Scott Forstall

Scott Forstall
Forstall in 2012
Scott Forstall
Born	Scott James Forstall 27 12, 1969
Nationality	American
Occupation	Software engineer, Broadway producer
Title	Former Senior Vice President of iOS Software, Apple Inc.
Employer	Apple Inc. (1997–2012)
Known for	Leading the development of iOS at Apple Inc.
Awards	Tony Award (producer, Fun Home)

Scott James Forstall (born December 27, 1969) is an American software engineer and Broadway producer who played a central role in the development of some of Apple Inc.'s most consequential products. As the senior vice president of iOS Software at Apple from 2007 to 2012, Forstall led the team responsible for creating the software that powered the iPhone and iPad — devices that fundamentally reshaped the consumer electronics industry. Before his tenure at Apple, Forstall worked at NeXT, the company founded by Steve Jobs after his initial departure from Apple, and he followed Jobs back to Apple when the two companies merged in 1997. Often described within Apple as a protégé of Jobs, Forstall was considered one of the most influential executives at the company during the iPhone era. His departure from Apple in October 2012, following the troubled launch of Apple Maps, marked a significant leadership transition at the company. After leaving Apple, Forstall transitioned to a career as a Broadway producer, co-producing the Tony Award-winning musical Fun Home and the play Eclipsed, among other productions.

Early Life

Scott James Forstall was born on December 27, 1969. He grew up in a family with roots in the Pacific Northwest; public records indicate his parents, Norman and Kay Forstall, later celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary in Kitsap County, Washington.

Details about Forstall's childhood and formative years are limited in the public record. What is documented is that he developed a strong interest in computer science at an early age, an interest that would lead him to pursue the field at the university level and ultimately bring him into the orbit of Steve Jobs at NeXT.

Education

Forstall attended Stanford University, where he studied computer science. His connection to Stanford continued after graduation; in September 2007, following the launch of the original iPhone, Forstall returned to the university as a featured speaker at a junior convocation event, where he discussed his experiences in the technology industry.

Career

NeXT

After completing his studies at Stanford, Forstall joined NeXT, Inc., the computer company Steve Jobs had founded in 1985 after leaving Apple. At NeXT, Forstall worked on the NeXTSTEP operating system, gaining deep experience in object-oriented software development and the frameworks that would later form the foundation of Apple's macOS and iOS operating systems. His work at NeXT placed him among a cohort of engineers who would prove instrumental in Apple's later resurgence, and it established a professional relationship with Jobs that would define much of Forstall's subsequent career.

When Apple acquired NeXT in 1997 for approximately $429 million — a deal that also brought Steve Jobs back to Apple — Forstall was among the NeXT engineers who transitioned to the Cupertino company.

Apple Inc.

Early Years at Apple and Mac OS X

Upon arriving at Apple with the NeXT acquisition, Forstall became part of the team working on what would become Mac OS X, the modern operating system built on NeXT's technology that replaced the aging classic Mac OS. Forstall rose through the ranks of Apple's software engineering division, which was then led by Avie Tevanian, another NeXT veteran who served as Apple's chief software technology officer. When Tevanian departed Apple in 2006, it signaled a generational shift in the company's software leadership.

During this period, Forstall was also involved in the early development of Safari, Apple's web browser. According to Don Melton, who led the Safari project, the browser's development was conducted under significant secrecy within Apple, with Forstall playing a role in the project's organizational structure and internal politics.

Development of the iPhone

Forstall's most significant contribution at Apple was leading the software team that created the operating system for the iPhone, initially known internally as "iPhone OS" and later renamed iOS. The development of the iPhone was one of the most secretive and high-stakes projects in Apple's history. According to a detailed account published in The Verge excerpting Brian Merchant's book The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone, the iPhone project involved intense internal competition and demanding schedules, with Forstall at the center of the software effort.

Steve Jobs tasked Forstall with leading a software team to develop the iPhone's operating system. A critical early decision was whether to build the phone's software from scratch, to adapt a version of Linux (as many competing smartphones used), or to attempt to shrink Mac OS X down to run on a mobile device. Forstall and his team chose the latter path, adapting the core of Mac OS X — including its Mach kernel and many of its frameworks — for the resource-constrained environment of a mobile phone. This approach allowed the iPhone to leverage the mature, stable software foundation that Apple had built over years of Mac OS X development, while also enabling a rich, desktop-class user experience that was unprecedented on a mobile device.

