Day: November 15, 2025

Former Apple COO Jeff Williams Has Officially Retired

**Jeff Williams Retires: Reflecting on His Influence at Apple**

In July of last year, Apple revealed that its longtime Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Williams, would retire “late in the year.” It has recently been confirmed that Williams has clocked out for the final time, signaling the conclusion of an era for the tech powerhouse.

### Williams’ Final Day at Apple

Having overseen Apple’s operations for ten years, Williams had already stepped down as de facto COO earlier this year, transferring the duties to Sabih Khan, who now serves as Apple’s Senior Vice President of Operations. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, conveyed immense appreciation for Williams’ efforts, stating, “Apple wouldn’t be what it is without him.” He emphasized Williams’ involvement in crafting a reputable global supply chain, introducing the Apple Watch, and formulating the company’s health strategy.

### Contributions and Duties

Beyond his role as COO, Williams directed customer service and support, the design team, and the engineering for both software and hardware related to the Apple Watch. He played a key role in establishing Apple’s overall health initiatives, which have become a crucial aspect of the company’s ecosystem.

As Williams made his exit, reports indicated that various aspects of his responsibilities would be reallocated. The health and fitness teams will now come under Eddy Cue, Senior Vice President of Services, while Craig Federighi will manage watchOS, and John Ternus will oversee the engineering of Apple Watch hardware.

### Leadership Shifts on the Horizon

Williams’ retirement heralds a broader shift in leadership at Apple, with several executives expected to step down in the near future, including Tim Cook. Presently, Ternus is regarded as a leading candidate for the CEO role, though a timeline for this transition remains uncertain.

### Conclusion

Jeff Williams departs leaving a legacy of innovation and excellence at Apple. His contributions have forged the company into a leader in technology and design, and his exit signifies a pivotal moment in Apple’s history as it gears up for new leadership and forthcoming challenges.

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Google Messages Set to Launch Function for Simplified Engagement in Group Chats

core messaging application Google Messages for some time. Fortunately, Google is addressing that.

We’ve been aware that @mentions were on their way to Google Messages for a while; or, at the very least, that Google was developing them. Nevertheless, a recent article from 9to5 Google indicates that the feature is actually being deployed to users, enabling you to specifically mention individuals within the app in group conversations. Some users have already noticed it on Reddit, and it seems to be linked to the latest beta edition of the Google Messages application.

A significant enhancement for group chats on Android

Android Might Unveil Its Own Take on a More Obscure iPhone Attribute

Apple rolled out NameDrop for the iPhone and Apple Watch with the launch of iOS 17, leaving many users uncertain about this new contact sharing feature. In fact, a large number sought out instructions for disabling NameDrop immediately after it became publicly available, with certain law enforcement agencies even putting out alerts about the option and advising users to deactivate it.

Although these alerts suggest that the feature might present more of a security threat than it actually does, as NameDrop still necessitates user authentication to share information with another device, that has not prevented it from emerging as one of the more overlooked contact sharing tools integrated into the operating system. Now, it seems that Google may be preparing to introduce something similar.

According to a recent APK teardown by Android Authority, Google initially embedded code for a NameDrop-like capability in version 25.44.32 beta of Google Play Services. The blog asserts that it has unearthed snippets of code associated with two functionalities referred to as Gesture Exchange and Contact Exchange. Now, with the rollout of Google Play Services version 25.46.31, the team behind that analysis was able to successfully activate one of the features linked to the new system.

An initial glimpse at Android’s alternative to NameDrop

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