JONY IVE: The Apple Watch Is 'One Of The Most Difficult Projects I Have Ever Worked On'

Mike Nudelman/Business InsiderJony Ive, Apple's design boss.

Whenever you expand into a new product category, there's bound to be different and unexpected challenges. This was the case for Apple's design chief Jony Ive, who recently told Businessweek that the Apple Watch was among his most challenging assignments yet.

"It's probably one of the most difficult projects I have ever worked on," Ive said.

There are a few reasons the Apple Watch was so difficult to create, according to Businessweek. Other than the complex engineering, Apple had to work out the new physical interactions between the watch and its users. For example, the watch allows you to send a short buzz to another nearby Apple watch wearer to send them a notification.

Business InsiderThe Apple Watch

Ive had been working on the Apple Watch for three years, just after Steve Jobs had passed, the report says.

About one year into the project, Ive's team decided to ditch the traditional pinch-to-zoom interaction commonly used on touchscreens for a new type of controller - the digital crown.

Ive also talked about how crucial the wrist is for telling time and technology in general.

"What was interesting is that it took centuries to find the wrist and then it didn't go anywhere else," Ive said to Businessweek. "I would argue the wrist is the right place for the technology."