“Apple also announced that Scott Forstall will be leaving Apple next year and will serve as an advisor to CEO Tim Cook in the interim.”
(Via 512 Pixels.)
Forstall was the head of iOS software development, which will now be lead by Craig Federighi, who also helms the OS X group. His portfolio included Apple Maps (poorly received due to errors in the map backing data) and Siri (labeled “beta” upon release and for some, not useful). Philip Elmer-Dewitt covered the situation for Fortune last month.
Forstall was once seen as a possible heir to Steve Jobs. Apple doesn’t well tolerate poor performance.
Jony Ive, head of Industrial Design, will pick up duties overseeing human interface design across the company’s product lines. That’s very good news. Ive is the creative mind behind Apple’s iconic iPod, iPhone and iPad mobile device hardware design. I like to think of Jony as Steve Jobs’ spiritual successor at Apple.
A Random Stroll 