Head of iPhone and Apple Watch Product Design to Leave Apple

According to Mark Gurman, journalist Bloomberg and one of the most reliable sources about what’s going on inside Apple reports that Tan Tanwhich still serves Vice President of Product Designwill leave the company at February 2024. This is, of course, a significant change that will have an immediate impact on the organizational structure.

Tan Tan’s position is key at Apple. Who leads the product design of three of the most important devices: iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods.. While the reasons for his resignation are unknown, the report highlights that this is one of the biggest blows Apple has received this year, as Tan was the one who made critical decisions regarding the aforementioned products.

The work of Tan Tan and his subordinates is relevant because they are the ones designate look and the latest iPhone specifications. Therefore, they work together with the industrial design group and the operations group. “Beyond the iPhone, their work with Apple Watch and AirPods has helped turn those devices into important growth drivers for the Cupertino, California-based company,” explains Gurman.

Clearly, Apple moved quickly to fill this position with talented people who already had experience working on the same team. Richard DeanTan Tan’s right-hand man and head of iPhone design will be promoted and report directly to John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering.

In its turn, Keith Bergeronhead of Mac hardware development, will now take the reins of Apple Watch product design.

Apple is ready for change

This is not the only deviation that Apple has encountered recently. This same week, Steve Hotelling, who is responsible for Face ID, Touch ID and screen technologies, announced his farewell. However, in this case we are talking about retirement after a distinguished and long career at Apple. Another key person who retired is Yannick Bertholus, who oversaw quality control for hardware products.

Although these are people whose activities were noticeable, Apple is a company that is ready to face such situations.. On the other hand, it is also necessary to understand that although only a few make the most important decisions, there is a group of many talented people who work together to achieve the best results. It is for this reason that Apple, except in exceptional cases, does not take much time to choose replacements. There are usually experienced people who are promoted to take on new responsibilities.

At this point, it is of course impossible to measure how much Tan Tan’s departure will impact Apple. We’ll have to wait a few years and see through future product releases whether the company is still capable of making evolutionary leaps. Certainly, the field for innovation is getting smallerespecially in segments that have been on the market for many years.