Apple's Ive Promoted To Chief Design Officer

The UK-born designer who masterminded products such as the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch has been promoted to Apple's chief design officer.

Sir Jonathan Ive was previously senior vice president of design but revealed the new role in an interview with Stephen Fry.

The 48-year-old joined Apple in 1992 and has created the iconic products that have seen it become the world’s most valuable company, worth $763bn (£495bn).

Sir Jonathan told Fry in his Daily Telegraph interview he would travel more as part of the new role and spend more time on overseeing the design of the company’s growing number of stores.

The Chingford-born design guru will still have overall control of the look of Apple’s products and their user interface, but another Briton now steps up to head of industrial design.

Richard Howarth, who played a lead role in shaping the iPhone, is to take that role.

American Alan Dye, who designed the menus and navigation on the new Apple Watch, will become head of user interface.

Sir Jonathan, who is known as Jony, told Fry his two right-hand men are "as good as it gets".

Together, the trio will be in charge of developing the look and feel of Apple’s latest products.

Sir Jonathan studied industrial design at Newcastle Polytechnic, now Northumbria University and was knighted in 2012.

Apple finally dove into the wearable tech market with its latest product, the Watch, which went on sale last month.

Although widely praised for its design, its price has raised a few eyebrows with the cheapest £299 and a top-end gold edition costing £13,000.

Some early adopters also reported that the device malfunctions when worn by people with wrist tattoos.