Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s Senior Vice President of design Jony Ive accused the Chinese mobile device maker Xiaomi of stealing the designs and being lazy in creating original and distinct designs of their own. The Vice President of Xiaomi, Hugo Barra came forward in defense once again on Tuesday.
Previously, Barra responded to the claims at a Vanity Fair Conference held on the 9th of October. The issue was not getting settled and therefore he had to speak once again on this topic.
Conflicting views of Ive and Barra
At a Live technology conference held at the Laguna Beach, California, Barra said “Our designers, our engineers, are inspired by great products and great design out there. In today’s world, who isn’t?” He supported his argument saying that it is impossible to name a single product that has a completely unique design language in their industry.
Ive has a very different opinion on designs being copied by smartphone firms, saying “You spend seven or eight years working on something, and then it’s copied. I have to be honest, the first thing I can think, all those weekends that I could have at home with my family but didn’t. I think it’s theft, and it’s lazy.”
Apple too copies?
Barra very humbly said that he is a huge fan of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) devices and appreciated the latest release made by the company for its beautiful design and said that it was the most beautiful smartphone designed till date.
Barra went on with his appreciation for the brand and said that Apple is the ‘world’s design Mecca,’ adding that the inspirations for the design from other sources are taken by Apple, as well. He made a comparison between the designs of Apple iPhone 6 and HTC devices, and said that the design for the iPhone was borrowed from smartphone manufacturer HTC.
Barra said that the idea used by Apple was already in existence and they made their own twist on top. “That’s what they do. That’s what we do,” added Barra. The hardware and software designs at Apple are monitored by Ive and he has also provided his help in building designs for the iconic products at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) such as the iPhone, the iPad, iMac and the Apple Watch that is yet to be released.
