Could Jony Ive's promotion at Apple actually inch him closer to the exit door?

Industry watchers, who try in vain to decipher the secretive tech giant's internal politics, are reading a lot into news of Sir Jonathan's switch to chief design officer

The ever-growing group of people who scrutinise Apple's internal politics are poring over the announcement that Sir Jonathan Ive has been promoted to chief design officer. For tech kremlinologists, it raises questions about the 48-year-old Briton. Is he on the way out as well as up? Is it his own choice? Or does it mean that he's going to devote more time to a huge future project such as the rumoured Apple car?

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