Departure of Apple’s Chief iPhone Designer Expected to Have Significant Impact on Company
Apple seems to be losing key people. Last week it was Steve Hotelling, a key person in biometrics at the iPhone maker, and now another key executive, iPhone and Apple Watch design director Tang Tan, is leaving in February of next year, according to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg notes that this has led to internal “ordering in the company’s most critical product lines.” Tan currently reports to John Ternus, Apple’s vice president of hardware engineering.
The immediate exchange details are unclear, but Tan’s responsibilities at Apple are managed by dividing them among different people. “The roles of several substitutes for Ternus and Tan will be expanded as part of the changes. They include Richard Dinh, Tan’s top lieutenant and head of iPhone product design,” the report adds.
It is said that Tan’s contribution to the iPhone, Apple Watch accessories and the company as a whole has been huge and that this is a “blow” to the Cupertino tech giant.
That’s especially because another key Apple figure, Steve Hotelling, known for his role in the iPhone’s Touch ID biometrics over the past decade, is leaving. He is said to be behind hundreds of Apple patents and has been instrumental in Apple’s iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. His role at Apple revolves around design components such as displays, health sensors and biometrics such as Face ID. Currently, he works as the company’s vice president.
In light of these high-profile exits, it will be interesting to see how Apple plans to continue its strategy of increasing its self-sufficiency by introducing in-house components such as phone modems and camera sensors.
