Scott Forstall Deserved to be Ousted from Apple Says Former Apple Exec

fadellIn an interview with BBC, Tony Fadell claims that former Apple senior vice president of iOS Scott Forstall “got what he deserved,” when he was forced to leave Apple.

Fadell is widely known as the godfather of the iPod, and he formerly served as the senior vice president of the iPod division and as a special advisor to Steve Jobs.

After Fadell left Apple in 2008, there were rumors that Forstall and Fadell butted heads on more than one occasion. A 2011 profile of Forstall suggested that he was difficult to work with and had fought with Fadell over the operating system for the iPhone, which eventually led to Fadell’s departure from the company.

The interviewer asked about Forstall’s personality and personal problems that Fadell had with Forstall, but Fadell declined to comment further and simply reiterated his previous statement.

“I think what happened just a few weeks back was deserved and justified.”

When asked about Apple, Fadell said that he thought the company was in a “great place” but mentioned that there had been cheering in Cupertino when Forstall was ousted.

Get Adobe Flash player


Currently, Tony Fadell is the CEO of Nest, the company that has created the popular Nest Learning Thermostat. Scott Forstall is serving as an advisor to Tim Cook and will be leaving Apple in 2013.

Top Rated Comments

colmaclean Avatar
144 months ago
NEWSFLASH - bloke who was elbowed out the door thinks it's a good thing that the main elbower has now been elbowed too.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ironsienna Avatar
144 months ago
It's so easy to turn Forstall into a scapegoat. To all the ignorants that hurray the expel of him and give credit to Fadell, if Fadell was to take the responsibility of the iPhone software, today you would essentially be using a big iPod to do your calls. The operating system would lack expandability, with no APIs borrowed from MacOs, and with limited functionality.

Forstall was the one that managed to port the MacOs into the iPhone turning it into a flexible mobile operating system. A HUGE task...

I can understand that Forstall lately did a lot of mistakes and I am not trying to defend or oppose his leave... Things change, people change... But I get really annoyed when I see some people being so shallow to judge so easily his work and what he has provided to Apple.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
addicted44 Avatar
144 months ago
Tony Faddell is clearly biased. His idea, of basing the iPhone OS on the iPod OS was shot down in favor of Forstall's idea of basing it on Mac OS X. And I think this was the right decision.

That being said, I believe iOS6 clearly indicated that Forstall had to go. He is obviously a brilliant man, but I think he had run out of ideas. While iOS6 was a great update, it wasn't the revolution I believe Apple needs in the next couple of years. And there was no indication that Forstall would be able to deliver.

In most cases, running out of ideas personally is not a huge issue in a large talented company like Apple's, because there are so many other smart people whose ideas you can leverage. But this is where Forstall's inability to get along with anyone else would potentially be a dealbreaker, because (a) he was unlikely to accept others' ideas, and (b) others were unlikely to share their ideas with him.

Now, the obvious counterpoint is Steve Jobs, who also famously did not get along very well with most people. Ignoring the obvious counterpoint is that Steve Jobs was Steve Jobs, and there is unlikely to be another Steve, the reality is that no one ever displayed the kind of animosity towards Jobs that Faddell in this case is displaying towards Forstall (note, that it was almost certain that it was Jobs who made the decision to go with Forstall's OS as opposed to Faddell's, but yet Faddell only has praises for Jobs). I think the reason behind that is people believe that Forstall is hard to get along with because he is interested in his own personal gain. Even the people who disliked Steve Jobs, and thought that he was arrogant, etc. always believed that his actions were indeed motivated by bringing out the best product. They may not have liked his ideas about what the best product was, and may have hated his management style, but they never questioned his motivations. That does not seem to be true of Forstall, where, as indicated in the Businessweek profile, Forstall's colleagues believe his motivations are purely selfish.

I think iOS7 (or maybe iOS8, if the plans for iOS7 are already baked in) will be a huge indication of the direction Apple will be taking post-Forstall.

----------

all the ignorants that hurray the expel of him

From most media reports, it seems that those "ignorants" are largely people within Apple, or as in the case of Faddell, are people with Apple who left there but without animosity towards the company.