In a 2017 talk at the Computer History Museum, Forstall reflected on the process of creating the iPhone's software, describing the engineering challenges and the creative problem-solving that went into building the device's multitouch interface, visual design, and application framework. During this presentation, Forstall provided rare public insight into the internal dynamics of the iPhone project, including the intense pressure from Jobs to deliver a polished product and the personal sacrifices made by members of the team.

The iPhone launched on June 29, 2007, and was an immediate commercial and cultural phenomenon. Its software — with its intuitive multitouch interface, fluid animations, and the concept of a grid of app icons on a home screen — established the paradigm that virtually all smartphones would follow. Forstall's role in this achievement elevated him to a position of significant influence within Apple.

Senior Vice President of iOS Software

Following the iPhone's launch, Forstall was appointed senior vice president of iOS Software, a role that placed him in charge of one of Apple's most important product lines. In this capacity, he oversaw the development and release of multiple major versions of iOS, managed the growth of the App Store ecosystem, and led the software effort for the iPad, which launched in 2010.

A 2011 Bloomberg Businessweek profile described Forstall as "the sorcerer's apprentice" — a reference to his close relationship with Steve Jobs and his perceived ambition to eventually succeed Jobs in a leadership role at the company. The profile noted that Forstall shared many of Jobs's traits, including a meticulous attention to design detail, a demanding management style, and a willingness to engage in aggressive internal politics. Forstall was a prominent figure at Apple's product launch events, frequently appearing on stage to demonstrate new iOS features, and he became one of the most recognizable faces of the company's executive team.

Under Forstall's leadership, iOS introduced numerous features that became defining characteristics of the modern smartphone experience, including the App Store, push notifications, multitasking, and Siri, the voice-activated digital assistant that debuted with the iPhone 4S in 2011.

A notable aspect of Forstall's design philosophy during this period was his embrace of skeuomorphism — a design approach in which software interfaces mimic the appearance of real-world objects. Under his direction, iOS applications featured visual elements such as leather-stitched textures in the Calendar app, a green felt background in the Game Center app, and a wooden bookshelf in the iBooks app. This approach was a subject of considerable debate among designers and technology commentators, with some praising it for making software more approachable and others criticizing it as dated and visually cluttered. After Forstall's departure, Apple moved decisively away from skeuomorphism with iOS 7, which featured a "flat" design led by Jony Ive.

Internal Tensions and Management Style

Multiple reports from within Apple indicated that Forstall's management style and personality contributed to significant friction with other members of the company's executive team. According to a Business Insider report, Forstall had a difficult working relationship with several key Apple executives, including Jony Ive, the company's head of industrial design, and Bob Mansfield, the senior vice president of Technologies. A BGR report stated that Forstall and Ive were unable to be in meetings together, with Ive particularly critical of the skeuomorphic design direction that Forstall championed for iOS.

A CNET analysis compared Forstall's departure to that of Steven Sinofsky at Microsoft, noting that both were accomplished product leaders whose interpersonal conflicts with colleagues ultimately led to their exits from their respective companies.

Apple Maps Controversy and Departure

The immediate catalyst for Forstall's departure from Apple was the launch of Apple Maps in September 2012 as part of iOS 6. Apple Maps replaced Google Maps as the default mapping application on iOS devices, but the product was released with significant quality problems, including inaccurate map data, distorted satellite imagery, missing landmarks, and unreliable directions. The issues were widely documented by users and the technology press, with a Tumblr blog called "The Amazing iOS 6 Maps" collecting particularly egregious examples of the application's errors.

The Apple Maps launch was considered one of the most significant product failures in Apple's recent history, and it drew an unusual public apology from CEO Tim Cook, who advised users to try competing mapping applications while Apple worked to improve its product. According to multiple reports, a key factor in Forstall's departure was his refusal to sign the public apology letter regarding Apple Maps. Tim Cook reportedly asked Forstall to sign the letter, and Forstall declined.

On October 29, 2012, Apple announced a major executive reorganization. Forstall would leave the company, serving as an advisor to Cook through 2013 before departing entirely. His responsibilities were divided among several other executives: Jony Ive took over human interface design across the company, Craig Federighi assumed leadership of both iOS and Mac software engineering, and Eddy Cue took responsibility for Maps and Siri.

The Guardian described the move as demonstrating a "ruthless streak" by Tim Cook, who was still relatively new in the CEO role following Steve Jobs's death in October 2011. A Forbes analysis characterized the reorganization as Cook asserting his authority and making clear that Apple under his leadership would not tolerate the kind of internal fiefdoms that had existed under Jobs.

Prior to his departure, in May 2012, Forstall had sold approximately 95% of his Apple shares, a transaction worth an estimated $38.7 million.

