Jony Ive felt Apple neglected design under Tim Cook: report

Apple's responsible for the iconic look of the iPhone left the gadget manufacturer last week after many years with Apple's design having lost its cache under Tim Cook, a new report claims.

Jony Ive, credited with the design of the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, had returned from the daily management long before announcing last week, he would leave the company after nearly 30 years, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Report suggested that much of the reason for the split could be trapped under the feet of Cook, who took on the role of the CEO after Steve Jobs died in 2011 and prioritized operations over design.

While Ive and Jobs worked together closely, the Design team was considered "god" during Jobs tenure ̵[ads1]1; Cook rarely walked in the design studio, Journal says.

Cook tried to keep Ive happy with a fancy title and generous pay package, but Ive was "disappeared" by the fact that Cook "showed little interest in the product development process," the report said.

Ives further provided Apple when he saw that the company's board of directors was populated by people with a background in finance and operations. And in recent years, he has increasingly been working from home in Hawaii, San Francisco and the UK – just stopped at Cupertino, California, at times, Journal said.

Cook called the story "absurd" in an email to NBC News that was posted on Twitter . "The design team is phenomenally talented. As Jony has said, they are stronger than ever," said Cook.

Ives will create its own design firm, called LoveFrom, which will retain Apple as its primary client.

Apple shares rose 1.8% to $ 201.55.