A small but important piece of information was almost lost in the news that Apple COO Jeff Williams will soon be retiring: With the end of the Williams era, Apple's important design team is also getting a new boss. The team reported to – more or less because there was no other option and Apple had not appointed an official successor to the head of industrial design, Evans Hankey – to the COO. From next year, when Williams has left Apple, this will change: “Apple's design team will report directly to Cook after Williams leaves at the end of the year,” says Apple succinctly. In other words, Cook will effectively become the chief designer and will at least give his final approval to all designs.

But even now, it was hardly the case that Williams himself intervened in design decisions – at least not as “hands-on” as Chief Design Officer Jony Ive, who is now working on AI gadgets at OpenAI. Instead, the team works collaboratively. The software design department is already well staffed, with Alan Dye as Vice President of Human Interface Design. There may also have been a replacement for Hankey, at least indirectly: In May last year, a Bloomberg report stated that Apple had appointed a new vice president of industrial design, Molly Anderson. The problem: there was never any official confirmation of this. Anderson was previously “senior director” in this area.

Cook's new head of design post will be created gradually. Initially, Williams will remain responsible for the design team and Apple Watch, including health initiatives, until the end of the year. The Operations division will be taken over by his successor, Sabih Khan, who is only around three years younger and will become the new COO. Cook is also unlikely to always make decisions himself, even if he wears the final hat. A kind of triumvirate has formed around him, consisting of software boss Craig Federighi, hardware boss John Ternus, and marketing boss Greg Joswiak. These three are – probably the most important people for the Apple boss now that Williams is no longer Cook's right-hand man –.

Despite its great economic success, Apple has been criticized by market observers in recent years for taking too long to make decisions and only releasing products years after its competitors. The iPhone, for example, was launched in just two years, while the Vision Pro is said to have taken more than half a decade (if not a whole decade).

Apple is not expected to launch its first foldable until 2026, seven years after Samsung's first model. MacBooks with an OLED display are also not expected to appear until next year. Work on “real” augmented reality glasses also seems to be stalling, as is the production of a new type of home device that has been rumored for years. Apple is also considered to be lagging in the AI sector. In terms of design, the company recently stood out with a controversial new UI for its operating systems, the glass look of which has, however, been partially scrapped in the latest betas.

(bsc)