Apple reported disappointing Q4 results last week and shares were down about 9.5% over the last month as investors wondered whether the company can continue to fly high. On Monday, in its biggest management shake-up in years, Apple announced the departure of software chief Scott Forstall and retail head John Browett. Forstall, who oversaw the launch of the flawed Apple Maps this year and the Siri voice-enabled assistant had often been described as an heir-apparent to Steve Jobs, but is said to have clashed with management since Jobs’ death. He’ll leave next year and serve as an advisor to Apple CEO Tim Cook in the interim. Eddy Cue, who helped create the iTunes music store and the App Store, becomes responsible for Siri and Maps in the wake of Forstall’s departure. A new search is underway to replace Browett with the retail team reporting directly to Cook in the meantime. The company said the changes, which give increased responsibility to a number of execs, will “encourage even more collaboration between the Company’s world-class hardware, software and services teams.”Jony Ive, head of industrial design, will also oversee Human Interface across the company. Bob Mansfield will lead Technologies, a new group that combines all of Apple’s wireless teams and Craig Federighi will lead iOS and OS X, combining the mobile and desktop operating systems in one team.


Hmmmmm. It’s an interesting concept. The hardware/software (re)union, human Interfaced under Sir Ive.
Now can they please fire the idiots behind Final Cut Pro X? In fact, can they be banned from every going near a computer again?
RE: Apple’s “disappointing” Q4 results…
Apple posted revenue of $36 billion and net profit of $8.2 billion, compared to revenue of $28.3 billion and net profit of $6.6 billion — an increase of about $8 billion in revenue and $2 billion in profit over the year-ago quarter.
Apple sold 26.9 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 58 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple also sold 14.0 million iPads during the quarter, a 26 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter.
On what planet is that “disappointing”? Show me any other company with that kind of growth on that kind of scale.
Good and good. Forstall was not only polarizing and difficult to work with, but his tenure as iOS boss has resulted in nothing but a stagnant design that is now years behind Android, as well as that whole maps debacle. That there are already reports of quiet celebration within the Cupertino campus at this news is not surprising.
As for Browett, good freaking riddance. That man had no idea what he was doing, and was well on his way towards torpedoing the best retail experience in the world. That he was a Tim Cook hire leaves me with serious doubts regarding the man’s judgement. It’s clear from the way this went down that Cook fired Browett not because he wanted to, but because the board forced him to after the mountains of negative press his changes at Apple retail has earned. The less than expected sales figures report last week was the nail in his coffin.
Anyone in the UK could and would have told Tim Cook that Dixons, the company Browett used to head, is a byword for bottom of the barrel quality retailing; the complete opposite of everything that is the Apple experience. It’s not only Cook’s judgement that should be in doubt, but also his sanity.