Meta has pulled off a rare win against Apple by hiring one of its most influential design leaders, according to people familiar with the move. Alan Dye, who has been steering Apple’s interface design for years, is set to join Meta as chief design officer on December 31. The shift is being viewed by industry watchers as a sign that Meta is doubling down on building AI-powered consumer hardware, reports Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
People close to the situation say Apple had already been bracing for Dye’s exit. The company has tapped longtime designer Stephen Lemay to take over his responsibilities.
What’s crazy about this story is Apple confirmed the Bloomberg scoop, which it rarely does.
“Steve Lemay has played a key role in the design of every major Apple interface since 1999,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a statement to Bloomberg. “He has always set an extraordinarily high bar for excellence and embodies Apple’s culture of collaboration and creativity.”
At Meta, Dye will report to CTO Andrew Bosworth and lead a new design structure covering hardware, software, and AI-based interfaces. His work will tie directly into the company’s Reality Labs division, which builds products like VR headsets and smart glasses.
His departure adds to a growing list of senior Apple exits, including former COO Jeff Williams and AI chief John Giannandrea.
“Design is fundamental to who we are at Apple, and today, we have an extraordinary design team working on the most innovative product lineup in our history,” said Cook in the statement.
Dye has served as Apple’s Vice President of Human Interface Design since 2006, leading the company’s Design Studio beginning in 2015. During that time, he helped define the look, feel, and interaction patterns of every major Apple platform, including iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Vision Pro. His work shaped key shifts like the redesign of iOS 7, the iPhone X gesture system, AirPods’ intuitive connection interface, CarPlay’s in-car experience, and features on Apple Watch such as Activity Rings and health tools.
He also played a major role in the design of the Camera system, Dynamic Island, and visionOS, establishing core ideas for spatial computing. Beyond platforms, he oversaw updates to many of Apple’s everyday apps, including Messages, FaceTime, Mail, Safari, Notes, Maps, Health, and more. Before joining Apple, he spent nearly three years as a design director at Kate Spade.
Meta is also bringing over another Apple design veteran, Billy Sorrentino, while its existing design leads will shift under Dye’s new organization.
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Meta can have him. Liquid Glass is a debacle on MacOS at least – adding unnecessary borders and containers for groups of buttons everywhere.
Hard same. I really don’t like almost anything he’s done.