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

Trendingnow

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

3

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

3

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
InnovationOpenAI

Legendary Apple designer Jony Ive wants to fix our relationship with the phones he helped create—and has up to 20 different OpenAI gadgets to do so

Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
By
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
By
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 7, 2025, 12:15 PM ET
Jony Ive is now working at OpenAI after having previously cemented his design legacy at Apple.
Jony Ive is now working at OpenAI after having previously cemented his design legacy at Apple.Lia Toby—BFC/Getty Images

Former Apple designer Jony Ive, known for helping drive the world’s obsession with smartphones and other touch devices, has some thoughts on how to improve our relationship with technology.

Recommended Video

The 58-year-old designer was instrumental in creating the iPhone, iPod, and iPad, and is now helping OpenAI create AI-first devices after it acquired his AI hardware startup, Io, earlier this year for a cool $6.5 billion. But rather than replicate the work that made him famous, Ive said he wants to create devices that spark more joy and less anxiety, Business Insider reported.

“When I said we have an uncomfortable relationship with our technology, I mean that’s the most obscene understatement,” Ive said while being interviewed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman this week at OpenAI’s DevDay conference.

Ive said his latest work at OpenAI is a chance to completely change the situation the world finds itself in regarding technology so as to “not accept the norm.” Apparently, he and his team have no shortage of ideas to bring this vision to life.

“That momentum has led us to create 15 to 20 really compelling product ideas. The challenge is to focus,” Ive told Altman at the San Francisco event. “It would be easy if you knew there are three good ones. It’s just not like that. We’re designing a family of products. And we’re trying to make sure we’re judicious and thoughtful in what we focus on and to then not be distracted.”

Building an AI-first device

It’s unclear exactly what Ive is building at OpenAI, but Altman in a preview to staff earlier this year teased a “family of devices.” The Financial Times reported the secretive device may be palm-sized, without a screen. The device could also be responsive to voice prompts as well as audible and visual cues. Yet OpenAI still needs to solve critical problems that could delay the device’s launch, the FT reported.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.

Ive said he hopes the devices he and his team ultimately create address some of the biggest issues caused by smartphones and tablets, such as problems with concentration, patience, and anxiety. Researchers have also correlated “doomscrolling” negative news on social media with worsening mental health.

In what could be interpreted as a veiled criticism of his former company, Apple, Ive said OpenAI is going for the opposite of exclusivity. Apple, with its $1,000-plus phones, its “walled garden” of apps, and its conspicuous blue iMessage bubbles, has clearly positioned itself for years as the exclusive brand in a world overflowing with technology.

“The ramifications and consequences of not caring and not being careful are truly horrendous,” Ive said. “In terms of the interfaces we design, if we can’t smile honestly, if it’s just another deeply serious exclusive thing, I think that would do us all a huge disservice.”

The new generation of AI-first devices “should seem obvious—as if there wasn’t possibly another rational solution to the problem,” he added. 

Ive has previously talked about how the tech industry has changed since he moved to the Bay Area in 1992. When he arrived, Ive said he felt smart people in Silicon Valley were driven by a mission to serve humanity—a calling that has more recently been replaced in some cases by corporate agendas “driven by money and power.” 

Going back to the central idea of technology as a force for good and a tool to help the world is for him top of mind, Ive said during a talk with Stripe CEO Patrick Collison in May. 

“I think there needs to be foundational values and an understanding of our place in all of this and having a clear sense of the goal, which is to enable and inspire people,” he said.

The Fortune 500 Innovation Forum will convene Fortune 500 executives, U.S. policy officials, top founders, and thought leaders to help define what’s next for the American economy, Nov. 16-17 in Detroit. Apply here.
About the Author
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezReporter
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Role: Reporter
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez is a reporter for Fortune covering general business news.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Innovation

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 Innovation

Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Big TechSpaceX
Elon Musk’s proposed pay package in SpaceX’s IPO filing reveals what the company actually is: a $1 trillion monster built to colonize Mars
By Eva RoytburgMay 20, 2026
6 hours ago
Clinical Psychologist Daniel Wendler
ConferencesWorkplace Innovation Summit
A ‘proudly autistic’ workplace expert says putting neurodivergent employees in a typical office is like dropping a polar bear in Austin, Texas
By Tristan BoveMay 20, 2026
10 hours ago
Professor Jeff DeGraff.
SuccessWorkplace Innovation Summit
‘We’ve given them the short end of the stick’: Business school dean says AI could eliminate many jobs for young people—even as they lead innovation
By Preston ForeMay 20, 2026
10 hours ago
electrical transmission lines hang over a housing development on March 24, 2026 in Sylmar, California.
EnergyElectricity
2025 was a turning point for your electricity bill and it’s just getting more expensive from here. It’s not just data centers
By Tristan BoveMay 20, 2026
12 hours ago
chicks
InnovationScience
Jurassic Park isn’t just a movie anymore as de-extinction startup hatches live chicks
By Adithi Ramakrishnan and The Associated PressMay 20, 2026
14 hours ago
schmidt
AIColleges and Universities
The sound of graduating from college in the AI summer of 2026: boo!
By Heather Hollingsworth, Jocelyn Gecker and The Associated PressMay 20, 2026
14 hours ago

Most Popular

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
Success
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
By Preston ForeMay 20, 2026
15 hours ago
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
Future of Work
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
By Mike Householder and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
4 days ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
8 days ago
Dr. Bernice King on why companies that walked back DEI were never truly committed: 'If you retreat that quick…that reveals who you really are'
Workplace Culture
Dr. Bernice King on why companies that walked back DEI were never truly committed: 'If you retreat that quick…that reveals who you really are'
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
Spirit Airlines apologizes to all the Americans who can't afford any summer vacation flights as it shuts down
Travel & Leisure
Spirit Airlines apologizes to all the Americans who can't afford any summer vacation flights as it shuts down
By Rio Yamat and The Associated PressMay 18, 2026
3 days 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.