According to Bloomberg, Tang Tan, Apple's vice president of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch, is leaving the company, a move that will lead to changes in the hardware engineering department. Tan reports to John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, who will leave Apple in February.
With Tan's departure, several of the employees who previously worked under him and Ternus will be expanded. Richard Dinh, the lead manager of product design for the iPhone, will succeed Tan and report directly to Ternus, while Kate Bergeron, vice president of hardware engineering for the Mac, will lead the design of the Apple Watch.
Tan also previously oversaw the acoustic team for the accessories design and development of the AirPods, which will be handed over to Matthew Costello, the former COO of Beats. Costello is currently in charge of Beats and HomePod.
Apple employees interviewed by Bloomberg said Tan's departure was"A blow", because he is responsible for making key decisions about iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods, and the team he leads also controls product features and design.
The news of Tan's departure comes days after Bloomberg reported that Apple's vice president of hardware, Steve Hotelling, was retiring. Hotelling leads the camera engineering team and has been involved in the development of Face ID, Touch ID, haptic feedback, promotion, and other key Apple technologies.