scott forstall
Latest
Video Flashback: Steve Jobs and Scott Forstall following the intro of the iOS SDK
When Apple rolled out the App Store in July of 2008, it gave developers the ability to take an already revolutionary device like the iPhone and take it to unforeseen heights. While mobile apps up to that point were often clunky affairs that featured mediocre graphics, poor user interfaces, and relatively limited functionality, the App Store ushered in a wave of polished and innovative apps that forever changed the way we use mobile devices. Looking back, rolling out an App Store seems like a no-brainer, but Steve Jobs, as it turns out, was actually opposed to the idea at first. Recall this excerpt from Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs biography. Apple board member Art Levinson told Isaacson that he phoned Jobs "half a dozen times to lobby for the potential of the apps," but, according to Isaacson, "Jobs at first quashed the discussion, partly because he felt his team did not have the bandwidth to figure out all the complexities that would be involved in policing third-party app developers." But after months of developers and users alike clamoring for an SDK, not to mention a thriving jailbreak community that was becoming increasingly hard to ignore, Apple had a change of heart. The company finally announced an SDK for iOS at a special media event held on March 6, 2008, about 9 months after the release of the original iPhone. In an interesting look back, the video below shows Steve Jobs, Scott Forstall, and Phil Schiller answering questions during a Q&A session that followed the introduction of the iOS SDK. Funny enough, the App Store that Steve Jobs initially opposed to would quickly become one of the iPhone's main selling points, as evidenced by the ubiquitious "There's an app for that" ad campaign. As it stands now, there are now over 1 million apps on the App Store, with consumers having downloaded over 60 billion apps over the last 5 years and 9 months. So let's just be thankful that Steve Jobs had a change of heart, because imagine life without an App Store, as described by Jobs himself during WWDC 2007. The full Safari engine is inside of iPhone. And so, you can write amazing Web 2.0 and Ajax apps that look exactly and behave exactly like apps on the iPhone. And these apps can integrate perfectly with iPhone services. They can make a call, they can send an email, they can look up a location on Google Maps. And guess what? There's no SDK that you need! You've got everything you need if you know how to write apps using the most modern web standards to write amazing apps for the iPhone today. So developers, we think we've got a very sweet story for you. You can begin building your iPhone apps today.
Why 9:41 AM is always the time displayed on iPhones and iPads
If you've ever paid close attention to Apple's advertising materials, you may or may not have noticed that the time depicted on Apple's products is always 9:41 AM. Apple's affinity for 9:41 AM is evident across much of the company's product line. For example, below is a current snapshot taken from Apple's website depicting OS X Mavericks running on a MacBook Air. The time? Why, 9:41 AM, of course! So what gives? Why do most official photos of Apple products show the same time? As one might expect, nothing about Apple's advertising efforts is ever left to pure chance. Consequently, there's actually a rather interesting explanation as to why the 9:41 AM timestamp is so darn prevalent. Back in April of 2010, developer Jon Manning was at an Apple retail store in Palo Alto for the original iPad launch when he found himself in the company of former iOS chief Scott Forstall. Curious about Apple's quirky and ever-present display time, Manning asked Forstall if there was any rhyme or reason behind it. Forstall answered: We design the keynotes so that the big reveal of the product happens around 40 minutes into the presentation. When the big image of the product appears on screen, we want the time shown to be close to the actual time on the audience's watches. But we know we won't hit 40 minutes exactly. So just to be safe, Forstall explained, Apple added another extra minute or two to provide a little bit of a cushion in the event of any slight holdups or delays. And lo and behold, if we go back to Engadget's liveblog of Steve Jobs unveiling the iPhone, check out when the iPhone portion of the event got started -- 9:41 and 9:42 right on the dot! Of course, not every Apple media event is timed just perfectly to the 41 minute mark. In fact, I'm not sure if any others ever have been. Jobs, for instance, introduced the iPad just 10 minutes after taking the stage, while the iPhone 5 and 5s were introduced 13 and 34 minutes into their respective media events. That being the case, the 9:41 AM display time still used by Apple today can be traced all the way back to Steve Jobs' legendary iPhone unveiling seven years ago. On a related note, keep in mind that some of the early iPhone promotional materials displayed a time of 9:42 AM, but Apple shortly thereafter began using 9:41 AM across the board. For instance, here's one of the first iPhone images Apple ever put up on its website. As a final point, if we take a look some of Apple's older marketing materials, we see that Apple was somewhat conscientious of the time display even during the pre-iPhone days. Here's a OS X Tiger screenshot from Apple's website that was put up in late December 2006 -- it's an hour later, but still somewhere around the 40-minute mark.
