Former iOS Chief Scott Forstall Surfaces After Quiet Year of Traveling and Philanthropy

[foidulus]

Best decision Tim Cook ever made

I personally think firing Scott Forstall was the best decision Tim Cook has made to date as CEO of Apple. While people can debate skeumorphic vs. flat etc. all day, one thing that is clear is that(at least in my experience) the quality of Apple software has improved markedly since his departure. Back when Forstall was in charge of software Apple's products were, at least in my experience, as buggy as Microsofts. iOS 6, the various Apple iOS apps, Safari and OS X 10.7 got to be incredibly frustrating as it seemed like it was just a non-stop bug parade.

From what I have gathered, it didn't really look like Forstall gave all that much attention on software quality, and it showed. I think getting rid of him was the right thing to do, not only because of Maps, but because of his attitude towards software quality in general. Tim Cook at least realized that if users want a buggy, frustrating experience there are cheaper options out there. People are willing to pay a premium for Apple because they want something that doesnt break all the time.

 

[MacVista]

Why do you even visit this site? Your obviously not a fan of anything Apple.

Short answer: former fans are transitioning away, but it takes time when you have years truly enjoying the best tech products that were EVER made.

I think a true fan will stick around even while Apple heads in the wrong direction, while still hopes that Apple will find it's way. Eventually, his Apple gear will wear out or become obsolete, and once he starts replacing his stuff with other products out there, he will start visiting their respective fan sites.

 

[Fanaticalism]

I honestly don't understand people that prefer iOS 6 over iOS 7. It seems like the majority of people like iOS 7, and this forum seems to bring out the vocal minority. I know iOS 7 isn't perfect, but it's so much better and a step in the right direction.



ImageImage

ImageImage

Hmm... the images on the left immediately drew my eyes what needed the most attention, such as who is calling and "pressing" the button to answer or deny the call. At first glance, one wouldn't immediately know they had to swipe to answer.

The second one immediately identifies what the weather will be with familiar visual cues rather having to really look at the images and look entirety of the context to discern between them.

 

[brinary001]

I actually liked Scott. I can't believe he was ousted for one mistake on one application. Oh wait, maybe I can. It's Apple. And whether Tim or Steve or whoever is CEO has something go wrong under their leadership, it's always someone else's fault. <cough> iPhone 4 antenna <cough> missing iPhone prototype <cough> MobileMe <cough> and the list goes on. Geez, you'd swear he ********d up the whole OS. Oh wait, that was Jony Ive. Yet he still receives his multi-million dollar paycheck every week.

 

[Yamcha]

Yeah I feel the same way, firing Forstall was a big mistake, I'm all for simplicity in design, but I'd say iOS7 would've turned out better if Forstall was still in charge..

As much as I love Jony Ive, he's just not an interface designer.

 

[Fanaticalism]

And I think that's why Jobs like Forstall so much. They thought alike. Jobs wanted technology to feel instantly familiar, and Forstall was able to bring that to both Mac OS and iOS. There was an enjoyable whimsy to the interfaces.

Ive, on the other hand, is more of an industrial designer and the new OS reflects that. It's clean and sparse, reflecting his philosophy. But it's also less friendly and less useable.

I'm hoping that Apple will listen to feedback and refine iOS 7 so that it's more intuitive and has more visual clarity. Right now, the more I use it, the more frustrated I become. And that's not the kind of experience that Apple is supposed to be know for.

For all of the critiques that apple receives, they have to be given credit for responding to major quirks in a timeframe that most other companies take what seems like ages to address. As many have already mentioned, I'm sure refinements will bring things full circle for them.

 

[iisdan]

Ahh the man who made iOS and Mac fun, because of his departure I am now buying an android phone.

I have a feeling the whole maps thing was just an excuse to fire him.

 

[Am3r1ca16]

Glad he's not in charge of iOS anymore. I love iOS 7! Never looked back since updating and no regrets.

 

[BvizioN]

But the real question is...

Is he running iOS 7 on his phone?

That, assuming he have an iPhone.

 

[deluxeshredder]

I'm tired of debunking iOS 7, but still:

because you are so resistant to change.

I'm not resistant to change, I just didn't want iOS to turn from a mature and classy OS into a feed-fad Android wannabe.

iOS 7 is an amazingly bold and well designed UI. There are rough spots for sure, just like any bold new direction would encounter.

I don't see anything bold or innovative about iOS 7's design. All I see is Vista-esque FX on top of a very bad take on flat design on top of the rudimentary iOS base.

