The vice president of product design at Apple Inc., responsible for the design of the Watch and iPhone, will be stepping down in February. This departure will bring about changes to the company’s crucial product lines. The executive, Tang Tan, reports to John Ternus, the senior vice president of hardware engineering. The division is currently reorganizing its responsibilities to manage the transition effectively.

More than half of Apple’s $383.3 billion revenue last year was attributed to the Watch and iPhone Product Design, highlighting their significance to the company’s operations. In addition to overseeing the design of accessories, Tan also led the acoustics team responsible for the development of AirPods. These two groups will now be under the supervision of Matthew Costello, who is responsible for Beats and the HomePod smart speaker.

In Apple’s organizational structure, the watch and iPhone product design team collaborates closely with the industrial design and operations groups. Tan’s team exercises strict control over product features, encompassing the aesthetics of the devices as well as their engineering aspects.