Steve Jobs Air Bubbles Argument

The iPhone Corning Glass story is up there with the time Apple was developing the iPod and Jobs felt a prototype of the MP3 player was too bulky and heavy. Jobs demanded a smaller version and took an unusual step to make his point, per David Brown writing in The Atlantic: The engineers explained that they had to reinvent inventing to create the iPod, and that it was simply impossible to make it any smaller. Jobs was quiet for a moment. Finally he stood, walked over to an aquarium, and dropped the iPod in the tank. After it touched bottom, bubbles floated to the top. "Those are air bubbles," he snapped. "That means there's space in there. Make it smaller."

A text screenshot recounts Steve Jobs dropping an iPod prototype into an aquarium after engineers said it could not be made smaller. When air bubbles rise, he points out that the bubbles prove there is unused space inside and demands a smaller design. The joke highlights Jobs’s intense, absurdly direct approach to product engineering. EN: A text screenshot recounts Steve Jobs dropping an iPod prototype into an aquarium after engineers said it could not be made smaller. When air bubbles rise, he points out that the bubbles prove there is unused space inside and demands a smaller design. The joke highlights Jobs’s intense, absurdly direct approach to product engineering.

• @gentoomemes / 13159 2024-09-04