The Apple executive responsible for the company’s multi-touch technology, health sensors, Touch ID and Face ID is to retire from the company.
Steve Hotelling currently serves as a vice president, reporting to Johny Srouji, senior vice president of hardware technologies. During his tenure, Hotelling has been instrumental in 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 those related to multi-touch displays and Touch ID.
Hotelling led the company’s camera engineering team and was involved in the development of custom sensors. He oversaw the development of depth-sensing technologies critical to augmented reality experiences and components fundamental to haptic feedback and ProMotion displays.
Hotelling has also been a prominent advocate for Apple in numerous legal disputes during 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 key witness in a trial involving Masimo, which sued Apple over patents related to health sensors.
Despite the significance of his departure, Apple has yet to issue an official statement regarding Hotelling’s resignation. His responsibilities will apparently be spread across several of Srouji’s direct reports, with Alan Gilchrist taking over as head of the camera and depth sensor teams and Wei Chen taking over display technologies. Apple’s hardware technologies group is continuing work on a custom 5G cellular modem, new wireless chips, microLED displays and a non-invasive blood glucose sensor.
