Apple Executive Behind Breakthrough Hardware Technologies to Retire

The Apple executive responsible for the company's multitouch technology, health sensors, Touch ID, and Face ID is set to retire from the company, Bloomberg reports.

Steve Hotelling currently works as a vice president reporting to senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji. During his tenure, Hotelling significantly contributed to the development of some of Apple's most innovative and complex technologies used in the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro headset. Hotelling's name appears on hundreds of patents, including filings related to multitouch displays and ‌Touch ID‌.

Hotelling led the company's camera engineering team and was involved in the development of custom sensors. His work oversaw the development of the depth-sensing technologies crucial for augmented reality experiences and components fundamental to haptic feedback and ProMotion displays.

Hotelling has also been a prominent representative for Apple in numerous legal trials throughout his two decades with the company. He was a key figure in a patent case against Samsung in the last decade and recently served as a crucial witness in a trial involving Masimo, which sued Apple over patents related to health sensors.

Despite the significance of his departure, Apple has not yet shared an official statement regarding Hotelling's retirement. His responsibilities are apparently being distributed among several of Srouji's direct reports, with Alan Gilchrist taking over the management of the camera and depth sensor teams, and Wei Chen taking over display technologies. Apple's hardware technologies group continues work on a custom 5G cellular modem, new wireless chips, microLED displays, and a non-invasive blood sugar sensor.