Tim Cook Faced an 'Insurrection' Following Announcement of Bob Mansfield's Retirement
Earlier this year, Apple announced that hardware chief Bob Mansfield would be retiring, staying on for several months as iPad hardware engineering chief Dan Riccio transitioned into the broader role overseeing the company's entire hardware effort. But just two months later, Apple announced that Mansfield would be staying on, retaining his senior vice president title but without a specific role other than to "work on future products".
A new report from Bloomberg Businessweek profiling Apple one year after the death of Steve Jobs reveals the backstory behind Mansfield's reversal, noting that Apple CEO Tim Cook found himself facing an "insurrection" from Apple employees following Mansfield's retirement announcement.
According to three people familiar with the sequence of events, several senior engineers on Mansfield’s team vociferously complained to Cook about reporting to his replacement, Dan Riccio, who they felt was unprepared for the magnitude of the role. In response, Cook approached Mansfield and offered him an exorbitant package of cash and stock worth around $2 million a month to stay on at Apple as an adviser and help manage the hardware engineering team.
Officially, Apple's hardware engineering group is now under the oversight of Riccio, so it is unclear exactly how Mansfield and Riccio are working together on their projects. Both executives report directly to Cook, and it is unknown how long Mansfield intends to remain with Apple.
Popular Stories
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...