Apple Overhauls Hardware Team to Boost Innovation

Apple is making major changes to its hardware engineering division. The tech giant is shifting its internal reporting structure to merge its custom chip engineering teams more closely with its physical product design groups (via Bloomberg).

The restructuring is led by Johny Srouji, whose role recently expanded to Chief Hardware Officer. The primary objective of this latest shake-up is to dismantle departmental silos and speed up the development of future consumer tech.

By placing chip development and product design under more unified oversight, Apple aims to ensure that its internal components, like the M-series and A-series processors, are built in lockstep with the actual devices they power.

The most visible changes are occurring inside the product design organization. This specific group is distinct from the industrial design team, which handles the initial aesthetic vision and appearance of Apple hardware. Instead, the product design team is tasked with the highly technical job of turning those concepts into durable, mass-producible consumer products.

Kate Bergeron, a longtime vice president who has steered product design for years, is stepping back from day-to-day management duties of individual product categories. Bergeron is moving into a role where she will oversee product reliability across all Apple devices while continuing to lead the team that selects the physical materials used in manufacturing.

Oversight of the actual product lines is being split among her veteran deputies. Shelly Goldberg, who previously focused on the Mac, will now handle design leadership for computers. Dave Pakula is taking charge of the Apple Watch, iPad, and AirPods lines. Meanwhile, Richard Dinh will continue to steer the engineering operations for the flagship iPhone lineup.