Leave it to The New Yorker to criticize Apple's '30 years of Mac' celebration
Leave it to The New Yorker to interpret Apple's celebration of 30 years of the Mac as proof that the company has lost its way without Steve Jobs at the helm. In an article titled, "Why is Apple being so nostalgic?" Yukari Iwatani Kane (formerly of the WSJ) uses Apple's recent and unusual acknowledgment of its past successes as a jumping off point to trot out a number of recycled and tired arguments intent on showing that Tim Cook's Apple of today bears a number of similarities to the problem-riddled company Apple would eventually become in the late '80s. Remarking on the recent "1.24.14" ad Apple released on Monday morning, Kane writes: But, as beautifully as the video depicted how the company's products have changed the world, it was also another reminder of how much Apple has changed since those days-not least because the old Apple, under Jobs, looked forward, not backward. "I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long," he had famously said. "Just figure out what's next." The new Apple doesn't look backwards either. I can't think of any other time Apple has expended this much time and energy in celebrating a past achievement. That Apple is acknowledging and celebrating the Mac's 30th birthday merely reflects the unique and far-reaching impact the Mac had on the computing industry. Apple's celebratory exception, in this case, proves the rule. Cook even made a point of emphasizing the rare nature of Apple's Mac celebration while speaking at a live concert held at Apple headquarters last week. Hell, there's even video of it. "We don't spend a lot of time looking back," Cook said. "We spend all of our time looking forward and working on the next big thing. But we're making an exception for today. Because 30 years ago today the Macintosh was born." Kane continues: In fact, the latest video was the second commemorative video that Apple had released in the past two weeks. That was on top of the birthday promotions on Apple's home page and in its stores, media interviews with ordinarily inaccessible executives, and a commemorative assembly for employees at Apple's headquarters. Is this really cause for concern? Really? Given how ostentatious some tech companies with money to burn can be, Apple's celebratory efforts seem rather tempered. Next, Kane proceeds to talk about the Apple Jobs left behind when he was effectively ousted from the company in 1985. Over the next few years, Kane writes, Apple was seemingly doing well without its co-founder leading the charge, what with growing Mac sales and ever-increasing revenues. But behind the scenes, the absence of Jobs began to play out in a number of harmful ways. Kane interviewed longtime Apple marketing manager Steve Scheier, who said that the company in the late '80s began hiring the wrong people and making mistakes it shouldn't have been making. Kane writes that Apple, instead of getting to the root of the problem, began basking in the glory of its past achievements. Apple began celebrating its past glories with commemorative T-shirts, a garden of Macintosh sculptures, and a display of an old Apple I in the cafeteria. Engineers obsessed about getting credited in every program that was released. It's a simplistic explanation, but even if we take it as painting the whole story, Kane's attempt to draw a parallel between that Apple and the Apple of today falls way flat. So what about now? Apple's supporters point to the company's billions of dollars in quarterly profit and its tens of billions in revenue as proof that it continues to thrive. But Apple's employees again know differently, despite the executive team's best efforts to preserve Jobs's legacy. People who shouldn't be hired are being hired (like Apple's former retail chief, John Browett, who tried to incorporate big-box-retailer sensibilities into Apple's refined store experience). People who shouldn't leave are leaving, or, in the case of the mobile-software executive Scott Forstall, being fired. There's so much wrong with this paragraph I don't even know where to begin. First, Kane writes without any shred of evidence that Apple employees "know" that Apple isn't really thriving, despite billions in revenue. The bit about hiring people "who shouldn't be hired" is just as confusing. Sure, Browett was the wrong guy to fill Ron Johnson's shoes, but Cook let him go not even a year into his tenure. No company, not even under the masterful command of Jobs, is immune from making hiring mistakes -- remember Mark Papermaster? What really matters is the ability to quickly acknowledge a mistake and fix it. The firing of Browett, I think, reflects highly on Cook. It demonstrates that he can own up to a mistake and values making right decisions more than his own ego. Meanwhile, Browett's soon-to-be replacement, one Angela Ahrendts, was a hire that was greeted with seemingly universal praise. As for people leaving who shouldn't, it's hard to say just what Kane is referring to here. Sure, Apple has famously lost a number of talented engineers and managers to feisty startups and established tech giants over the past few years. But that's just par for the course in the tipsy-topsy world of Silicon Valley, where valued employees often jump ship for other opportunities. So while Apple may lose talented folks, they're also incredibly capable of attracting A+ talent from other companies. Indeed, a number of stories over the past few months suggest that Apple has quietly been assembling a