Great tech innovators: Sir Jony Ive

Apple's Jony Ive
Apple's Jony Ive
  • Age: 48
  • Company: Apple
  • Best known for: iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
  • Quote: ""Very often design is the most immediate way of defining what products become in people's minds."

In a list of current tech innovators it's hard to overstate the importance of Apple's British designer Sir Jony Ive.

There are plenty of brilliant and talented engineers in Cupertino that disprove any mutterings about a lack of innovation in Apple, but it is perhaps Ive's insistence on a marriage between function and form that remains key to making big new products not only sell like hot cakes, but exert such an influence across the tech world.

From the smartwatch sector to his greatest hits - the iPhone, the iPad and the iPod - the 48-year-old Ive has played a huge role in moving our tech lives from beige boxes to sleek and sexy designs.

Ive started his career in Hoxton Square at a design company called Tangerine, but after being courted for years by Apple was brought over to work on projects like the second gen Apple Newton.

It was the iMac that began to bring the attention that Ive deserved, and after Steve Jobs' sad death, the Chingford-born designer's influence at Apple remains critical in all of its future projects.

  • In partnership with Microsoft, powered by the HP Spectre 360
TOPICS
Patrick Goss

Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content.  After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.

Latest in Tech
The best tech of MWC 2025 examples, including the Nothing Phone 3a Pro, the Nubia Flip 2, and the Lenovo Solar PC
Best of MWC 2025: the 10 top tech launches we tried on the show floor
Toy Fair 2025 Primal Hatch
The 7 best toys we saw at Toy Fair 2025, from a Lego boat to a hatching, robotic dinosaur
ICYMI
ICYMI: the 7 biggest tech stories of the week, from a next-gen Alexa to the new iPhone 16e
A triptych image featuring the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2, iPhone 16e and Amazon Echo Show 21.
5 hottest tech reviews of the week: the gorgeous, affordable iPhone 16e and Amazon's epic 21-inch Echo Show
Apple Airtag four pack on orange background with lowest price sign
The Apple AirTags are now even cheaper than Black Friday thanks to a surprise price cut at Amazon
Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 on purple background with big savings text overlay
Portable and powerful, the Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 gaming laptop with an RTX 4070 is $600 off right now
Latest in News
A hand holding a phone showing the Android Find My Device network
Android's Find My Device can now let you track your friends – and I can't decide if that's cool or creepy
Insta360 X4 360 degree camera without lens protector
Leaked DJI Osmo 360 image suggests GoPro and Insta360 should be worried – here's why
A YouTube Premium promo on a laptop screen
A cheaper YouTube Premium Lite plan just rolled out in the US – but you’ll miss out on these 4 features
Viaim RecDot AI true wireless earbuds
These AI-powered earbuds can also act as a dictaphone with transcription when left in their case
The socket interface of the Intel Core Ultra processor
Intel unveils its most powerful AI PCs yet - new Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processors pack in vPro for lightweight laptops and high-performance workstations alike
An Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070
Nvidia confirms that an RTX 5070 Founders Edition is coming... just not on launch day