Cupertino, February 14: Bart Andre, an Apple designer who joined company in 1992 along with Jonny Ive, will reportedly leave the tech giant. Bart Andre served nearly 30 years with Apple by working on many features and aesthetics of the company’s products. After three decades working with one of the top tech companies in the world, Andre will now retire from his role.
According to the report by 9to5Mac, Bart told his colleagues that he would be retiring this month. The report said that he was one of the last remaining developers from the Jonny Ive era responsible for creating the aesthetics for Apple products released in the past three decades. The report said that Bart Andre had been described as ‘one of Ive’s top lieutenants’ who has helped the company’s industrial design team since the departure of industrial designer Evans Hankey. upGrad Co-Founder Ronnie Screwvala Slams BYJU, Its CEO Byju Raveendran for Company’s Downfall, Says ‘One Rotten Apple’ Shouldn’t Affect Entire Edtech Sector.
The report also mentioned that Bart Andre was the “biggest” Apple patent holder. As per the report by Indian Express, Apple’s senior designers, including Shota Aoyagi, Colin Burns, and Peter Russel-Clarke, departed in 2022 after Jonny Ive left the company in 2019. The report said that the industrial design and software team now reports to Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Williams, who joined the company in 1998.
The report mentioned that Jeff Williams lacks a design background, and specific cost-cutting measures under him have annoyed the staff. The report said that the design group plays an important role in envisioning the company’s products and software, such as crafting details of the products down to iPhone ringtones and Apple Watch cardio tap. The team was reportedly responsible for Apple’s latest products, like Vision Pro mixed reality headset and Apple Watch. OpenAI Founding Member Andrej Karpathy Leaves Company, Says Not Due to Any Event, Issue or Drama.
According to the report, the old guard that produced the iPhone and iPod has moved on, and now it remains to be seen how the new designer of Apple will recapture the old magic.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 14, 2024 05:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