team of top-notch engineers and physicians with expertise in medical sensor technologies. So while it's unquestionably important for Apple to retain its top talent, this is a challenge faced by any big company in the tech sphere. Next, Kane all but says that the firing of Forstall is further proof that the wrong people are leaving Apple. But again, Kane provides no evidence to back up the claim that this was a disastrous move. If anything, rumor has it that Forstall was let go because he was a divisive figure who was notoriously tough to work with. And again, it's proof positive that Cook is more than capable of making tough decisions. Funny enough, Kane next brings up a series of recent Apple "mistakes," with her first example being Apple Maps. Never mind the fact that Forstall, as the head iOS at the time, was ultimately responsible for the software. And never mind the fact that a new worldwide mapping solution that works flawlessly from day one is a pipe dream. Other mistakes Kane reference include Apple's "short-lived Genius ads" and Apple's more recent manifesto ads. Sure, the Genius ads were nothing to write home about, but Apple was quick to cancel them upon realizing that they fell flat. And are we really categorizing mediocre ad campaigns as "mistakes"? Besides, Apple really seems to have hit their advertising stride over the last 18 months or so. As is often the case -- and The New Yorker article is a perfect example of this phenomenon -- people seem to afford an Apple without Jobs no slack whatsoever while ignoring that Apple under Jobs' command was not without its fair share of flops -- the G4 Cube and the Apple Hi-Fi come to mind. Can you even imagine what people would say about Cook and the state of Apple if the iPhone 4 antenna controversy transpired with Cook as CEO? Other Apple mistakes Kane puts forth include iOS 7 (apparently full of "bugs and flaws") and the fact that Apple hasn't created something new and amazing since the original iPad in 2010. Perhaps folks should remember that true innovation can't be set to an arbitrary timetable and that there was a solid 5.5-year gap between the iPod and the introduction of the iPhone. Wrapping things up, Kane writes: Although the company's C.E.O., Tim Cook, insists otherwise, Apple seems more eager to talk about the past than about the future. It's hard to see how Apple, in any way, shape or form, seems more eager to talk about the past than the future. Save for Apple's recent Mac celebration, Kane once again provides no supporting evidence. In short, Kane curiously attempts to spin one week of Apple celebrating the Mac's 30th anniversary into a representative sample of Cook's two-and-a-half-year tenure as CEO. It's pretty weak sauce. The article concludes with a head-scratcher: Even when it refers to the future, it is more intent on showing consumers how it hasn't changed rather than how it is evolving. The thirtieth anniversary of the Macintosh-and the "1984" ad-is not just commemorative. It is a reminder of what Apple has stopped being. I'm not even sure what this is supposed to mean. In the first sentence, Kane writes that Apple is more focused on showing consumers that it hasn't changed. But in the next, Kane chastises Apple for not being the type of company it was back in 1984. So Kane seemingly wants Apple to be the same type of company it was 30 years ago, but, at the same time, believes it needs to show consumers that it's evolving. Gotta love The New Yorker.
Want to know what Scott Forstall has been up to?
In October of last year, Tim Cook shocked the world (okay, the Apple world) when he let go of iOS mastermind, longtime NeXT/Apple employee, and Steve Jobs sidekick Scott Forstall. It's worth noting that Forstall, though largely regarded as a brilliant engineer, was reportedly a divisive figure who was not always easy to work with. Some reports indicated that Forstall would routinely clash with Jony Ive and Bob Mansfield. When asked for his opinion on Forstall's unceremonious departure, former Apple exec Tony Fadell went so far as to say that "Scott got what he deserved." Since being let go a little over a year ago, Forstall has largely been MIA. Naturally, many were left wondering just what in the world Forstall was up to. Did he take up residence on one of Larry Ellison's super yachts, hiding from the press on the high seas? Did he sign up for the Google Glass explorer program? Will he ever tweet again? One of the more pressing questions remains frustratingly unanswered -- what does Scott Forstall think of iOS 7? While that question lingers on, we finally do have some information regarding Forstall's activity in the months since leaving Apple. According to the recently launched The Information, former WSJ journalist Amir Efrati catches us up to speed. Efrati writes that Forstall spent much of the last year traveling in Italy and South Africa. Forstall also spent some time lending some of his wise counsel to a few startups while also dabbling in some philanthropic endeavors. As for what's next, that's anyone's guess. Efrati relays that some top VC firms may be interested in Forstall while it's also possible that Forstall many branch out and start a brand new company on his own. Either way, it's nice to hear that Forstall is alive and well and seemingly enjoying the post-Apple chapter of his life. Forstall began working at NeXT in 1992 and joined Apple a few years later when NeXT was acquired to save what was then a floundering Apple in desperate need of a new OS and fresh leadership.
