Apple’s long-serving UI design head Alan Dye has left the company to join Meta. This marks another major leadership departure as competition intensifies between the tech giants. Alan Dye is all set to join Meta on December 31.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in a social media post, said that Dye will lead a new creative studio within Meta that brings together design, fashion, and technology. He will report to Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth.
Alan Dye joined Apple in 2006 and has led its human interface design team since 2015. During his tenure, he helped shape the look and feel of Apple’s flagship products, including the Vision Pro headset, iPhone X, and Apple Watch, and oversaw major redesigns of its operating systems and apps.
Meta currently has partnerships with EssilorLuxottica brands Ray-Ban and Oakley to make AI-powered smart glasses.
Bloomberg News reported that veteran designer Stephen Lemay will succeed Dye
“Steve Lemay has played a key role in the design of every major Apple interface since 1999,” CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.
Meta has been aggressively hiring and striking deals with startups as it seeks to position itself ahead of rivals in developing next-generation hardware and software experiences.
Dye’s departure adds to a string of senior exits at Apple in recent months, including longtime Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and AI chief John Giannandrea.
Mark Zuckerberg announced Dye’s appointment in a post shared on the social media platform Threads. “Today we're establishing a new creative studio in Reality Labs led by Alan Dye, who has spent nearly 20 years leading design at Apple,” he said.
Zuckerberg explained that the new studio would bring together “design, fashion, and technology”. “We plan to elevate design within Meta,” wrote Zuckerberg
Zuckerberg said that to elevate design within Meta, the company is pulling together “a talented group with a combination of craft, creative vision, systems thinking, and deep experience building iconic products that bridge hardware and software”.
“We're entering a new era where AI glasses and other devices will change how we connect with technology and each other,” said Zuckerberg. “With this new studio, we're focused on making every interaction thoughtful, intuitive, and built to serve people.”
Apple has seen the retirement of longtime chief operating officer Jeff Williams, which is followed by AI chief John Giannandrea, and the retirement of former hardware chief Dan Riccio. Reports also indicate that several remaining executives, including Cook himself, are approaching typical retirement age and evaluating their plans.
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Alan Dye’s exit comes amid an intensifying talent war in Silicon Valley, where tech giants are competing to secure top talent to gain an edge in the AI race. Dye’s departure indicates the end of a notable chapter for Apple’s Human Interface Design team, which is a group central to the company’s identity since the original iPhone.
It remains to be seen how the tech giant will cope with this talent poaching and what measures it will take to improve upon its products without the assistance of one of its stalwarts.