British engineer behind Apple's iPhone and iPod in shock exit after a decade of success

Apple's British-born iPhone and iPod engineering chief has left the company after ten years, according to reports.

David Tupman presided over launches such as early generations of the iPod, as well as the first iPhone's launch five years ago.

Tupman has more than 70 patents in his name.

The move has puzzled observers, as it's not clear where Tupman has gone - and he left as Apple's results hit a high, driven largely by the success of its iPhone division.

Sources speaking to 9to5Mac said that Tumpan had left late last year.

The site reported that his office phone line had been deactivated.

Last quarter, Apple sold 37.4 million iPhones.

Tupman's official title was Vice-President of Hardware Engineering, iPhone and iPod division.

The engineer had risen through the ranks at mobile computing company Psion, before joining Apple a decade ago.

Tupman reported to Tony Fadell, who led the team that designed the iPod at Apple.

Fadell is often described as the 'father' of the iPod.

Unconfirmed reports said that Tupman had joined Fadell at his new venture, hi-tech thermostat start-up Nest, but a spokesman denied that Tupman had joined the company.

His LinkedIn profile also still shows him as being at Apple Computer.

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