14 DAY TRIAL // The co-inventor of the iPhone’s underlying software and the man behind the aqua interface from the early days of OS X, Scott Forstall, has been notably absent from the news for quite a while now.
After getting ousted from Apple last year, following the widely-publicized Apple Maps debacle, Forstall retreated to a less public life.
According to people who are familiar with his whereabouts, Forstall has been engaging in various philanthropic ventures over the past few months.
Amir Efrati writing over at The Information (a subscription-based tech blog), is quoted as saying that “Forstall spent the year traveling to Italy and South Africa. He also advised a few startups, and became more philanthropically involved, focusing on education, poverty, and human rights.”
Efrati adds that “VC firms like Kleiner Perkins and Andreessen Horowitz have stayed in touch, but Apple employees think Forstall's next move will be starting his own company.”
Forstall’s departure may have followed right after the Maps fiasco, but that’s not the only reason Apple management wanted him out.
His decline is believed to have started shortly after the death of Steve Jobs, Apple’s former CEO, who was known to be close with Forstall.
Some Apple employees were said to avoid meetings where they knew Forstall would be present. Some have said that designer Jony Ive and Scott Forstall (then iOS Chief) could never be seen in the same room together, because of their clashing views.
The last drop was when Forstall reportedly refused to sign an apology letter to the public regarding the troublesome Apple Maps service.
Not surprisingly, soon after Tim Cook fired Forstall, the iOS chief’s duties were assigned to various executives who remained on board, including Craig Federighi, Eddy Cue, and iconic designer Jonathan Ive.
There have been rumors that Forstall could end up as the CEO of Microsoft, but those speculations have long faded away into oblivion.