Apple hardware development undergoes major restructuring this month? Report says device R&D speeds up, strengthening collaboration between chip and product teams.

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Apple is undergoing a major restructuring of its hardware development system. The new Chief Hardware Officer, Johny Srouji, is adjusting the management structure of core functions such as product design, aiming to accelerate the development of future devices and promote deep integration between the in-house chip team and product teams.

According to Bloomberg, citing sources, the adjustments began this month. The main measure is shifting management authority of product design from Senior Vice President Kate Bergeron to her two long-time deputies, Shelly Goldberg and Dave Pakula. Bergeron herself will take on a new position overseeing reliability management across the entire product line.

At the same time, the responsibilities of two key leaders in Apple's chip field will be further expanded to drive closer collaboration between the chip and product teams. Srouji will also add two of John Ternus’s former direct reports into his own direct reporting structure, responsible for home and audio product development and drone products, respectively.

This adjustment is part of a wider leadership overhaul at Apple. Ternus will take over as CEO on September 1, and Srouji will take charge of integrated management for hardware engineering and technology. Multiple sources noted that this restructuring also aims to better integrate the in-house chip team with the product development team.

Product Design Management Split, Bergeron Shifts to Reliability

The most significant functional change in this restructuring occurs in the product design field. This function is responsible for engineering the appearance, feel, and core capabilities of Apple devices and was previously managed solely by Senior Vice President Kate Bergeron.

Srouji is splitting this responsibility, handing it over to Bergeron's two long-time deputies: Shelly Goldberg will oversee product design for Mac, and Dave Pakula will take charge of Apple Watch, iPad, and AirPods. Product design for iPhone will continue to be led by Ternus's long-time deputy Richard Dinh.

It is noteworthy that internally, "product design" and "industrial design" are different functions at Apple. Industrial design is managed by another executive who reports directly to the CEO and leads the overall vision and aesthetics of new devices. Product design is responsible for translating that vision into actual, manufacturable products.

Bergeron will move to the key role of overseeing reliability across all product lines, replacing Tom Marieb, who has taken over hardware engineering leadership after Ternus's promotion and reports to Srouji. Bergeron will report to Marieb and retain her previous responsibility for materials research across Apple’s product lines.

According to sources, this adjustment is viewed internally as a promotion, as it follows a path similar to Marieb’s trajectory when he was promoted to head of hardware engineering.

Expanded Chip Leadership, Driving Chip-Team and Product-Team Collaboration

The other main thread of this restructuring is further expanding the responsibilities of two key leaders in Apple’s chip field, to promote deep integration between silicon engineering and product development.

Sribalan Santhanam, head of the Silicon Engineering Group, will now oversee Apple’s Israel chip engineering team in addition to his existing responsibilities, and take charge of the chip packaging and analog mixed signal (AMS) technology team. This team handles system integration, power management, signal processing, and other fundamental chip functions critical to Apple devices.

Zongjian Chen, head of Advanced Technology Group, will also see his scope significantly expanded: he will now oversee sensor software and prototyping (led by Myra Haggerty), battery and camera engineering (managed by Alan Gilchrist), and the display engineering team (headed by Victor Yin).

Previously, all these teams reported directly to Srouji.

Emerging Businesses Like Robotics Report Directly to Srouji; Non-Invasive Blood Glucose Sensor Project Changes Hands

At the strategic project level, this restructuring also affects a highly watched health technology project—the development of a non-invasive blood glucose sensor. This project will be moved from Platform Architecture lead Tim Millet to Chen’s jurisdiction. Millet, who took over the project in 2023, will continue to report to Srouji.

At the same time, Srouji will bring two of Ternus’s former direct deputies into his own reporting line: Matt Costello, formerly head of Apple’s home and audio product development, will now lead the newly established “Ecosystem Platform and Partners” team; Kevin Lynch will continue to head the special projects team focused on robotic devices and report directly to Srouji.

These arrangements mean that Apple has now brought its reporting structure for cutting-edge areas like robotics and health sensors—seen by outsiders as drivers of next-generation growth—directly up to the top hardware decision-making level.

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