Mark Papermaster, who joined Apple in 2009 as senior vice president of devices hardware, is no longer with Apple, according to a report Saturday in . The , which received confirmation from Apple of Papermaster’s departure, said it was not clear if the executive resigned or was dismissed.

Papermaster’s departure comes after some iPhone 4 customers , which sports a radically different antenna design. Apple wrapped the iPhone 4’s GPRS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi antennas around the outside of the device—a move that improved the phone’s ability to maintain calls and hold a signal in many cases. But, if gripped a certain way, the phone can experience signal degradation for some users.

Apple contends the problem isn’t unique to the iPhone, setting up a that addresses the issue. The company also noted that it received very few customer complaints about the iPhone’s antenna when it held a to announce a . Papermaster was not among the Apple executives introduced at that event.

According to the report, Papermaster’s duties are being assumed by Bob Mansfield, the senior vice president of Macintosh hardware engineering. Mansfield had accompanied reporters on a tour of after the June 16 press conference.

Papermaster came to Apple from IBM in a hiring that was controversial in its own right. Apple first tried to hire Papermaster in October 2008, but IBM tried to block the hiring, saying that a non-compete agreement prevented Papermaster from taking the job. The two companies resolved the legal dispute in with Papermaster assuming his new role at Apple three months later.