More information on Apple's recent executive management mix-up is beginning to surface. The New York Times and CNN Money are both reporting that Scott Forstall may have been forced out of Apple because he refused to put his name on a public apology letter issued late last month with regards to Apple Maps.
Instead, it was CEO Tim Cook's name that ultimately appeared on the letter.
The story behind the story goes something like this. Forstall had been in charge of iOS software at Apple for several years. His abrasive attitude reportedly led to a number of high-level executives not liking the man.
When the Maps fiasco arose last month, Forstall allegedly thought the complaints regarding quality were overblown and thus refused to sign the aforementioned apology letter. Sources told The Verge that Forstall has a reputation of deflecting blame which may have been the case in this instance.
Either way, it appears that Apple took this opportunity to show him the door. In fact, rumor has it that some of his colleagues were so anxious to see him leave that they volunteered to take on extra responsibility within the company. As we reported yesterday, Eddy Cue will now be in charge of Maps and Siri while Craig Federighi will oversee iOS development. Jony Ive will be in charge of the human interface teams moving forward.
The timing perhaps couldn't have been better for Apple considering the fact that Hurricane Sandy has shut down stock trading in the US for a second straight day. This is expected to give investors time to process the management changes instead of making swift decisions that could see share value tumble.
It will be interesting to see what changes are in store for iOS in version 7 and beyond. Ive reportedly wasn't a fan of the direction that Forstall took the user interface in recent years.