Jony Ive, co-founder of design firm LoveFrom and Apple's former chief of design has announced his first hardware project post his Apple exit – a $60,000 record player.

What Happened: Jony Ive's design firm LoveFrom has collaborated with British audio brand Linn to launch the 50th-anniversary edition of the Sondek LP12-50 turntable. Priced at a cool $60,000, only 250 units of the record player will be produced and sold between August 2023 and March 2024.

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While Linn focused on the sonic elements of the record player, Ive's firm focused on the industrial design part of it.

Ive's love for audio products is not new – he designed the first iPod and was the chief of design at Apple for 22 years between 1997 and 2019. His love for music brought him back to designing another audio product, and Ive says he's gone "full circle" now.

"There's a substantial percentage of our work which we do purely for the love of doing it," Ive told Fast Company, saying that he actually did it for free.

It Started Over A LinkedIn DM: Ive's return to designing hardware began with a LinkedIn message to Linn CEO Gilad Tiefenbrun – Ive's assistant reached out to Tiefenbrun. After initially thinking that it was spam, Tiefenbrun eventually replied.

"I'd love to work with you on a special edition," Ive told Tiefenbrun the next morning.

While not everyone might buy a $60,000 record player, the Sondek LP12-50 turntable will resonate with Apple fans particularly those who have grown up with Ive designing everything from iPods to iPhones and more.

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Image credits: Linn