Google has been a proponent of flat/minimalistic design since 1998. Apple has been a proponent of rich/skeumorphic design from 1983 to 2013. There are many good flat designs, but the only design that truly got skeuomorphism right is classic iOS. Why did Apple need to throw it away and join the herd by ripping off Android?

Don't think for one second the Aqua/skeumorphic design paradigm did not have equally rough spots as well in the beginning. Go look at OS X 10.0 and see how much it has evolved. The same will happen with 7

OS X 10.0 was pretty good aesthetically (not much worse than modern OS X and classic iOS), very unique and technically stunning for the time. And it was a completely new OS with only slight UI similarities with the already-obsolete OS 9. On the other hand, iOS 7 is mostly iOS 6 with a new fashion-compliant skin.

 

[thewap]

Maybe Forstall didn't like to conform with Cook's *teamwork* concept of *do as I say like everyone else* otherwise known as *a new era of incredible collaboration after all the changes*. Most creative talents never conform, thats what makes them great. So It was no surprise that he was let go after Steve passed and the new empire under Cook took shape. Scuttlebutt abound about Forstall being difficult to deal with among other such nonsense.. it really reminds me of...Next, Apple, as it once was, and...Steve, what he went through and his *non-conformity* Forstall also at least had some magic when speaking at special events, much like Steve. Now I just see boring old corporate men *trying* to be congenial and making excuses for letting go of great talent because of lack of *teamwork* .

I wish him the best *next* career.

 

[patent10021]

So did he travel the world using Apple Maps ? I think it was originally a one month trip but it turned into a year

Come fix ios7!

oh the irony

 

[jingbugle]

I like iOS7 generally. But am worried about the practice of releasing beta-ish software to the public. I am sure any software would have a small share of bugs. But, some of the issues with iOS7 are bothering. Having to swipe to pick a phone call, and further having to swipe 4 or 5 times before it actually answers the call, totally sucks (I'm on iphone 5). There are few other annoyances similar to this one. I've been waiting for fixes for these in the minor releases, but haven't seen any improvement yet. Will keep waiting I guess.

 

[BvizioN]

Apple fans are really funny!
Hilarious to read all these "please come back" comments

Anyway, he may come back one day but thankfully his ugly skeuomorphic design is forever gone folks!

 

[reden]

A lot of people talk about the guy here like they know him personally? I don't normally talk about people I don't know, because for one, the things you learn about them from other people is usually distorted information. Two, it's disrespectful.

 

[Dulcimer]

I actually liked Scott. I can't believe he was ousted for one mistake on one application. Oh wait, maybe I can. It's Apple.

Too bad you're wrong about that. Maps was just a spark that lit Forstall's ouster. Perhaps if you did some reading, you'd know the real reason he was fired. But no, it's easier to make assumptions and blast Apple.

 

[djtech42]

Yes, because Forstall was the SOLE person who designed iOS....and Jony Ive is NOW the sole person designing iOS.....*facepalm*

News flash, they're not. The people who designed iOS 7 are the very same people who designed iOS under Scott Forstall. Greg Christie is the one who is leader of Apples Human Interface team. They all designed iOS 7, not Jony Ive. Jony is there to guide them, as well as offer critique (you know, kinda like YOURE doing. Are you an expert?), typical things you'd expect broad leadership to do. He did not get behind Photoshop and design the interface himself, no matter how much some of you want to believe that because you are so resistant to change.

7 is an amazingly bold and well designed UI. There are rough spots for sure, just like any bold new direction would encounter. Don't think for one second the Aqua/skeumorphic design paradigm did not have equally rough spots as well in the beginning. Go look at OSX 10.0 and see how much it has evolved. The same will happen with 7

I wish people would realize this. iOS 7 is an X release where there is a paradigm shift, and the design is optimized over time. Same is happening with Final Cut, Logic, iLife, and iWork. The software is redesigned now so that Apple can progress further when they update it over subsequent versions. These X releases are characteristic of Apple. If Apple always kept their software the same, they wouldn't have gotten so far with their operating systems and software.

 

[ThomasJL]

I know that there was an aura of anti-skeuomorphism floating around for a while there while everyone was excited about an iOS redesign, but iOS 7 really made me realize how much skeuomorphism was a good thing in iOS. It made the phone feel like home and made it feel familiar. You open any app and you immediately knew how to use it. It was an empowering feeling when I first used iOS for the first time (with the first iPod touch), the feeling of just *knowing* how to do everything.

