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Apple iCloud Infrastructure Engineering Executive Leaves Apple to Join Startup Led by Imran Chaudhri

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Patrick Gates, Apple's senior director of engineering for iCloud, FaceTime, and iMessage, is leaving the company to join a stealth startup called Humane, reports The Information.

Gates has been with Apple for close to 14 years, and he took over ownership of iCloud services infrastructure after Eric Billingsly left the company in 2017.

The startup that Gates is joining, Humane, was created by former Apple employees Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno. Chaudhri is well known as the designer of the interface for the original iPhone and a former member of Apple's UI team. He was at Apple for more than 20 years before departing in 2017.

Humane is a secretive company working on "innovative technology that feels familiar, natural, and human," with the self-described mission of creating the next shift between humans and computing.

Article Link: Apple iCloud Infrastructure Engineering Executive Leaves Apple to Join Startup Led by Imran Chaudhri
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/01/03/patrick-gates-icloud-exec-leaves-apple/
He probably realized his stock options were worthless so there wasn't a need to wait around for them to vest.
 
Can’t blame them for leaving. Apple has got fat and lazy and doesn’t seem to have a razor sharp focus anymore. I’ll bet that there are too many restrictions at Apple to be innovative or being able to stand above the crowd.

Look how little progress there has been made from 2012 till now. Competitors have caught up to Apple and on many fronts leapfrogged Apple in areas where it once was king.
 
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He better hope Michael, Trevor and Franklin don’t raid the building again. What a mess that was.
 
HJM.NL said:
Look how little progress there has been made from 2012 till now. Competitors have caught up to Apple and on many fronts leapfrogged Apple in areas where it once was king.
Click to expand...

Not really. Google is nowhere near matching iMessage. Microsoft is struggling to cobble together a Handoff/Continuity knockoff. Nothing is as seamless as iCloud Backup.
 
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Well "innovative technology that feels familiar, natural, and human," certainly does NOT describe Apple any more so its no wonder they left. But I have to say the state of iCloud services is bad, and has been for years, but is improving. I suspect that the issues are a management problem because Eddy Cue never really understood services tech. I can't imagine a reputable engineer creating some of these services the way they did unless they were given no time, and no money to make the marketing deadline.
 
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confusedpurple said:
Dont blame him. iCloud is so damn stagnated. Considering Apple keep going on about services to their investors they sure as hell dont seem to give a damn about keeping them competitive.

Remind me again, when was the last major feature added to iCloud?
Click to expand...
Messages in iCloud.

I agree with you though, their whole Services backend needs to be thrown out and started again.
 
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HJM.NL said:
Apple has got fat and lazy and doesn’t seem to have a razor sharp focus anymore. Look how little progress there has been made from 2012 till now.
Click to expand...

I became an Apple guy after I purchased a 17" MacBook Pro in 2003 and was mezmorized by the culture and cool factor. So, I got the Airport router, then the Airport Express so I could sit outside on the deck, then an iPod for exercising, then a monitor, keyboard and mouse setup for my office, then an iPad, then iMac for home office, then a MacBook Pro for the wife, then an Apple TV, and another iPad, and the Time Capsule backup drive, and the iPhone, and another for the wife. The apps all synchronized and made it so simple for my wife. I bought my mom and MacBook, I convinced friends to switch. And every year, we spent big $$$$$ to have the latest and greatest Apple toys. They were different, they looked cool...I kept up-to-date with everything Apple, I couldn't wait for the newest OS to drop, or to see what the heck they would invent next, or how cool they could design the next big thing.

I found Mac Rumors and made it more important than the news with hopes to get a peek at the "next big thing" and to learn the tips and tricks (because Apple never gives us features instructions), but we didn't care...half the fun was figuring it out. The box that the hardware came in was off-the-charts cool. And, most importantly, because "It Just Worked"

Today, well, I could care less. I am either burnt out on Apple, or they have lost their MoJo...there's no routers, no backup capsule, no monitors, no airport. My new iPhone XS looks like my kids friends old iPhone 6. And the new MacBook Pro looks like my old MacBook Pro from 2012, so who cares. I spent money to stay in the Apple Eco-System, but if the majority of the Eco-System isn't available anymore, WHY should I spend double on a MacBook Pro if I need to buy a different brand router, and etc.... but hey, they are developing some secret electric car.

