The Apple executive who oversaw development of the troubled iPhone 4 is leaving the company. Mark Papermaster has been head of Apple`s iPhone and iPod hardware engineering department since 2009 when he joined the company from IBM.

His departure is widely believed to be linked to the problems with the antenna on the iPhone 4.

Apple would not comment on the reasons for his departure or whether he resigned or was fired.

Soon after the iPhone 4 was released in late June many owners began reporting that it dropped calls. Evidence emerged that signal strength faded when the phone was held in a particular way.

The problem was traced to the iPhone`s use of its metal casing to house its antennas. Bridging the short gap between two antennas on the lower left-hand side of the case caused signal strength to leak away.

BDST: 1545 HRS, 9 August 2010