Apple's iPhone and Apple Watch product design executive could be leaving in February

Apple’s iPhone and Apple Watch product design executive could be leaving in February،

Tang Tan, Apple Inc.'s head of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch, may resign in February. This statement was given to Bloomberg by people who asked that their identities be withheld because news of Tan's departure has not been publicly announced.

If this turns out to be true, it will be another high-profile departure announcement that the Cupertino-based tech giant was recently introduced to. Earlier this week, we learned that Steve Hotelling, who worked on Touch ID, retires.

Holding the title of Vice President of Product Design, Tan and his team are responsible for transforming not one but several of the company's most important products into crucial growth engines. Specifically, it controls the functionality of iPhone and Apple Watch products. As part of Apple's organizational operations, Tan also has a say in how both products are designed.

Beyond the iPhone and smartwatch, Tan's duties also included overseeing the design of some accessories. Additionally, the acoustics team, the experts who handled much of AirPods development, are under his leadership. This is another very successful product that Tan has worked on.

As head of product design, Tan reports to John Ternus, senior vice president of hardware engineering. So what does his departure mean for the Ternus team and the company itself? According to Bloomberg, some MPs who worked under Ternus and Tan could see their roles expanded to manage the transition.

One of those people is Richard Dinh, who currently oversees product design for the iPhone. Once the current vice president of product design leaves office, Dinh could become one of Ternus' direct reports. Additionally, Kate Bergeron could lead the design of the Apple Watch. The Director of Hardware Engineer currently supervises the Mac teams.

As for the design of the props and the management of the acoustic team, these could be transferred directly to Matthew Costello. He is currently in charge of Beats and the HomePod smart speaker.

Ternus has been responsible for hardware engineering since 2021. It has recently made some changes to other parts of the organization, including elevating Dan West to a position reporting to Ternus itself. West was previously the second manager of material quality. This could mean the company is preparing to face more management changes next year.