A former Apple exec, who worked on the first 18 generations of the iPod and was also involved with crafting hardware for the first iPhone, has said sacked software chief Scott Forstall "got what he deserved".
In an interview with the BBC, Tony Fadell, a former vice president of Apple who now works on the Nest thermostat, said Forstall's departure from the company was "justified".
Forstall, who was in charge of iOS when the disastrous Maps update happened, was shown the door several weeks ago amid rumours of rifts with other Apple top brass and an unwillingness to apologise for the rubbish maps app. In the end, Apple chief Tim Cook signed his name to a grovelling mea culpa.
Despite sounding like a delightful comedy double-act, Fadell and Forstall reportedly had a strained working relationship at Apple. While visibly reluctant to be drawn on the subject, Fadell told the Beeb, "If you read some of the reports, people were cheering in Cupertino when that event happened.
"I think Apple's in a great space, it has great products," Fadell said. "There are other amazing people at the company and I think those people actually have a chance to have a firm footing now, and continue the legacy that Steve left."
Meanwhile the manager who was more directly in charge of Apple's mapping team has also been fired, according to reports.
Fadell's Nest thermostat lets you control the temperature of your house using your tablet or smart phone. I went hands-on with the slick-looking gadget back in January, and was impressed by the interface, which certainly beats pulling the front plate off your boiler to try and decode 30-year-old timer symbols.
Is Apple in good shape, or are the cracks beginning to show? Tell me in the comments or on our Facebook wall.
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MikeBuck_1 29 November, 2012 16:33
I think Apple will be just fine, sure they've brought out a dodgy app, join the list! lol maybe this will bring apple back down from their cloud they were on, But they will fix it i'm sure.
I'm an Android person not IOS, and to be honest did have a bit of a laugh when a company that see themselves as perfect released Maps and it got slammed, but hey!
Late8 29 November, 2012 16:50
Its just maps- the whole of iOS6 is horrid on my iPad3. Since upgrading i have had issues with Safari with back buttons disappearing, the App Stores are slow and jittery.
Its not a nice smooth experience anymore. No Maps and Youtube is a childish mistake by Apple.
anonymous 29 November, 2012 18:48
This Apple Maps thing goes much deeper than most journalist are reporting. Check out this recent post: http://www.forbes.com/sites/elandekel/2012/11/28/why-did-apple-fire-the-maps-product-manager/
The blame for this rest solidly with Tim Cook. He knew how bad Apple Maps was. He could have averted this train wreck....and he didn't. He is the one that needs to go. Then bring Forstal back. He is the brains of the Apple Magic.
anonymous 30 November, 2012 10:54
Since I can't develop my own OS and stuff, I have to rely on whatever is available. But the companies (actually people like us who work there) sometime forget the usability of the product. They always want to blow our minds by something new which sometimes become just rubbish. Competition is good for better and sensible products.
I used iPhone since 2008 and finally decided to go with the Android. I found iOS became just boring lately. They were more interested in camera and the screen instead of the OS and the processor. Samsung has done a really fantastic job by offering a whole lot of choices in terms of screen sizes. The Galaxy Sll is simply an awesome phone.