Mark Papermaster, SVP of Devices Hardware Engineering, leaves Apple

It appears as though the iPhone 4 is still causing some problems for Apple, as the latest news to come from the Cupertino HQ is that Mark Papermaster, SVP of Devices Hardware Engineering, has left the company. There’s no official word on exactly why he left, whether he decided it was time to go, or whether Apple had in fact suggested that he should leave.

According to a quoted source gained by John Gruber, Mark Papermaster was the “guy responsible for the antenna”, which is highly likely to play a role in his departure. While the iPhone 4’s antenna has posed a lot of issues for Apple to deal with, they have throughout seemed quite confident that there’s nothing severely wrong and that it’s an issue many other smartphone’s have to deal with. It therefore seems strange that Apple would see fit to fire an employee over the issue, especially after such an intensive testing process that should’ve managed to pick up any avoidable mistakes.

It’s quite likely that Mark Papermaster felt the bad air surrounding the iPhone 4 was enough for him to collect his belongings and leave. There’s always the familiar suspicion that surrounds Apple at times like this, but we’ll likely get an answer soon enough. Until then, and for the time being, Bob Mansfield, SVP of Macintosh Engineering, will be taking over from where Mark left off.

Via [NY Times]