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

Tang Tan, Apple Inc.’s executive leading product design for the iPhone and the Apple Watch, might be stepping down in February. This statement was provided to Bloomberg by people who asked not to have their identities disclosed, as the news of Tan’s leaving hasn’t been announced publicly.

If it turns out to be correct, this will be yet another high-profile departure announcement the Cupertino-based tech giant has been presented to recently. Earlier this week, it became known that Steve Hotelling, who worked on Touch ID, is retiring.

Holding the title of Vice President of Product Design, Tan and his team are responsible for turning not one but several of the company’s most important products into crucial growth drivers. More specifically, he has had control over iPhone and Apple Watch product features. Under Apple’s organizational operations, Tan also has a say in how both products are engineered.

Beyond the iPhone and the smartwatch, Tan's duties also included overseeing the design of some accessories. Additionally, the acoustics team, the experts who have handled much of the AirPods development, have been under his management. This is another highly successful product Tan has been working on.

As a product design executive, Tan reports to John Ternus, senior vice president of hardware engineering. So, what does his departure mean for Ternus’ team and the company itself? According to Bloomberg, some deputies who worked under Ternus and Tan could be having their roles expanded to handle the transition.

One of those individuals is Richard Dinh, currently overseeing Product Design for the iPhone. Once the current vice president of product design steps down, Dinh might become one of Ternus’s direct deputies. What’s more, Kate Bergeron could be heading the Apple Watch design. The hardware engineer executive is overseeing Mac teams at present.

As for accessories’ design and the acoustics team’s management, those might be relocated directly to Matthew Costello. He’s currently in charge of the Beats and the HomePod smart speaker.

Ternus has been in charge of hardware engineering since 2021. He recently made some changes to other parts of the organization, including elevating Dan West to a role reporting to Ternus himself. West was formerly the second executive for hardware quality. This could mean the company is preparing to face more leadership changes next year.