Update: John Gruber has written a post clarifying his comments explaining in more detail what he meant when he said the below quote. I can certainly see what means when he says that the quote can be taken out of context. In fact, he suggests listening to the section, which I completely agree with. Scroll down below to check it out.

I’ve heard that he has lately been checked out… not checked out, I guess, but not as directly involved with product design and that he’s been largely focused on architecture, meaning the spaceship campus and the new stores. And that maybe the other top-level executive who’s been working the most with Ive is Angela Arhendts.

The comment comes on the back of Apple releasing a photo book called “Designed by Apple in California” in which the company looks back the last 20 years of products made under Ive and his design team. Many Apple fans see the book as part of Ive’s slow retirement from Apple, some who believe that Ive has been on his way out for a while now.

It’s a fascinating thing to think about. Ive, who is perhaps Apple’s most important employee, has become more and more of a mystery in the years since Jobs’ passing in 2011. There are times when Ive isn’t even at Apple events, which certainly makes you wonder where Ive will be in a few years.

You can listen to Jony Ive section of the podcast here.