Scott Forstall may re-emerge as witness in upcoming Apple/Samsung trial on damages
Since his unceremonious firing last October, we haven't heard a peep from or about former Apple executive Scott Forstall. If you recall, rumor has it that Tim Cook effectively told Forstall to take a permanent vacation after the long-time Steve Jobs protégé refused to sign off on a letter apologizing to consumers for glitches in Apple's Maps app. Now comes word that Forstall may re-emerge as a witness during Apple and Samsung's upcoming trial where the only issue to be determined will be how much Samsung owes Apple for infringing upon a number of Apple's design and utility patents. Macworld reports: The two sides Friday filed a joint pretrial statement and lists of potential witnesses they may call. Apple's list includes Phil Schiller, the company's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, and Scott Forstall, the former senior vice president of iOS software. Forstall, of course, testified during the Apple/Samsung trial last summer where he revealed a number of previously unknown tidbits about the iOS design process and the secret history behind the development of the iPhone. Given that the upcoming trial, slated to get underway in November, will focus exclusively on damages, we likely won't get much more juicy information. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see Forstall take the stand given that he's been 100% absent from any sort of limelight since leaving Apple nearly 12 months ago.
TUAW over-analyzes the Apple event invitation
Shortly after @jdalrymple announced to the world that the invitations for the September 10, 2013 Apple event had been sent out, TUAW Editor-in-Chief Victor Agreda, Jr. noted that @HereIsTrev had tweeted the following message: "Please don't over analyse every last aspect of the apple invite ... oh, too late." Here's our take on the invitation, BuzzFeed-style: There are 25 full or partial circles on the invitation (I counted). 25 is the square of five, which means that the "S" in iPhone 5S means "Five-squared." Of course, these colors represent the spectrum of case colors for your new iPhone. Only two of the circles are green, which Greenpeace should take notice of as it means that the new iPhone is ruining the environment. The four empty circles are representative of the loss of Steve Jobs, Scott Forstall, John Browett and (most recently) Bob Mansfield from the executive ranks of Apple. Blue is the most prevalent color on the invitation, which proves that Bondi Blue will be one of the colors for the new iPhone. The phrase "brighten everyone's day" is all about the new display technology for the iPhone, which will be incredibly readable in full sunlight. Many of the overlapping circles appear to be Venn diagrams. We are doing our best to determine what that means... The fact that Apple couldn't come up with a color for its logo in the center is a sign that the company is fresh out of innovative ideas. Tracing the path of the colored dots reveals a new gesture that'll conjure up the spirit of Steve Jobs. The dots are stylized fingerprints, meaning that the new iPhone will feature a fingerprint-authentication feature. The dot-filled invite also suggests iOS 7 will be sponsored by America's favorite candy, DOTS. See Android KitKat for context. The thin font used on the invite hints at a thinner bezel for the iPhone display. The multiple colors used on the invite suggest Apple will surprise us with multi-user support in a subsequent version of iOS 7.x. Those round circles are indicative of pixels on the screen of Apple's long-awaited HDTV, which will be known as "Munstervision" in honor of the one man who believed in the product, Gene Munster.
