Tang Tan, Apple’s vice president overseeing critical design aspects for the iPhone and Apple Watch, will depart the company in February after nearly a decade, Bloomberg reported this week.
Citing knowledgeable sources, the report said Tan’s exit prompts a reshuffling impacting the tech giant’s most important product groups. His pending exit follows other key figures recently leaving hardware engineering teams.
As one of Apple’s influential product design leads, Tan shaped pivotal look, feel and functionality choices across the smash hit iPhone lineup. He also helped transform the Apple Watch into a booming wearables segment.
Tan collaborated closely with industrial design and engineering units responsible for executing the aesthetic vision and technical capabilities defining Apple’s identity. The quality, features, and direction of the company’s keystone devices fell under his purview.
His February departure is seen internally as a setback losing a decisions-maker guiding billion-dollar products. Tan’s exit will bring hardware VP John Ternus added responsibility for directing iPhone and Watch development.
Kate Bergeron, an esteemed Mac hardware executive, will assume oversight of future Watch design with Tan’s exit. She will orient long-term product vision.
Tan exits alongside quality oversight head Yannick Bertolus and hardware manager Laura Legros who retired in the past year. The brain drain suggests a period of change for Apple’s robust yet secretive design culture.
As competition intensifies in global device markets, the company will lean more heavily on remaining veterans to smooth leadership transitions and avoid disruptions across ever-crucial hardware branches.
