Former iOS Chief Scott Forstall to Attend Virtual Coding Event This Week [Updated]

Former Apple executive and iOS chief Scott Forstall will make a rare public appearance this week at Code.org's Code Break event. He will appear alongside Grammy Award winning rapper and songwriter Macklemore.

scott forstall original iphone

Forstall was Apple's Vice President of iOS from 2007 until 2012

Described as the "world's largest live interactive classroom," Code Break aims to engage with computer science students during the ongoing stay-at-home measures, and features weekly computer science challenges for students of all abilities, even those without computers.

Forstall was reportedly ousted from Apple in October 2012, following the botched launch of Apple Maps. Forstall has maintained a quiet presence since then, although he did sit down with journalist John Markoff for an interview at the Computer History Museum in June 2017. Otherwise his main focus has been Broadway production.


Anyone interested can sign up at the Code.org website, which has more information about the event. The Code Break stream is live every Wednesday at 10.00 a.m. Pacific Time / 1.00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Update: The full video is now available to watch.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.2 Beta 3

Monday November 17, 2025 3:20 pm PST by
Apple provided developers with the third beta of an upcoming iOS 26.2 update, and there are still new features that are being added with each beta that we get. We've rounded up all of the changes that Apple made in beta 3. AirDrop Apple added new AirDrop functionality, providing a way for two people to share files temporarily without having to add one another as contacts. iOS 26.2...
Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
applecare apple care banner

Apple Brings New AppleCare+ Options to India

Tuesday November 18, 2025 8:42 am PST by
Apple today announced an expansion of AppleCare+ coverage in India, with new options for monthly and annual plans, and the addition of Theft and Loss for iPhone for the first time. Options for monthly and annual AppleCare+ plans in India provide more choice and flexibility, allowing users to keep coverage for as long as they require. Apple's vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Wednesday November 19, 2025 4:00 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Apple Wallet ID Illinois

iPhone Driver's License Feature Launching in Illinois

Tuesday November 18, 2025 8:47 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Starting this Wednesday, November 19, the feature will be available to residents of Illinois. The announcement confirmed that the...
ipad mini 7 feature red and blue

iPad Mini 8: Four Major New Features to Expect

Wednesday November 19, 2025 7:50 am PST by
Apple's eighth-generation iPad mini is highly likely to arrive next year, offering a significant refresh of the device with at least four major new features. OLED Display The next-generation version of the iPad mini could feature an OLED display, as part of Apple's plan to expand the display technology across many more of its devices. Apple's first OLED device was the Apple Watch in 2015, ...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 16 Wi-Fi Speeds: New Study Reveals the Winner

Tuesday November 18, 2025 10:53 am PST by
A new study has revealed that the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air achieve significantly faster average Wi-Fi speeds compared to the iPhone 16 series, thanks to Apple's custom-designed N1 chip. The study was conducted by Ookla, the company behind the popular Speedtest website and app. It said the results are based on global, crowdsourced Speedtest user data...
macbook black friday

The Best Early Black Friday Mac Deals

Tuesday November 18, 2025 7:32 am PST by
We're getting closer to Black Friday, which lands next week on Friday, November 28. In the lead-up to the shopping holiday, we're tracking a few lowest-ever prices on Apple's most popular Macs, including the M4 MacBook Air and brand new M5 MacBook Pro. 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,...
best early black friday deals

Best Black Friday Apple Deals Live Now - Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches

Saturday November 15, 2025 1:45 pm PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
Magic Keyboard Touch ID Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for 140W USB-C Power Adapter, Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad

Tuesday November 18, 2025 1:05 pm PST by
Apple today released updated firmware for several accessories, including the 140W USB-C Power Adapter, the Magic Trackpad 2, the Magic Trackpad USB-C, the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, and the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad. There is no word on what's included in the updated firmware at this time, but it could offer performance improvements and security updates. Accessory...

Top Rated Comments

Aluminum213 Avatar
72 months ago
The king returns...
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
insomniac86 Avatar
72 months ago

Forstall's fetish for skeuomorphism went too far...



At least it was creative. I still prefer it over the mess of UI inconsistency today. Each to their own though.


...Of what? Didn’t he singly almost destroy Apple Maps?
It was ****** TomTom data that was the issue, he was kicked for not publicly saying sorry. But like why should he? It wasn't his call to ditch Google Maps.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
miniyou64 Avatar
72 months ago

Forstall's fetish for skeuomorphism went too far...
No. It was perfect.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kemal Avatar
72 months ago
I would take an overdose of skeuomorphism just to get iOS 6 look and feel back. F- this flat no contrast crap.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
diego.caraballo Avatar
72 months ago
You can love skeuomorphism or you can hate it, that's perfectly fine with me. One thing is very clear, iOS on Scott leadership was ROCK SOLID...it was extremely rare the need to reset the iPhone/iPad...today, well, it's a weekly thing. Sometimes you don't need to, because a seven-days-apart "fixes" that you need to install do the restarting thing for you.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
57004 Avatar
72 months ago

At least it was creative. I still prefer it over the mess of UI inconsistency today. Each to their own though.

I agree... The flat design is boring and less interesting. The skeuomorphism should have been toned down a bit but I think it was essentially a good thing and it made iOS special. I've never really taken to it since.

I wonder what iOS would have been like now if they had kept Scott in charge of UX and left Jony to do only hardware design. I bet it would have been a lot more interesting.

The flat design worked really well for Android because before Material Design that was basically a cluster**** of different design paradigms. It was simply better because it had a design direction at all :) But iOS before version 7 was more human and more engaging IMO.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)