Reuters profiles Tim Cook
On August 24, 2011, Tim Cook assumed the CEO role at Apple. Now, about two years later, Reuters has an interesting profile up detailing Cook's management style and the ways in which Apple has changed and stayed the same under his command. Described as a hardworking and "even-keeled" executive, people close to Cook tell Reuters that the Apple CEO can actually be quite funny and charming in smaller group settings. Indeed, while Cook's public persona may easily be described as stoic and serious, he has shown a lot more of his personality and wit in recent one-on-one interviews. One thing that has never been in dispute is that Cook, who Jobs once described as a "cool customer," has a completely different management style than Jobs. Reuters reports: In the day to day at Apple, Cook has established a methodical, no-nonsense style, one that's as different as could be from that of his predecessor. Jobs' bi-monthly iPhone software meeting, in which he would go through every planned feature of the company's flagship product, is gone. "That's not Tim's style at all," said one person familiar with those meetings. "He delegates." Still, he has a tough side. In meetings, Cook is so calm as to be nearly unreadable, sitting silently with hands clasped in front of himself. Any change in the constant rocking of his chair is one sign subordinates look for: when he simply listens, they're heartened if there is no change in the pace of his rocking. "He could skewer you with a sentence," the person said. "He would say something along the lines of 'I don't think that's good enough' and that would be the end of it and you would just want to crawl into a hole and die." While Cook may not be prone to unleash swear-word-laden tirades, he -- like Jobs -- has no problem demanding perfection and acting decisively when those standards aren't met. For instance, recall that Cook was quick to let go of Scott Forstall in the wake of the controversy surrounding the release of Apple's homegrown Maps app. Rumor has it that the final straw was when Forstall refused to add his name in an apology letter Cook penned to Apple's customers. In any event, one thing that you have to give Cook credit for is that he's not blindly following in the footsteps of Jobs. With Cook running the show, Apple has been more transparent about its supply chain and environmental practices. Furthermore, Apple, under Cook, also began issuing quarterly dividend payments, something Jobs was seemingly reluctant to do. The full Reuters profile on Cook doesn't add anything shocking to Apple's current narrative, but provides some interesting insights into the mindset and management style of the typically private and low-key Cook. It's well worth checking out.
The Wall Street Journal on Apple's Craig Federighi
While watching Apple's keynote earlier this week, I was particularly struck by Craig Federighi's presentation. He was affable, felt comfortable on stage, was informative, interacted with the audience and even had a few zingers to boot. That said, it's likely no coincidence that Federighi received the most stage time on Monday, handling presentation duties both for OS X Mavericks and iOS 7. The Wall Street Journal today has an interesting profile on Federighi, an important member of Apple's executive team that many people may not know much about. The lanky, 44-year-old engineer has a long Apple pedigree. He worked at Next, the other computer company founded by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, and joined Apple when it acquired the company in 1997. But despite earning the respect of colleagues for his focus and affability, he has remained behind the scenes for years. Mr. Federighi spent much of his career working on enterprise software, which has never been Apple's focus. Interestingly enough, the Journal notes that Federighi's career began alongside Scott Forstall when the two worked at NeXT together back in the early '90s. While Forstall quickly rose through the ranks after Apple acquired NeXT, Federighi's enterprise-centric expertise eventually prompted him to leave Apple for Ariba where he would ultimately become the company's CTO. In 2009, Federighi returned to Apple to head up OS X engineering. While Scott Forstall was reportedly a divisive figure within Apple, Federighi appears to be more of a team player who operates by consensus. Consequently, the Journal notes that some decisions regarding Apple's software direction have taken longer to implement. All in all, it might be too early to call Federighi the new face of Apple, but I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing a lot more of him at Apple special events in the future. The Journal has a lot more on Federighi that's definitely worth a read. Incidentally, my favorite Federighi quip during the keynote was when he announced that OS X Mavericks would finally offer support for multiple displays. The crowd began applauding wildly, whereupon Federighi jokingly clarified that Apple's wasn't actually giving away new displays to users, remarking that it's "just software." Good stuff.