October 06, 2011... the beginning of the end.
Apple has been riding out the momentum of prior innovation and banked lots of cash.
I say great job alienating the core customer base.
:(
 
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mccaffertee said:
I became an Apple guy after I purchased a 17" MacBook Pro in 2003 and was mezmorized by the culture and cool factor. So, I got the Airport router, then the Airport Express so I could sit outside on the deck, then an iPod for exercising, then a monitor, keyboard and mouse setup for my office, then an iPad, then iMac for home office, then a MacBook Pro for the wife, then an Apple TV, and another iPad, and the Time Capsule backup drive, and the iPhone, and another for the wife. The apps all synchronized and made it so simple for my wife. I bought my mom and MacBook, I convinced friends to switch. And every year, we spent big $$$$$ to have the latest and greatest Apple toys. They were different, they looked cool...I kept up-to-date with everything Apple, I couldn't wait for the newest OS to drop, or to see what the heck they would invent next, or how cool they could design the next big thing.

I found Mac Rumors and made it more important than the news with hopes to get a peek at the "next big thing" and to learn the tips and tricks (because Apple never gives us features instructions), but we didn't care...half the fun was figuring it out. The box that the hardware came in was off-the-charts cool. And, most importantly, because "It Just Worked"

Today, well, I could care less. I am either burnt out on Apple, or they have lost their MoJo...there's no routers, no backup capsule, no monitors, no airport. My new iPhone XS looks like my kids friends old iPhone 6. And the new MacBook Pro looks like my old MacBook Pro from 2012, so who cares. I spent money to stay in the Apple Eco-System, but if the majority of the Eco-System isn't available anymore, WHY should I spend double on a MacBook Pro if I need to buy a different brand router, and etc.... but hey, they are developing some secret electric car.

October 06, 2011... the beginning of the end.
Apple has been riding out the momentum of prior innovation and banked lots of cash.
I say great job alienating the core customer base.
:(
Click to expand...
I hear you and sadly I could copy your writing. Apple has left us and their soul has gone. It has become a money focused company and I’m glad they’re struggling at the moment. This correction is coming years late and I’m afraid this wake up call is to late too. They’re getting behind on all important technology fronts. Years of neglect won’t get overhauled easy.
 
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konqerror said:
He probably realized his stock options were worthless so there wasn't a need to wait around for them to vest.
Click to expand...
Nobody knows. This is a "secretive" company. For all we know, it's intentional spin off by Apple itself, and then later they'll "buy" the small startup.
[doublepost=1546590521][/doublepost]
HJM.NL said:
I hear you and sadly I could copy your writing. Apple has left us and their soul has gone. It has become a money focused company and I’m glad they’re struggling at the moment. This correction is coming years late and I’m afraid this wake up call is to late too. They’re getting behind on all important technology fronts. Years of neglect won’t get overhauled easy.
Click to expand...
Since when Apple is not "money focused"?

Sure, Steve Jobs was a better showman in distorting our reality about Apple, but this is the guy who tried selling a non-3G phone for $500 WITH 2 years contract. And let's not forget multitude of Apple's "failures" under Jobs (G4 cube, iPod socks, iPod Hifi, MobileMe, etc).

You said Apple is behind on all important technology fronts. Like what? Apple has arguably the most powerful and efficient mobile chipset at the moment. What do the other tech companies do on "important" technology fronts?
 
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pika2000 said:
(G4 cube, iPod socks, iPod Hifi, MobileMe, etc).
Click to expand...

Apart from iPod Socks, ( Which strangely enough some people actually like it ) all of them were "failures" by any means. They were too ahead of its time. Much like the Newton. MobileMe became iCloud. iPod HiFi become HomePod. G4 Cube could have been the new Mac Pro.

I think he just got fed up with Apple unwilling to invest into its infrastructure. It is actually insane Apple's DC is so far behind in numbers and they continue to rely so much on Cloud from M$, AWS and Google. I know it is not entirely their fault for permission planning, but consider Amazon has more DC opened in 2018 than all the DC Apple had over all.
 
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Knowing Patrick from the past at NeXT/Apple and his original background I have to simply ask, ``How was he ever suited to lead iCloud? It's not his pedigree. It explains a lot why iCloud/iTunes/iMessage/FaceTime seemed to be ``missing'' in many ways. Talented. Hell yes. Right person for those teams? No.

But then this isn't the first time someone has skyrocketed up the management ladder who wasn't remotely cut out for it.
 
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