The New Yorker's epic profile of Apple design-guru Jony Ive is must-read material, but not every Apple competitor is happy with it.
In the profile, author Ian Parker quotes Ive attacking an unnamed company that has a program designed to let consumers customize their phones. "I believe that's abdicating your responsibility as a designer," Ive said.
Although Parker didn't identify the company Ive was talking about, it seems pretty clear that the target was Motorola.
You may recall that Motorola has its Moto Maker program for the Moto X line of Android phones.
Motorola's response to Ive's purported slight? Naturally, the company isn't pleased. Speaking to the BBC, Motorola's president Rick Osterloh says that the two companies have "a different philosophy."
"Our belief is that the end user should be directly involved in the process of designing products," Osterloh said. "And frankly, we're taking a directly opposite approach to [Apple]," he added.
Osterloh then shifted from defending Moto Maker to criticizing Apple's pricing scheme.
"We do see a real dichotomy in this marketplace, where you've got people like Apple making so much money and charging such outrageous prices. We think that's not the future," he said.
"A great smartphone, and a great mobile internet experience, shouldn't be an expensive luxury," he added. "It should be a simple choice for everyone."
Osterloh's criticism may be valid -- but we have to wonder if he would be saying the same thing if Motorola was able to sell as many phones as Apple with such a strong profit margin.
As it stands, in less than four years, Motorola has been sold twice. First to Google in 2011, then to Lenovo in 2014.
It's also worth noting that Motorola tried -- and failed -- to sell smartphones for the same price as Apple sells the iPhone. It was only with the lower-cost Moto G and Moto E devices that the company finally found itself moving units.