Meta Poaches Apple Design Chief Alan Dye to Lead AI Hardware Push

Meta has hired Alan Dye, Apple's vice president of Human Interface Design, in a significant recruitment coup that signals the social media giant's intensifying focus on AI-integrated consumer hardware. Dye, who has led Apple's user interface team since 2015, will head up a newly formed design studio at Meta starting December 31.

Apple confirmed the departure to Bloomberg and announced that Stephen Lemay will step into the role. Lemay is a veteran designer at the company who has contributed to its major interfaces since 1999. In a statement regarding the transition, CEO Tim Cook praised Lemay's track record, noting that he "has always set an extraordinarily high bar for excellence and embodies Apple's culture of collaboration and creativity."

At Meta, Dye will serve as chief design officer for a group within Reality Labs, reporting directly to CTO Andrew Bosworth. His mandate involves overseeing the design of hardware, software, and AI integration for the company's interfaces. This suggests a major push to revamp Meta's wearable lineup, such as smart glasses and VR headsets, with a cohesive design language driven by artificial intelligence. Billy Sorrentino, another senior director from Apple's design team, is also joining Meta to report to Dye.


The exit marks a major loss for Apple's design group, which has faced a steady drain of talent since the departure of Jony Ive—who is currently developing his own AI hardware with OpenAI. During his tenure, Dye was instrumental in defining the interaction models for the Apple Watch and iPhone X, as well as the recent visionOS interface for the Vision Pro. He also oversaw the 'Liquid Glass' redesign that rolled out across Apple's operating systems this year.

This leadership change adds to a period of significant turnover in Cupertino. Just this week, Apple announced that AI chief John Giannandrea is stepping down, following the retirement of longtime COO Jeff Williams last month. Other key figures, including silicon chief Johny Srouji and environment VP Lisa Jackson, are also reportedly evaluating their futures at the company.

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