Meta Snatches Apple’s Top Interface Designer To Lead New AI Design Push

• Dye will reportedly join Meta as chief design officer on Dec. 31, reporting to CTO Andrew Bosworth.
• Apple named veteran designer Stephen Lemay as his successor amid ongoing leadership turnover.
• Former Apple design director Billy Sorrentino will also move to Meta and report to Dye.

Meta Platforms has reportedly hired Apple’s longtime user-interface design head Alan Dye as the former steps up its push into AI-enabled consumer hardware.

Dye To Join Meta As Chief Design Officer

Dye, who has led Apple’s interface design team since 2015, supposedly informed Apple this week that he would depart and will join Meta as chief design officer on Dec. 31. He will oversee design for hardware, software and AI integration, reporting to Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, who runs Meta’s Reality Labs division responsible for VR headsets and wearable devices. Meta is creating a new design studio around Dye, according to a Bloomberg report.

Dye previously oversaw the Vision Pro interface, recent operating-system redesigns, and major products including the iPhone X and Apple Watch.

Additionally, joining Dye at Meta is Billy Sorrentino, a senior director on Apple’s design team since 2016. Meta said Dye will lead its design leaders Josh To, Jason Rubin and Peter Bristol.

Apple Names Stephen Lemay As Successor

Apple is reportedly elevating veteran designer Stephen Lemay to replace Dye. CEO Tim Cook confirmed the change in a statement to Bloomberg, saying Lemay has played “a key role in the design of every major Apple interface since 1999” and embodies Apple’s culture of “collaboration and creativity.”

Dye’s departure extends years of turnover within Apple’s design ranks following Jony Ive’s 2019 exit. Recent senior departures include Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams, AI head John Giannandrea and former hardware chief Dan Riccio. More leadership changes, including that of Cook, are expected as several executives approach retirement. Cook said Apple still has an “ extraordinary design team working on the most innovative product lineup in our history,” Bloomberg noted.

Stocktwits Draws Bullish Mood For Apple

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment was ‘bearish’ for Meta amid ‘extremely low’ message volume, while Apple saw ‘bullish’ sentiment with ‘high’ message volume.

While Meta’s stock has risen 10% so far this year, Apple’s stock has climbed 14% over the same period.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

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