Earlier this week, we learned iOS chief Scott Forstall will leave Apple at the end of this year and has been moved to an advisory role to CEO Tim Cook until then. Giving us a look into the closed doors of Apple, Bloomberg noted this morning that Forstall and famed-Apple designer Jony Ive had a fiery relationship and couldn’t work together in the same room—nor be together during meetings. During the beginning design phases, Forstall was present in Ive’s iPhone meetings:
Even as Forstall oversaw the group responsible for the software that would run the iPhone, he didn’t participate in the meetings, according to people with knowledge of the matter who requested anonymity because the meetings were private. Ive and Forstall were rarely in the same room, the people said.
It is clear that CEO Tim Cook had to decide who would stay on the team—and it was Ive. Ive, in his new Human Interface role, will be directly responsible for the user interface within iOS. Many claim this will lead to the removal of life-like looking artifacts within iOS, of which Forstall had a hand in, such as the notebook, calendar, and contacts. Ive will be responsible for the Mac line, as well. With his many responsibilities, is Ive taking on a Steve Jobs roll at the company?
A further look into Forstall, Businessweek profiled him last year and found the executive had a fraught relationship with other members of the executive team—including Bob Mansfield. They avoided meetings unless Cook was present. Additionally, iPod godfather Tony Fadell and Jean-Marie Hullot, CTO of Apple’s application division until 2005, left Apple after clashing repeatedly with Forstall.
