Roger Fingas for AppleInsider:
Jeff Williams has “shown interest in products’ look and feel,” said the Wall Street Journal (paywall), citing people who’ve previously worked with the executive.
The decision to install Williams as Ive’s effective replacement is due to Apple’s difficulty of finding anyone outside of the executive team who can take the role with any real effectiveness, as Ive had to lead a team to conceptualize products then create them into physical products, followed by collaborating with software, hardware, and operations teams to get it produced.
“It would be almost impossible to find someone who can really replace Jony Ive, Technalysis analyst Bob O’Donnell advised..
More in the article (recommended) here (paywall).
MacDailyNews Take: You can’t replace the irreplaceable Ive, but perhaps Williams can use this chance?