Tim Cook: Executive change-up at Apple has been great; Jony Ive has been 'really key' to iOS 7 design
In October 2012, Apple casually announced via press release a blockbuster shakeup at the executive level. Scott Forstall, who was arguably the face of iOS, was shown the door as Jony Ive, Bob Mansfield, Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi all assumed additional responsibilities within the company. The reported difficulties of working with Forstall notwithstanding, the expressed purpose of the executive shakeup was to tightly integrate Apple's hardware, software and services to an even greater degree. Seven months later, at the annual All Things D conference, Tim Cook explained to Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher that so far things under the new hierarchy have been going great. "Really, really great," to be exact. Last fall, we changed things up a bit. We did it to enhance collaboration. The key, for us, to have a killer product -- it's to have incredible hardware, incredible software and incredible services. And then you combine them in a way that you can't tell what's what any more. The real magic occurs at the intersection of that. It's what Apple has always been about. This change just amped it up even more. Following that, Kara Swisher asked Cook about Forstall, inquiring as to whether or not the man tapped by Steve Jobs to spearhead the original development of Apple's mobile OS was a collaborative team player. Ever the corporate diplomat, Cook craftily sidestepped the question: I don't want to talk about anyone in particular except for those who are there. The whole concept was to tighten the groups even more, so we could spend more time finding magic in intersections. Seven months later, give or take, I think it has been an incredibly great change. Craig is running both iOS and OS X. This has been fantastic. Eddy Cue is focused on services. These changes have been great -- really, really great. Cook also confirmed that Ive has been lending his aesthetic sensibilities to the next iteration of iOS. While Cook refused to comment on rumors that iOS 7 might see a dramatic UI overhaul, he did note that Ive has been "really key" to its development. Lastly, Cook confirmed that we'll be able to get a full look at the future of both iOS and OS X at this year's WWDC which is scheduled to kick off on Monday, June 10.
Tony Fadell claims Scott Forstall 'got what he deserved'
Former Apple employee Tony Fadell, known for his work on the iPod, talked to the BBC's Leo Kelion about his time at Apple and his current work at Nest. He also briefly discussed Scott Forstall and his clashes with the former iOS chief. Fadell didn't elaborate on his relationship with Forstall; he just repeated several times that "Scott got what he deserved." Apple didn't disclose the reasons why Forstall was removed from his position as vice president of iOS software, but reports from insiders suggest Forstall was polarizing within the company and often clashed with other employees.
Daily Update for November 1, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Apple's Bob Mansfield: influenced to stay by Scott Forstall's departure?
In the latest episode of the soap opera known as "Apple: As The Revolving Door Turns", we saw Senior Vice President of Technologies Bob Mansfield being persuaded somehow to stay on with the company for at least another two years while former iOS software VP Scott Forstall was quietly ushered out the door. Now AllThingsD is positing that apparently Mansfield stayed on because he knew that Forstall would be leaving. AllThingsD's John Paczkowski notes that a source close to Apple told the site that "the timing of Bob's return is not coincidental." Mansfield apparently disliked Forstall's confrontational style and avoided him at all costs. A Bloomberg post from last year quoted former Apple software engineer Mike Lee as referring to Forstall as "Apple's chief a-hole" as a compliment. That same post pointed out that other executives, including Mansfield and Industrial Design Senior VP Jony Ive, would not attend meetings with Forstall unless Tim Cook was present. Forstall was, according to the year-old Bloomberg post, "a striver who was better at managing up than down -- that is, making sure his accomplishments were noticed first, and blaming others for mistakes." The iOS 6 Maps debacle appears to have been one mistake too many for Apple CEO Tim Cook to ignore, and served as an easy way to show Forstall the door. In retrospect, the year-old Bloomberg post appears to have been a roadmap for the reorganization that occurred this week.
Apple retail exec John Browett's departure not surprising
When the first wave of news was breaking about Apple and its executive shuffle, the initial focus was on Scott Forstall leaving even though that's not actually happening until 2013. According to the Wall Street Journal, both Forstall and John Browett, Apple's vice president of retail, were asked to leave with Browett's departure an immediate one. Perhaps the reason this didn't get more initial attention is because it was hardly surprising. First, he came to Cupertino with a less-than-stellar résumé. Previously, he had been CEO of Dixons, a UK retail electronics company not known for excellent customer service. To put it mildly, he was considered a surprising choice, particularly by those who'd actually shopped at Dixons. Once he settled in at Apple, he promptly ignored advice about staffing levels and started making staffing cuts and other changes to turn Apple retail into the same sort of suboptimal experience people can have at any number of other places. When word got out that Browett was attempting to strip Apple retail of its Apple-ness, the staffing order was rescinded. This adds a bit of retroactive speculation about why the Annual Retail Conference was cancelled on such short notice. Did the head of retail cancel it as part of his quest for cost-cutting? Or was it killed because of bonus product announcements last week? Or was it because the head of retail wouldn't be there since he was back in California cleaning out his desk? We will probably never know. What's telling is that recruiting someone to head up retail will take time, and Apple would rather let the retail division spend some -- or all -- of the holiday season without a leader than let it go on under Browett.
