Apple’s iPhone design process revealed

Even the harshest critics of Apple would have to admit that when it comes to design, the tech giant has been a step ahead of competition. Apple’s products – iPhone, iPad or MacBook – have always drawn envious glances from one and all, including competition. Design is, according to Bill Lee, Apple’s attorney, “at the heart of Apple and the heart of this case.” The case Lee is referring to dates back to 2011 and is against Apple’s bitter rival Samsung. According to a CNET report, Lee in the court said, “Apple puts design before everything else. Apple first and foremost wants to make beautiful products that people like you want to purchase and, more importantly, use.”

Perhaps that’s why Apple over the years has been fiercely secretive about its design philosophy. That was until now as during the court proceedings, the Cupertino-based giant had to reveal its design process. The CNET report quotes Richard Haworth, senior director of Apple’s design team, who in the court said that Apple rejected hundreds of prototypes before the first iPhone was unveiled in 2007.

The prototypes that were rejected included one with an octagonal bezel and another which had a light gray front. The CNET report quotes Howarth, “It didn’t represent what we were trying to do, which was create something that felt friendly and understandable.”

Eventually, the design Apple zeroed in on was “something that you could get your head around. It wasn’t buttons everywhere,” Howarth revealed in the court, according to CNET.