Despite its Zen façade, Apple has been known to take occasional jabs at its rivals, something that senior VP Jony Ive recently demonstrated in spectacular fashion when he launched an open attack on Motorola. And now Moto has hit back, ripping open what will hopefully be a hilarious tech bitch-slap contest.
Jony Ive’s comments spilled out during a recent interview with the BBC, where he openly criticised Motorola’s ‘build-your-own’ program. The program in question is Moto Maker, a service recently introduced in the UK which allows you to choose your own design and components for your Moto X smartphone.
Now Moto President Rick Osterloh has responded to Ive’s comments, defending his company’s design philosophy and adding a few choice words of his own regarding Apple’s ethos.
Ive’s original criticism of Motorola focused on the company’s design choices, something he himself has been responsible for at Apple. “Their value proposition was, ‘Make it whatever you want. You can choose whatever colour you want’, and I believe that’s abdicating your responsibility as a designer,” Ive said.
However, it seems that Motorola is taking the criticism on the chin. Osterloh told the BBC in a recent interview that “Our belief is that the end user should be directly involved in the process of designing products. We’re making the entire product line accessible. And frankly, we’re taking a directly opposite approach to them.”
Osterloh also added that he thought design was only a small part of what a smartphone should offer, adding “We do see a real dichotomy in this marketplace, where you’ve got people like Apple making so much money and charging such outrageous prices. We think that’s not the future.”
He went on to say that Motorola’s beliefs were centred more on equality and affordability, rather than high prices and courted exclusivity.
“We believe the future is in offering similar experiences and great consumer choice at accessible prices. The mobile phone industry’s greatest failure is also its greatest opportunity: to make really good, affordable devices for people who don’t want to spend a lot of money.”
“A great smartphone, and a great mobile internet experience, shouldn’t be an expensive luxury. It should be a simple choice for everyone.”
Sir Jony’s words could well be taken as a badge of honour by Motorola, as Apple’s track record when it comes to burning rivals is usually limited to companies it sees as a threat. With Motorola pulling back a significant market share in recent times, and its marked improvement in mobile output, it’s no real wonder.
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