Mapping Scott Forstall's departure from Apple
When Apple announced earlier today that -- along with several executive leadership changes -- Senior Vice President of iOS Software Scott Forstall would be leaving the company in 2013, theories began to fly from every corner of the web. (Some on our team began to suspect changes afoot when Forstall didn't have any onstage presence at last week's iPad mini event, though he did appear in the audience -- seated near former Apple software exec Bertrand Serlet.) In this case, however, there isn't a terrible amount of digging that needs to be done to reach the conclusion that Forstall simply isn't a good fit for Apple right now, and he made Tim Cook's decision to part ways a lot easier by shooting himself and iOS 6 in the foot. On the most basic level, Forstall's design philosophy doesn't fall perfectly in line with the rest of Apple. Where hardware guru Jony Ive sees sleek and simple lines, Forstall sees overly ornate virtual bookshelves, a ludicrously detailed digital notebook, and other skeuomorphic touches that were the trademark of the Steve Jobs era. In Cook's quest to make Apple his own, keeping Forstall around probably wasn't helping matters. You need only look as far as Forstall's immediate successor to confirm this notion: None other than Jony Ive will now "provide leadership" on both the hardware and software sides of the design coin from here on out. "His incredible design aesthetic has been the driving force behind the look and feel of Apple's products for more than a decade," boasts the official press release. Indeed. But if you're Tim Cook, you can't just up and fire a guy who has worked so hard to help make iOS the success that it is. Well, you could, but it's a lot easier if the person in question manages to really, really disappoint not only you, but millions of customers all at once. Enter Apple Maps. With Apple Maps in iOS 6, Forstall did two things. First, he pissed off plenty of loyal Apple devotees. And second, he gave Cook a very good reason to say goodbye. Fortune's Adam Lashinksy suggests that the Maps fingerpointing within Apple got to the point where Forstall refused to sign a letter apologizing for dropping the ball (although Jim Dalrymple is throwing some cold water on that). As an employee, that's not the kind of decision that keeps you in the inner circle. It may seem rash, but remember, Apple Maps was so poorly executed that Cook himself had to apologize to Apple's entire customer base. The CEO of Apple had to write a letter suggesting that iPhone and iPad owners download the Bing app or even bookmark Google Maps on their mobile web browsers while the company figures out how to fix its own maps data. That's not something to be taken lightly, and Cook clearly wasn't willing to be put in that situation ever again. For all the good Forstall has done for the company, including his work on OS X, shaping iOS over the years and introducing us to Siri (whether you like her or not), completely fumbling one of the most important functions of the company's mobile operating system would be enough to get anyone the axe. Add to that an attitude about design that just didn't fit what the company was trying to accomplish, and there's really no mystery as to why Forstall is now on his way out.
iOS and OS X teams joined under Craig Federighi
Today, Apple announced that their iOS and OS X teams would join together as Scott Forstall leaves Apple. Craig Federighi (photo at right) will take over, leading the joined teams. Apple's press release stated, "This move brings together the OS teams to make it even easier to deliver the best technology and user experience innovations to both platforms." At the October 2010 Back to the Mac event, Steve Jobs first discussed what would later be known as the "Post PC" world. He talked about including lessons from iOS in the new operating system, and highlighted how consumer-centered products were the future. Today's developments follow on from that initial road map, bringing the two operating systems under a single team. Developer reaction to this change has been mixed. Some, speaking off the record, stated they do not feel that Apple's recent push towards bringing iOS features and design patterns has been a positive change for OS X. OS X Mountain Lion introduced iOS-like application sandboxing and GateKeeper along with other iOS-originated features like Notification Center and Reminders. Sandboxing curtails OS X application development in very iOS-like ways. Applications must request specific "entitlements" that provide exemptions to OS-imposed barriers. Forstall was notably not part of the October Event last week that introduced the fourth generation iPad, the iPad mini, and a revamped line of Macintoshes. The former VP of iOS, Forstall sold off 95 percent of his Apple shares this past May.
