iPhone boss leaves Apple

The head of mobile hardware at Apple, Mark Papermaster, has left the company unexpectedly. Papermaster largely oversaw the development of the iPhone 4 and his departure is thought to be connected with the antenna and reception issues.

Papermaster was head of Apple’s iPhone and iPod hardware engineering department since 2009, when he joined the company from IBM.

Apple has not commented if he was fired or resigned. An Apple spokesperson said Mr Papermaster’s responsibilities would be covered by Bob Mansfield, who oversees the engineering for the company’s Macintosh products.

Papermaster worked at IBM for 25 years before joining Apple. He was hired in 2008 but did not begin work at Apple until mid 2009 because of a legal dispute from IBM stating that leaving the company would breach his contract.