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Apple Announces Management Changes: Scott Forstall and John Browett Out, Ive and Others Add Responsibilities
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That they got rid of him now is a good sign that things are not. A good company knows when someone (even if it is a senior member) needs to go. A company getting rid of executives is not necessarily a bad thing. In this case, it is probably a good thing in the long run.
iOS and OS X will MERGE
The same guy is taking over both iOS and Mac OS X.... I think this means that at some point in the future there will be only ONE OS!
Plus Ive's interface design will be totally SIMPLE and CLEAN. He is that kind of designer. Everything will be hidden from the user and it will be one simple iOS like interface.
The same guy is taking over both iOS and Mac OS X.... I think this means that at some point in the future there will be only ONE OS!
Plus Ive's interface design will be totally SIMPLE and CLEAN. He is that kind of designer. Everything will be hidden from the user and it will be one simple iOS like interface.
Give me a break. I've got a list as long as my arm about why I don't like Forstall. The fact that he did great things in the past means I should ignore these problems? How does that make any sense?
How about:
1) The sizable number of people I have met who are sticking with Snow Leopard for a variety of reasons? There had never been a new version of OS X that power users have shied away from in large numbers. Now we're 2 deep. Lion and Mountain Lion are certainly cool...but this is a serious trend problem. The power users are bellwethers, when looking at the future of Apple, this fact greatly disturbs me.
2) The skeumorphism. Need I say more?
3) The trend towards ridiculously un-touch-friendly interface elements in iOS recently. (See my first post for one glaring example, but it's not the only one.)
4) The ever-increasing unreliability of iOS and Mac OS. Can I tell you the number of weird things that happen for no reasons these days?
- When copying folders in Mountain Lion the icon rarely changes to the 'finished' icon when done.
- Whenever I sync my phone something dumb always happens, like it asks me if I really want to remove an app that I didn't remove.
- Apps are constantly sticking in the 'update' section of my iPhone despite the fact that they're already updated
- I recently couldn't update Mac apps from the Mac App Store without erasing and re-downloading them. The DRM refused to update them no matter what I tried.
...and YES, weird things happen to computers all the time, but I swear it was 1 a week back with Snow Leopard and now it's 3 a day. (And I'm talking about multiple Macs in a variety of locations so this is clearly software, not some problem with 1 machine.)
The quality of software coming out of Apple has been slowly sliding downwards over the last few years and I've spent a LOT of time thinking about it. This is hardly a 'whim.'
But hey, he agreed with Tony once, so it's all cool, I guess?
THE SIGNING BONUS ALONE WOULD ALLOW HIM TO PUT UP WITH PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING WHEREVER HE MOVES ALONG TO.
My bet? He does 3-4 startups and tries to hit the lottery. Who else is better positioned to know what will be hot 2-5 years from now?
Rocketman
Actually, advisor to (the CEO, military commander, etc.) is merely codeword for removing the person from his/her job quickly (typically for cause) and putting the person in a paid holding pattern until a decision is made about what to do with the employee without the embarrassment of an outright firing.
Guaranteed, these people don't do any productive "advising." In fact, they are never even seen around the organization again.
Only in a very, very rare case are they held in this holding pattern awaiting someone else's departure so they can move into a job of increased responsibility within the same organization. I don't see that being the case with Forstall; rather, I'm betting there's some reason contractually why he can't be cut loose immediately. Thus the "Advisor to the CEO" title in name only.
My bet ? Tim is a shrewd CEO.
He and Ives have been talking about this for a while. Bonus or not.
Good for Tim putting his stamp on things. This is his Apple, now, effective today.
Browett was a turd from the jump. Lot of silly decisions. Remember that Tim was intensively involved in retail before. I think he rightly let Browett have some slack, and benefit of the doubt. But it's clear the end-result was a bunch of unnecessary chaos and unhappy employees. Easy fire.
Forstall is a shocker tough. Abrasive to be sure, but Scott's a firecracker who fights for what he believes in. It's an endearing quality, to a fault. I know several people who hate him and love him at the same time. Clearly though Tim is taking this in a more unified direction, and felt the cracks shouldn't be allowed to widen between teams.
Forstall walks a millionaire, and I look forward to seeing what he gets into next.
New chapter for Apple should be an interesting read as well.
Browett was a turd from the jump. Lot of silly decisions. Remember that Tim was intensively involved in retail before. I think he rightly let Browett have some slack, and benefit of the doubt. But it's clear the end-result was a bunch of unnecessary chaos and unhappy employees. Easy fire.
Forstall is a shocker tough. Abrasive to be sure, but Scott's a firecracker who fights for what he believes in. It's an endearing quality, to a fault. I know several people who hate him and love him at the same time. Clearly though Tim is taking this in a more unified direction, and felt the cracks shouldn't be allowed to widen between teams.
Forstall walks a millionaire, and I look forward to seeing what he gets into next.
New chapter for Apple should be an interesting read as well.
Lovely news, altogether.
I've not met Forstall but too many who have have described him as a Jobs-class hyperdouche without the genius vision, astonishing team-building ability, and Steve's frequent flashes of deep humanity.