5+ years later of using it and a redesign comes out and I've never been more confused and annoyed. Who seriously thought that white backgrounds and thin text was a good design and a good replacement for the familiarity that skeuomorphism offered? Forstall may have let the popularity get to his head (from what I heard) but ousting him was a huge mistake and totally undeserved. Apple lost the one person in the company with the most experience with iPhone UI and replaced him with somebody who hasn't touched software in his life, and the results show it. Ive is a master of hardware design but he has no idea what he's doing with software design, and iOS7 may look pretty on paper but usability has suffered badly. Say what you want about skeuomorphism, but it was just better than what we have now. For me, I'm just sad that a brilliant company like Apple allowed 6 years of engineering go to waste and be replaced by, frankly, amateur-hour-grade software design and programming.

Excellent points. Well said.

 

[zen]

I never thought I'd say this - but please, Apple, re-hire him so he can fix iOS 7! I'll take skeumorphic green felt and torn-page calendars over the epic white awfulness of iOS 7.

 

[apollo1444]

Craig over Scott any day

 

[melendezest]

Yes, because Forstall was the SOLE person who designed iOS....and Jony Ive is NOW the sole person designing iOS.....*facepalm*

News flash, they're not. The people who designed iOS 7 are the very same people who designed iOS under Scott Forstall. Greg Christie is the one who is leader of Apples Human Interface team. They all designed iOS 7, not Jony Ive. Jony is there to guide them, as well as offer critique (you know, kinda like YOURE doing. Are you an expert?), typical things you'd expect broad leadership to do. He did not get behind Photoshop and design the interface himself, no matter how much some of you want to believe that because you are so resistant to change.

7 is an amazingly bold and well designed UI. There are rough spots for sure, just like any bold new direction would encounter. Don't think for one second the Aqua/skeumorphic design paradigm did not have equally rough spots as well in the beginning. Go look at OSX 10.0 and see how much it has evolved. The same will happen with 7

You are right; software is designed by many. That is probably the reason why some parts of iOS 7 work well. But the buck stops with Mr. Ive. His decisions clearly removed the OS's intuitiveness for the sake of style, to the chagrin of many users. He could've given the OS a lift without removing functionality. His is a case of serious tunnel vision, and has made me start looking elsewhere for products. I have zero faith in the man anymore. Tim Cook made a grave mistake putting him in charge of software design. And I believe this will hurt Apple in the long run. Perhaps Craig Federighi would've been a better choice?

Apple is still riding the wave of Steve Jobs's vision, but iOS 7 is a marked departure. I can see it's cost Apple at least one customer: me. A die-hard Apple fan. Time will tell if others also jump ship or not. It'll also tell if they bring iOS back to it's previous functionality and intuitiveness, while keeping the design fresh. At the snail's pace they redesign things though, I doubt it.

Also, a troubling trend started a few years ago and is manifesting now. Apple doesn't build computers anymore, they build appliances. They are leaving long-time Apple computer enthusiasts out in the cold. This is painful to see; that my favorite company has died. No more tweaking, no more user-friendliness. No more peeking inside to see their beautiful component arrangement. No more easy access to high failure rate parts (soldered RAM? Really?) No more upgrading. Now, more than ever, they are a "here you go; take it or leave it" kind of company. It appears it's all about money: making more. /rant

 

[brianvictor7]

There seems to be quite a bit of negative groupthink going on here. The majority of iOS users are quite happy with iOS 7. Maps, on the other hand, was indeed a fiasco, and the person responsible for delivering refused to take responsibility.

Agrees. iOS 7 is okay in my book. Not perfect but fine.

About Scott. Anyone can make mistakes. He refused to own up to his and that was one of two real problems. The other was in not minding the principles of basic human decency, mainly to play nice with others. Hopefully this experience has changed him for the better. He has a lot to offer and I always liked him at the Apple events. I cannot imagine that he'll be hired back at Apple anytime soon, but stranger wonders have happened and who doesn't love a story of redemption?

 

[Winni]

Traveling and Philanthropy aka Unemployment

Since he is a millionaire, being unemployed probably is not his greatest worry...

 

[Rogifan]

If iOS 7 is so horrible why haven't we heard about software engineers/designers leaving Apple in protest? As far as we know, the same people who reported to Forstall are still working under Federighi. In fact we've heard very little scuttlebutt around iOS 7 at all. No doubt if there was juicy gossip around it (especially if it was negative) sites like BI, 9to5Mac, etc. would rush to publish it. I'm actually a bit surprised no backstory has leaked yet and all we've gotten is Apple controlled PR from Federighi and Ive.

 

[Vinamra]

It would really be interesting to see if he takes the Steve Jobs route. Starts his own company which forces him to mature as a manager and goes back to Apple.

Come to think of it, that could well be Steve Jobs - II!