I agree that Forstall deserves a lot of credit for iOS (and I agree that his basing it on OS X was a huge undertaking, which was far more effective than if it was based on the iPod's Pixo OS). That does not mean he was the right person necessarily to continue the job of improving iOS. It is obvious from media reports, and Apple's actions, that a significant part of Apple's management agrees with this. And with the direction iOS6 took, from a very far off (and obviously heavily underinformed) position, I also agree.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WatchTheThrone Avatar
144 months ago
Reminds me of when Steve Jobs was kicked out of Apple then came back....hhhhmmmm maybe he will be apples savior in the future :)
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
locust76 Avatar
144 months ago
I guess high school never ends......-__-

Join the Army... it's high school with guns.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arn Avatar
144 months ago
I wish someone would just tell us what the jackass (Forstall) did to deserve what he got. Can't macrumors email some former underlings and get a scoop?

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/scott-forstall-the-sorcerers-apprentice-at-apple-10122011.html

this profile of Forstall might be helpful

arn
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 16 4 Web Push

Apple Confirms Governments Using Push Notifications to Surveil Users

Wednesday December 6, 2023 5:06 am PST by
Unidentified governments are surveilling smartphone users by tracking push notifications that move through Google's and Apple's servers, a US senator warned on Wednesday (via Reuters). In a letter to the Department of Justice, Senator Ron Wyden said foreign officials were demanding the data from the tech giants to track smartphones. The traffic flowing from apps that send push notifications...
iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 May Reuse Existing iPhone 14 Battery

Wednesday December 6, 2023 1:17 pm PST by
Recently, MacRumors has received details on the battery currently being tested on the upcoming fourth-generation iPhone SE, and the information corroborates previous findings in relation to the device. The iPhone SE 4, known by its device identifier D59, is expected to use the exact same battery found in the base model iPhone 14. Partially assembled prototypes of the next iPhone SE have been ...
best buy snowflakes

Best Buy's New Weekend Sale Has Record Low Prices on MacBook Pro and MacBook Air

Friday December 8, 2023 7:37 am PST by
Best Buy's month-long holiday sale continues this weekend with multiple all-time low prices on Apple's line of MacBook Pro and MacBook Air computers. In addition to Apple notebooks, Best Buy's event has discounts sitewide on home appliances, TVs, video games, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive...
beeper mini

Apple Puts a Stop to Beeper Mini's iMessage for Android Feature

Friday December 8, 2023 2:24 pm PST by
Apple appears to have closed the loophole that Beeper Mini used to bring iMessage to Android, putting a stop to blue bubbles from Android devices. Beeper Mini quit working earlier today, with users receiving "failed to lookup on server: lookup request timed out" error messages. Beeper said on Twitter that it is investigating the issue, but Beeper CEO Eric Migicovsky told TechCrunch that "all ...
maxresdefault

Review: Two Months With the iPhone 15 Pro Max

Thursday December 7, 2023 12:04 pm PST by
Apple's iPhone 15 lineup came out in September, and while most reviews are done shortly after a new device launches, we like to follow up with a longer term review that gives us an opportunity to provide a deeper dive into what it's like using these phones on a day to day basis for months. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera has been...
anker new gold

Anker Begins Countdown to Christmas Sale With Up to 50% Off Popular Charging Accessories

Thursday December 7, 2023 7:55 am PST by
Anker has launched its newest holiday sale, this one offering a special deal every day in the lead-up to Christmas. These sales offer up to 50 percent off select products, and include discounts on USB-C chargers, portable batteries, and much more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which ...
12

Apple to Launch Two iPad Air and Two OLED iPad Pro Models Early Next Year

Wednesday December 6, 2023 9:53 am PST by
To boost falling iPad sales, Apple has a major refresh planned for the iPad lineup in early 2024, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple plans to debut new iPad Air and iPad Pro models, both of which will feature notable changes. The iPad Air will come in two sizes like the iPad Pro for the first time. The smaller model will continue to measure in at 10.9 inches, but the larger version...