Although not especially noted at the time, Papermaster was not on stage at Apple's July 16 press conference. Instead, Mansfield, the executive Apple said would assume Papermaster's responsibilities, joined Jobs and Tim Cook, the company's chief operating officer, to take questions from reporters.

Although many connected dots between Antennagate and Papermaster's departure, one analyst rejected the idea.

"I don't think that's the case," said Brian Marshall, an analyst with Gleacher & Company. "When you have a company the size of Apple, you're going to have turnover at low levels and high levels. I don't see this as that big of deal."

Instead, Marshall put forward a different theory.

IBM and Apple have vastly different corporate cultures, with the former known for its button-down ways, while the latter is much more casual, he noted. And Papermaster had worked at the more-structured IBM for over two-and-a-half decades.