When word surfaced on Wednesday that Apple Human Interface Vice President Greg Christie was leaving the company, it came with speculation that his departure was driven by friction with Jony Ive. Now sources are saying that's not the case, and instead Mr. Christie's retirement has been well planned for some time.
Apparently Greg Christie leaving Apple wasn't a big drama-fest
According to yesterday's sources, Mr. Ive and Mr. Christie clashed over the design of iOS 7 after Scott Forstall left the company. Reports that ongoing drama between the two men ultimately led to Mr. Mr. Christie being forced out of the company are now being called off base.
Sources told TechCrunch Mr. Christie's departure has been known internally for weeks, and was in the planning stages even earlier. He will reportedly stay on with Apple for a while after stepping down from his VP duties to work on special projects.
Daring Fireball's John Gruber said his sources claim Mr. Christie is simply ready to kick back and relax. He said,
Christie and Ive may not see eye to eye on UI design style, but his departure isn't nearly as contentious as Mark Gurman's report at 9to5Mac implies. The basic gist I've heard is that Christie is a guy who's been in a high-pressure, high-profile job for 18 years, most of it reporting to Steve Jobs. He's made a lot of money and is ready to enjoy it.
Regardless of why he's leaving, the end result is still the same. Sir Jony Ive will now be completely in charge of Apple's software design group. Get ready to see even more changes to Apple's OS X and iOS interface designs.
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