![Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit - Day 2 Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit - Day 2](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/jony-ive.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
Apple’s head of design criticized other companies that he said copy the tech giant’s product design at an event Thursday night, The Verge reports.
“I don’t see it as flattery,” said Jony Ive, Apple’s senior vice president of design, at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit. “I actually see it as theft.”
The remarks came in response to a question about products produced by Chinese electronic company Xiaomi, some of which have been said to mimic Apple offerings like the iPad before being sold at a much cheaper price than Apple’s own devices. But Ive said his criticism was not directed at Xiaomi, but the companies he views as copycats more broadly.
When “you spend seven or eight years working on something, and then it’s copied—I have to be honest, the first thing I think isn’t ‘ooh, that was flattering,'” Ive said.
See How the Apple Watch Might Look if Reimagined by Fashion's Top Designers
![An artist's concept of an Apple Watch by Chanel.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/watch_chanel1.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![An artist's concept of an Apple Watch by Alexander Wang.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/watch_awang1.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![An artist's concept of an Apple Watch by Maison Martin Margiela.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/watch_mmm.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![An artist's concept of an Apple Watch by Givenchy .](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/watch_givenchy.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![An artist's concept of an Apple Watch by Louis Vuitton.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/watch_lv.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Why Biden Dropped Out
- Ukraine’s Plan to Survive Trump
- The Rise of a New Kind of Parenting Guru
- The Chaos and Commotion of the RNC in Photos
- Why We All Have a Stake in Twisters’ Success
- 8 Eating Habits That Actually Improve Your Sleep
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Get Our Paris Olympics Newsletter in Your Inbox
Write to Justin Worland at justin.worland@time.com