The senior executive responsible for the antenna on the iPhone and iPod touch, Mark Papermaster, has left the company just two years after he joined from IBM.
Papermaster, who served as vice president of devices hardware engineering, has been reported as taking the fall for the faulty antenna issue. Apple has been forced to provide free cases to all iPhone 4 users to fix a reception issue, at a cost of tens of millions of dollars.
Apple has released no official statement, but various publications including TechCrunch and The Guardian have reported Papermaster’s departure. Bob Mansfield, senior vice president of Macintosh hardware engineering, will take over Papermaster’s responsibilities.
Daring Fireball blogger John Gruber said in a post that is “clear he was sacked”. He cites Papermaster’s absence at the July 16 press conference, at which chief executive Steve Jobs addressed the “antennagate” issue.
iPhone 4 users in Australia are also set to receive the free case, with that offer extended until September 30. It is unknown whether Apple is seeking a permanent manufacturing fix.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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