried to take a middle route, saying that Apple does well in certain areas of maintaining simplicity, he seemingly believes the Jobsian way of running the business was superior, arguing in the op-ed that “flaws and complexities” are increasingly finding their way to Apple’s products.

That said, it’s hard to argue with Cook’s track record. Over the last several years, Tim Cook has presided over record-breaking revenue and profits and helped build his company’s cash coffers to hundreds of billions of dollars. While Apple had a down quarter in its last-reported fiscal period, the company was still able to generate billions in profit. Cook, in other words, could be one of the more successful CEOs in the world, even if Apple isn’t as “simple” as it once was.

Segall, who argues Cook can’t “align all the forces within Apple” like Jobs once did, however, acknowledges that Cook is living in a different world than Jobs did and is now forced to offer a broad array of products in order to attract more customers. In other words, maybe Apple is a bit more complex because the market is more complex.

For more on the iPhone, watch:

Regardless, Segall, who is publishing his second book about simplicity and how Steve Jobs did business next week called Think Simple: How Smart Leaders Defeat Complexity, says Apple needs to work on getting back to being simpler and stop allowing “complicated products to make it into the hands of customers.”

In the end, though, Segall took a nicer tone. While he couldn’t quite bring himself to say Apple is doing enough to enjoy simplicity, he argues no other technology company could deliver “a simple experience as well as Apple.”

So, that’s at least one win for Apple and Cook. Well, maybe.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

About the Author
By Don Reisinger
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

aidan
AIG7
Cohere CEO on G7 leaders’ choice: sovereign AI or digital serfdom
By Aidan GomezJune 17, 2026
51 minutes ago
op
EconomyWealth
Your raise used to go offshore. Then it went to a buyback. Now it’s going to a data center
By Nick LichtenbergJune 17, 2026
2 hours ago
Cursor co-founder and CEO Michael Truell speaking at Fortune Brainstorm AI 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Photo: Stuart Isett/Fortune)
NewslettersFortune Tech
SpaceX will officially acquire Cursor for $60 billion
By Andrew NuscaJune 17, 2026
2 hours ago
Thasunda Brown Duckett sitting in front of a podcast microphone
SuccessFortune 500: Titans and Disruptors of Industry
A 76-year-old was about to lose his entire $3 million retirement to a scam. TIAA’s AI caught it—but a human prevented disaster
By Preston ForeJune 17, 2026
3 hours ago
He fled Iran for the American dream, became a millionaire, and could have retired—instead, he built the health tech that saved his father from cancer
SuccessFortune The Good Life
He fled Iran for the American dream, became a millionaire, and could have retired—instead, he built the health tech that saved his father from cancer
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 17, 2026
4 hours ago
Citi, Ford, and Experian share their strategies for scaling AI agents
C-SuiteBrainstorm Tech
Citi, Ford, and Experian share their strategies for scaling AI agents
By Alexei OreskovicJune 16, 2026
13 hours ago

Most Popular

Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 16, 2026
23 hours ago
Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup
Success
Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup
By Preston ForeJune 15, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 15, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 15, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 15, 2026
2 days ago
Cursor’s 25-year-old CEO is a former Google intern who just cemented a $60 billion deal with SpaceX
AI
Cursor’s 25-year-old CEO is a former Google intern who just cemented a $60 billion deal with SpaceX
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 16, 2026
22 hours ago
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
Big Tech
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
By Tristan BoveJune 15, 2026
2 days ago
'Work hard, stay loyal, and the system will reward you': the Boomer credo is a Gen X betrayal and a Millennial pipe dream
Success
'Work hard, stay loyal, and the system will reward you': the Boomer credo is a Gen X betrayal and a Millennial pipe dream
By Nick LichtenbergJune 16, 2026
22 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.