At his core, Steve rev. 2 was a man in a hurry, his impatience propelled by a personal horizon that loomed close. (Interestingly, Tim Cook also had a life-altering medical sentence passed on him... in error, as it turned out. But, like Jobs, he wastes no minutes.) By comparison, Forstall's oft-reported hastiness, nastiness and claim-jumping is countervailed by his considerable but, let's face it, significantly less-than-Steve-class brilliance. Not enough.
And now he has tarnished Apple's perception, rightly or wrongly, by giving the world Siri and Maps before they were really ready.
If there's one capital crime one can commit within Apple, it's damaging the brand. Forstall couldn't escape that charge, and he had too few friends left, a year after Steve, to survive.
Browett damaged the brand too. Apple's retail experience is a significant differentiator, a significant reason-to-buy. Apple would dilute that at its peril... and that's what Browett immediately set out to do. Bring back Ron Johnson!
I've not met Forstall but too many who have have described him as a Jobs-class hyperdouche without the genius vision, astonishing team-building ability, and Steve's frequent flashes of deep humanity.
At his core, Steve rev. 2 was a man in a hurry, his impatience propelled by a personal horizon that loomed close. (Interestingly, Tim Cook also had a life-altering medical sentence passed on him... in error, as it turned out. But, like Jobs, he wastes no minutes.) By comparison, Forstall's oft-reported hastiness, nastiness and claim-jumping is countervailed by his considerable but, let's face it, significantly less-than-Steve-class brilliance. Not enough.
And now he has tarnished Apple's perception, rightly or wrongly, by giving the world Siri and Maps before they were really ready.
If there's one capital crime one can commit within Apple, it's damaging the brand. Forstall couldn't escape that charge, and he had too few friends left, a year after Steve, to survive.
Browett damaged the brand too. Apple's retail experience is a significant differentiator, a significant reason-to-buy. Apple would dilute that at its peril... and that's what Browett immediately set out to do. Bring back Ron Johnson!
Absolutely! Its is hard to imagine two operations at the opposite ends of consumer satisfaction.
I only go to Currys etc when there is zero alternative (i.e. I need it now and they have it stock) as opposed to Apple where I go just for fun.
Firing an Apple UI designer just turns public that Apple has made the wrong decisions. I wouldn't fire anyone from the UI team now, not at the time of Windows 8 frenzy. This happens just a moment after Tim Cook having assumed that Apple Maps is buggy.
This may be a good answer to the stock market, but not to the actual business.
Yes, Scott was behind using a stripped down OSX for iOS. Some skeumorphism is okay, but they are going way to far at times. Look at find my friends or iMiove on iOS- terrible. iBooks- excellent.
It will help their stock. This is much like what Steve Jobs said about Apple in the 80's- we had a ten year lead on MS and we let that slip and they caught up.
Tim is smart. He sees Androids advancement and the development Windows Phone 8 and sees that they are being caught up to and passed in some ways. He's shaking things up to keep in the front of the pack. Well done.
Or a face saving move, either way, Forstall has NO say in anything as of today.
Exactly. THIS is Tim's Apple now.
Well, the Brit readers told us what a dick John Browett was and why he'd never mesh with the Apple culture.
Didn't take Tim Cook very long to see they were right...and take corrective action.
He deserves a lot of credit.
However, I do think (and likely many here) that he has purposely held iOS back to some degree (especially in terms of UI design and lack of updates to the springboard).
I think we'll see more insiders in the next few weeks (and months) leak information about him advocating for iOS to remain "dumbed down" for new customers and more reports of his love of skeuomorphism.
It makes you wonder how controlling he was. Is Forstall the reason the iOS multitasking bar hasn't been improved? Why the Music.app looks like a piece of a high-end stereo equipment instead of iTunes 11? The reason the calendar has fake leather? Etc.
Interesting then that this announcement came when they knew the Markets were going to be closed...
iOS 6 works the exact same way on the Mini, there wasn't anything to show. Even if they wanted to "prove" it was similar and maybe show off the new iBooks on it, there wasn't really any time with all the products they unveiled.
Forstall has been holding iOS back for the last few years. I blame him for keeping the boring old "app grid" in place while competitive products such as Android have made much more effective use of the screen to provide information users need. This is a GREAT thing, as it will lead to new ideas, more innovation, and better competitiveness.
Exactly. Tighter integration between teams. The Mac platform has become fractured. iOS and OSX need to share more elements. iOS needs to have the same level of visual refinement as the hardware. The interface needs to be standardized across the OS and all of the Apple branded apps.
This strikes me as a strong and smart move by Cook. I'm excited to see how the next 12 months shake out.
This strikes me as a strong and smart move by Cook. I'm excited to see how the next 12 months shake out.
Wow this is the weirdest news in a while! I love it! Totally unexpected.
Glad to see Scott Forstall out.. I wonder what his next career move will be, hah. I'm sure there are a lot of things Scott could do though!
Ive getting more responsibility is really exciting. I'd love to see what he'd do with UI. What an incredibly ballsy move on Apple's part.
Glad to see Scott Forstall out.. I wonder what his next career move will be, hah. I'm sure there are a lot of things Scott could do though! Ive getting more responsibility is really exciting. I'd love to see what he'd do with UI. What an incredibly ballsy move on Apple's part.
