Apple’s Vice President of Human Interface Greg Christie, he of “Slide to Unlock” fame, will be leaving the company after clashing with Apple’s SVP of Industrial Design, Jony Ive. Ive took on a role of “providing leadership” for the Human Interface teams in late 2012, after Scott Forstall left the company.
When Ive tasked Apple’s Human Interface team with redesigning iOS 7 to include an entirely new look, Christie and Ive reportedly clashed over design direction, after which Ive is said to have circumvented Christie’s leadership of the team during the new operating system’s development.
With Christie’s exit, software design will fall under Ive’s domain. Software designers will work directly alongside Ive’s industrial design team.
Christie had worked for Apple since 1996, and had been credited with the “Slide to Unlock” feature, which was designated an essential iPhone feature in the current Apple v. Samsung trial.
Christie has also been instrumental in other important iPhone features, and has hundreds of Apple patents in his name. There is no word on when he will officially leave the company, or what his plans are for after his departure.