Apple executive shakeup: Scott Forstall and John Browett are leaving the company
Huge news out of Apple today, as its senior vice president of iOS software, Scott Forstall, will leave the company next year after putting in some 15 years. Furthermore, John Browett -- head of Apple retail -- is also on his way out. The memo was delivered late today, on a day that is littered with other news that the company may hope will bury the bulk of it -- and, on a day where trading on the New York Stock Exchange is halted due to Hurricane Sandy. It's practically a given that Forstall is taking the brunt of the impact from its decision to forge ahead with an obviously subpar Maps application, all while trumpeting it as one of the pillars of iOS 6 during his keynote speech at WWDC 2012. The introduction of Siri as a beta product is also on Forstall, and we all know what happens to executives who flub something related to iPhone.... As the shakeup unfolds, Jony Ive, Bob Mansfield, Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi will add more responsibilities to their roles. In other words, Tim Cook isn't about to usher in new help who may thwart the company's efforts to continue at its breakneck pace. Curiously, Mansfield will be heaping more on his own plate just months after he had originally planned to retire. As for Ive? He'll be responsible for providing "leadership and direction for Human Interface (HI) across the company in addition to his role as the leader of Industrial Design." Eddy Cue will be gifted burdened with Siri and Maps, while also keeping an eye on the iTunes Store, the App Store, the iBookstore and iCloud. Needless to say, he probably won't be seeing too many walls outside of Cupertino for the foreseeable future. Federighi is being tasked to lead both iOS and OS X, while Mansfield chairs a new Technologies group that bundles Apple's wireless teams across the company. (Of note, Dan Riccio -- who was scheduled to take over for Mansfield prior to his retirement retraction -- isn't among those who are gaining duties.) Just months after Browett was brought in from Dixons in order to lead up Apple's retail efforts, he's on the outs as well. Of course, he's also responsible for the branch having to tell stores that it "messed up" when he fiddled with staffing levels back in August. A search for a new head of Retail is underway and in the interim, the Retail team will report directly to CEO Tim Cook. Update: The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Forstall was asked to resign after refusing to sign his own name to Apple's Maps apology, leaving Tim Cook to sign his name instead. Yikes. %Gallery-169590%
Daily Update for October 1, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Apple's iPhone 5 keynote event now live for online viewing
San Francisco shook today, but thankfully, it wasn't from an earthquake. In case you missed today's event, Apple took the wraps off of the new iPhone 5, along with a new batch of iPods, a new version of iTunes and a round of price reductions. A replay of the keynote is available on Apple's website, where you can join Tim Cook, Phil Schiller, Scott Forstall and even the Foo Fighters make waves. So grab your beverage of choice and settle in for two hours of gadget goodness -- you'll find it at the source link below.
iPhone 5 vs. iPhone 4S: what's changed?
Its name is enough to send CEOs into cold sweats, which is why the rest of the mobile world spent last week announcing their hardware back-to-back to steal a march on this handset. Now, after all of the rumor, speculation and leaks, Apple's sixth iPhone has finally been unveiled in San Francisco. We've got around 45 minutes before the world begins idly speculating about next year's iteration, so let's spend what little time we have delving into what's changed between now and the last time we were here. Check out our liveblog of Apple's event to get the latest news as it happens! Check out all the coverage at our iPhone 2012 event hub!
Apple exec talks about the iPhone's early days, the secrecy of 'Project Purple'
The back and forth of Apple and Samsung's spat can be tiring, it's true, but the legal debacle has its moments. Cupertino's Scott Forstall, for instance, took the stand on Friday to give some insights on the beginnings of what Apple called "Project Purple," and the secrecy that surrounded the first iPhone's development. "We're starting another project," Forstall would tell potential recruits to the project, "It's so secret I cannot tell you what the project is. You are going to have to give up nights and weekends for a couple years." These were the words that conscripted much of the team that would eventually build Apple's first phone. Forstall said that the engineers he recruited weren't told anything about the project or even who they would report to -- eventually, Apple locked down one of its Cupertino buildings, affectionately calling it the "purple dorm" for its vague pizza-like aroma. When Apple's attorney questioned the senior vice president of iOS software about how the Project Purple team drove innovation, Forstall went on to describe the challenge of building a touch-centric OS. "Everything we dealt with before was based on mouse and keyboard, and here we were changing the entire user interface to be based around touch. We had to rethink everything about what big controls would be knowing where you are in the document, knowing when you reach the list... Every single part of every device had to be rethought for doing touch." Samsung's legal team was more concerned with how Project Purple was inspired by competitor devices; Forstall responded by saying that Apple simply tested Purple's call performance against other devices, noting that "it's fine to benchmark for performance reasons, it's not OK to copy and rip something off." The comments are interesting, but they probably won't weight too heavily on the jury's final decision. Still, the stories are entertaining, and worth a read for those interested in the iPhone's origins. Even so, we'll be glad when the patent wars are finally over.
