Ondrej Holzman Yesterday's message the end of Scott Forstall at Apple came like a bolt from the blue. A longtime employee of a California company is leaving suddenly, without explanation, and with almost immediate effect. Why did it happen?
This is a question that many of you have probably asked yourself. Let's summarize the facts that we know about Scott Forstall's tenure at Apple, or what is speculated about and what were the reasons for his departure.
For starters, Forstall has held the position of senior vice president of iOS at Apple for the past few years. So he had the complete development of the mobile operating system under his thumb. Forstall has been associated with Apple for many years. He started at NeXT in the early 90s and worked on NeXTStep, Mac OS X and iOS from the cradle. Although Forstall's work is very important for Apple, Tim Cook had no problem terminating the employment relationship with him. It is a question whether everything was prepared in advance or whether it was a decision from the last months. More likely, I see the second option, that is, the events of the last few months have marked Forstall's ortel.
How convenient notes John Gruber, for all the credit that Forstall has, we do not find in the press statement of Apple and in the words of Tim Cook even a brief acknowledgment of his services. At the same time, for example, at the end of Bob Mansfield, who finally changed his mind about leaving (?), such words were heard from the executive director of Apple.
Even according to other circumstances, we can conclude that Scott Forstall is not leaving the apple boat on his own initiative. He was apparently pressured to leave, either because of his taste, behavior or problems with iOS 6. There is also talk that he was previously protected by his close friendship with Steve Jobs. However, that is now definitely gone.
There were earlier reports that Forstall didn't quite fit in with other top Apple executives. It was said that it was he who promoted the controversial skeuomorphism (imitation of real things, editor's note), while designer Jony Ivo and others didn't like it. Some argue that it was Steve Jobs who pioneered this style before Forstall, so we can only speculate where the truth really lies. However, this was not the only thing that was said about Forstall. Some of his associates claimed that Forstall traditionally took credit for joint successes, refused to admit his own mistakes and was insanely scheming. His colleagues, who did not want to be named for obvious reasons, said he had such a strained relationship with other members of Apple's top management, including Ive and Mansfield, that they avoided meetings with Forstall — unless Tim Cook was present.
However, even if we did not want to deal with internal Cupertino matters, unfortunately, his "public" actions also spoke against Forstall. He gradually cut a branch under himself thanks to Siri, Maps and iOS development. Siri was the main novelty of the iPhone 4S, but it practically did not develop in a year, and the "big thing" gradually became a secondary function of iOS. We have already written a lot about the problems with new documents created by Apple itself. But this is what quite possibly cost Scott Forstall together with the retarded development of the mobile operating system in the final reckoning. Since iOS 6, users expected great innovations and changes. But instead, from Forstall, who presented the new system at WWDC 2012, they received only a slightly modified iOS 5 - with the same interface. When we add to all the speculation that Forstall refused to sign the apology letter that Tim Cook eventually sent out on his behalf to disgruntled users of the new Maps, the executive director's decision to fire the longtime collaborator is understandable.
Although Forstall was probably one of those who pushed for the iPhone's operating system to be based on the OS X core, which today we can consider a crucial part of the overall success, now, in my opinion, iOS is getting a second chance. The user interface will be headed by Jony Ive. If his work produces the kind of results it has in the field of hardware design, then we have a lot to look forward to. Will the already mentioned skeuomorphism disappear? Can we finally expect significant innovations in iOS? Will iOS 7 be different? These are all questions to which we do not yet know the answer. But Apple is definitely entering a new era. It is worth reminding here that the iOS division will be headed by Craig Federighi, not Jony Ive, who should consult with Federighi primarily on the user interface.
And why is John Browett ending up at Apple? This change in the position of head of retail is certainly not that shocking. Although Browett joined the company only at the beginning of this year, when he replaced Ron Johnson, he did not even have time to leave a very significant mark. But there are indicators that Tim Cook had to correct a mistake he made when he hired Browett. It was no secret that many people were surprised by Browett's appointment in January. The 49-year-old former boss of Dixons, an electronics retailer, was known for focusing more on profits than on user satisfaction. And this is, of course, unacceptable in a company that relies on positive customer experiences when shopping at Apple Stores. In addition, according to the reactions of some people at Apple, Browett did not even really fit into the company's hierarchy, so his departure was the logical outcome.
Whatever the reason for the end of both men, a new era awaits Apple. An era in which, according to Apple's own words, it intends to combine the development of hardware and software even more. An era in which perhaps Bob Mansfield gets to speak more prominently with his new team, and an era in which we'll hopefully see Jony Ive's previously unknown user interface wizardry.
Interesting, it's true that I expected much, much more from iOS6 and almost nothing significant happened... so hopefully better times are coming :)
Era of Descent
Away with hideous imitations of leather and wood. I hope it'll go well.
why, I really like the metal and wood, what would you like in ibooks? the idea with the shelves is great and when you click on the folder and the metal strip comes out, I really like that too
I like it too and it sets it apart from the competition. But it's true that the music player doesn't fit there at all, but otherwise I wouldn't fundamentally change it. We'll see... Ive is a mach, but I don't know if he did SW too
Very positive changes, in my opinion, another wind in the sails... of the already fast-paced Apple ala...
Scott Forstal wasn't sleeping. But really, ios6 did not bring anything new in terms of design. They messed up the settings and that's all. :) jonathan help us.
I think it's good news for users. If Jony Ive will also be responsible for the user environment, I hope that he will unify it as much as possible so that the programs for OS X and iOS look similar and are controlled similarly.
Craig Gederighi has to lead the OS X and iOS development teams, which is also positive. At least as many functions as possible get into both.
… I would take that place … if it is available :)
I like skeuomorphism.
Made the epitome of beauty: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ranmsbgrvrh12c1/scr.png
Hmmm. I don't use applications on the screen, not just because I look good. But if I didn't feel bad for them, I'd at least give them a chance :)
I call it fake 'design' for fake people :)
I like skeuomorphism. And that iOS 6 did not bring significant changes? Why change something that is basically perfect? Scott is a shame…
It's interesting how things change. As recently as May 3, we could read here that Forstal is a person who "simply cannot leave Cupertino" and in January we read that Forstal is a true follower of Jobs and the crown prince after Cook. And now he's leaving like an awkward naughty child. An interesting change of atmosphere at Apple, although perhaps logical given its "failures" of late. In any case, it's a change that will probably have a lot of impact and we'll see if it's good or bad...
Forstal is a dude, but I think he rested on his laurels, and almost no siri progression and new maps probably broke his neck
the popularity in the team was probably not the greatest either, so from what I read, after the news about his departure was published, the mood in the team should have improved a lot
According to what I read, Scott looks a lot like Jobs :), but when it comes to iOS maps and Siri, he really disappointed. Now the question is why. Maybe he feels a little wronged. If it takes longer, it's probably really better to make a change.