Assessment of Forstall's Departure

Opinion within the technology industry regarding Forstall's departure was divided. Some former Apple employees expressed the view that firing Forstall was a mistake, arguing that his product instincts and his ability to drive engineering teams were assets that Apple could not easily replace. Others argued that the reorganization was necessary to resolve deep-seated conflicts within Apple's leadership and to enable a new design direction for the company's products.

The departure also prompted broader discussion about Apple's post-Jobs direction. A Wall Street Journal report provided additional context about the internal dynamics that led to the reorganization, noting that Forstall's departure represented the end of an era for Apple's software leadership.

Post-Apple Career

Broadway Producing

After leaving Apple, Forstall initially kept a low public profile. A 2013 Business Insider report noted that Forstall had been seen attending various events and appeared to be exploring new interests, though he had not taken a new technology role.

Forstall subsequently moved into Broadway theater production. Together with his wife, Molly Forstall, he co-produced Fun Home, a musical based on Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir about her relationship with her father. The show opened on Broadway in 2015 and won the Tony Award for Best Musical that year. The Forstalls also co-produced Eclipsed, a play by Danai Gurira that opened on Broadway in 2016 and received six Tony Award nominations.

Technology Advisory Work

In 2025, it was reported that Forstall had been serving as an advisor to The Browser Company, the startup behind the Arc web browser. Josh Miller, CEO of The Browser Company, acknowledged Forstall's advisory role as the company made a strategic decision to shift its focus from the Arc browser to a newer product called Dia. This marked one of the first publicly reported instances of Forstall returning to active involvement in the technology industry since his departure from Apple.

Earlier reports had also indicated that Forstall had been approached by or connected with other technology companies. A 2015 BGR report mentioned Forstall in connection with Snapchat, though the nature and extent of any involvement was not confirmed.

Personal Life

Scott Forstall is married to Molly Forstall. The couple has collaborated on Broadway producing endeavors, including their work on Fun Home and Eclipsed. Public records indicate the family resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Forstall has made relatively few public appearances since leaving Apple. One notable exception was his 2017 appearance at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, where he participated in a panel discussion with other original iPhone team members about the creation of the device, marking the iPhone's tenth anniversary. The event provided rare public commentary from Forstall about his time at Apple and the development of the iPhone.

Recognition

Forstall's work on the iPhone and iOS is recognized as a defining contribution to the modern smartphone industry. The iPhone, whose software Forstall led, has been credited with establishing the design and interaction paradigms that dominate mobile computing. His name appears on numerous Apple patents related to multitouch interfaces, mobile operating system features, and user interface design.

As a Broadway producer, Forstall received recognition through the success of Fun Home, which won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Musical, and Eclipsed, which received multiple Tony Award nominations in 2016.

The 2012 Apple leadership reorganization that followed Forstall's departure continued to be discussed years later as a pivotal moment in Apple's corporate history. In 2025, thirteen years after the event, multiple technology publications published retrospective analyses of Forstall's firing and its long-term implications for Apple's product design and corporate culture.

Legacy

Scott Forstall's legacy is primarily defined by his leadership of the iOS software team during the creation and early growth of the iPhone and iPad. The iPhone, introduced in 2007, initiated a transformation of the mobile phone industry, and the software that Forstall's team developed was integral to the device's success. The multitouch interface, the concept of downloadable applications through the App Store, and the overall user experience that Forstall's team created became the standard against which all competing smartphones were measured.

The shift away from skeuomorphic design that followed Forstall's departure — culminating in the release of iOS 7 under Jony Ive's design leadership in 2013 — represented a fundamental change in Apple's visual design language. The "flat design" aesthetic introduced in iOS 7 influenced design trends across the technology industry and beyond, making Forstall's tenure a clear demarcation point in the evolution of Apple's software design philosophy.

A 2025 9to5Mac analysis noted that Apple appeared to be approaching another significant design transition, drawing parallels to the iOS 7 redesign that had followed Forstall's departure. The article characterized the post-Forstall iOS 7 redesign as a moment when Apple "started fresh" under new design leadership, suggesting that such periodic upheavals may be necessary for creative renewal within large technology companies.

Forstall's career trajectory — from NeXT engineer to one of the most powerful executives at the world's most valuable company, and then to Broadway producer — remains an unusual arc in the technology industry. His role in creating the iPhone ensures his place in the history of personal computing, while the circumstances of his departure from Apple continue to generate discussion about leadership, corporate politics, and the challenges of managing creative talent within large organizations.