As Jony Ive prepares to leave Apple, a Wall Street analyst says that he's 'clearly irreplaceable' and it's a 'major changing of the guard' (AAPL)

Jony Ive

The announcement from Apple that Chief Design Ifficer Jony Ive was leaving the company surprised Wall Street.
Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities, said that Ive is "clearly irreplaceable" because of his vision in designing the iMac, iPhone, and other products.
Still, it "only adds to the current agita" around Apple, as it faces big challenges like the growing tech cold war with China and a push into the video streaming arena, he says.
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When Apple announced that its long-time legendary design chief Jony Ive was leaving the company after 27 years, at least one analyst called it a "surprise to the Street" — which might account for the $8 billion hit Apple took to its market cap after the news broke.

"Ive is leaving a hole in the company and is clearly irreplaceable as he has been one of the most important figures at Apple throughout the past few decades; from his iMac vision to the stunning iPhone launch and transformation his fingerprints are deeply woven within Apple's core DNA," Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities, wrote in a note to clients following the news.

The analyst says that Ive's departure is a "major changing of the guard within Cupertino."

Still, he says, it "only adds to the current agita" around Apple, as it faces new challenges like an expansion into video streaming, slowing device sales, and the growing tech cold war with China.

"The major question now going forward is around future product innovation with one of the key visionaries of the Apple brand gone," Ives wrote.

Still, Ives says, investors are not too concerned about Apple. Ive's new design firm LoveFrom, which has a name that stems from a conversation with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, will have Apple as its first client. Ive plans to continue doing design projects for his former company, he told FT.

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