“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.”
“The new studio will bring together design, fashion, and technology to define the next generation of our products and experiences. Our idea is to treat intelligence as a new design material and imagine what becomes possible when it is abundant, capable, and human-centered. We plan to elevate design within Meta, and pull together a talented group with a combination of craft, creative vision, systems thinking, and deep experience building iconic products that bridge hardware and software.”
“Alan will be joined by Billy Sorrentino, another acclaimed design lead from Apple; Joshua To, who has led our interface design across Reality Labs; our industrial design team led by Pete Bristol; and our metaverse design and art teams led by Jason Rubin.”
“We’re entering a new era where AI glasses and other devices will change how we connect with technology and each other. The potential is enormous, but what matters most is making these experiences feel natural and truly centered around people. With this new studio, we’re focused on making every interaction thoughtful, intuitive, and built to serve people.”
“I’m excited to welcome Alan and Billy to Meta to work with me, Boz, and our team to drive this important work forward.”
“Meta Platforms Inc. is hiring Alan Dye, Apple Inc.’s head of user interface design team, in a push into AI-equipped consumer devices.”
“Dye will be in charge of design for hardware, software and AI integration for Meta’s interfaces and will report to Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth.”
“The move represents a significant loss for Apple, which is already experiencing an exodus of talent from its design team, including the exit of visionary executive Jony Ive in 2019.”
“Meta Platforms Inc. has poached Apple Inc.’s most prominent design executive in a major coup that underscores a push by the social networking giant into AI-equipped consumer devices.”
“The company is hiring Alan Dye, who has served as the head of Apple’s user interface design team since 2015, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Apple is replacing Dye with longtime designer Stephen Lemay, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the personnel changes haven’t been announced.”
Industry observers are not necessarily casting this as a major loss for Apple. Daring Fireball’s John Gruber, a long-time Apple analyst has a long piece worth reading in “Bad Dye Job”. He particularly thinks highly of Dye’s replacement at Apple:
“Dye’s replacement at Apple is longtime Apple designer Stephen Lemay. I’ve never met Lemay (or at least can’t recall meeting him), and prior to today never heard much about him. But that’s typical for Apple employees. Part of the job working for Apple is remaining under the radar and out of the public eye. What I’ve learned today is that Lemay, very much unlike Dye, is a career interface/interaction designer. Sources I’ve spoken to who’ve worked with Lemay at Apple speak highly of him, particularly his attention to detail and craftsmanship. Those things have been sorely lacking in the Dye era. Not everyone loves everything Lemay has worked on, but nobody bats 1.000 and designers love to critique each other’s work. I’ve chatted with people with criticisms of specific things Lemay has worked on or led at Apple (e.g. aspects of iPadOS multitasking that struck many of us as deliberately limiting, rather than empowering), but everyone I’ve spoken to is happy — if not downright giddy — at the news that Lemay is replacing Dye. Lemay is well-liked personally and deeply respected talent-wise. Said one source, in a position to know the choices, “I don’t think there was a better choice than Lemay.”
“Alan Dye is not untalented. But his talents at Apple were in politics. His political skill was so profound that it was his decision to leave, despite the fact that his tenure is considered a disaster by actual designers inside and outside the company. He obviously figured out how to please Apple’s senior leadership. His departure today landed as a total surprise because his stature within the company seemed so secure. And so I think he might do very well at Meta. Not because he can bring world-class interaction design expertise — because he obviously can’t — but because the path to success at Meta has never been driven by design. It’s about getting done what Zuck wants done. Dye might excel at that. Dye was an anchor holding Apple back, but might elevate design at Meta.5
As well as Apple letting its ex-Google AI head ‘ohn Giannandrea ‘JG’ go with a replacement from Google who has Gemini in his background:
“Apple Inc. artificial intelligence head John Giannandrea is stepping down from the role and will leave the company entirely in the spring after a transitional period.”
“Under Giannandrea, Apple’s AI team struggled to catch up with Silicon Valley peers, arriving late to generative AI and having a subpar Apple Intelligence platform.”
“AI researcher Amar Subramanya has joined Apple as vice president of artificial intelligence, reporting to software head Craig Federighi, and will lead areas such as Apple foundation models and AI safety and evaluation.”
“AI researcher Amar Subramanya, meanwhile, has joined Apple as vice president of artificial intelligence, reporting to Federighi. He’ll lead the Apple foundation models, machine learning research, and AI safety and evaluation. Those were the primary areas that Giannandrea oversaw in recent months.”
““AI has long been central to Apple’s strategy, and we are pleased to welcome Amar to Craig’s leadership team and to bring his extraordinary AI expertise to Apple,” Cook said in the statement.”
“Subramanya spent 16 years at Alphabet Inc.’s Google and most recently served as Microsoft Corp.’s corporate vice president of AI. Bloomberg News reported that Apple was searching for a new head of AI and that Giannandrea’s days at the company were likely numbered.”
“Giannandrea had initially overseen Siri and other AI-related areas, such as robotics. But those areas were moved to other parts of Apple, including Federighi’s group and hardware engineering, after a major AI-focused update to Siri was delayed from a planned spring 2025 release.”
“The Cupertino, California-based company is now aiming to debut the software in spring of next year.”
Where even the most visible companies today on AI spending do not have all the needed pieces to deliver mainstream AI products, services and devices at scale. Not just from US companies, but soon from China and elsewhere as well.
It’s all just barely getting started this AI Tech Wave . Stay tuned.
(NOTE: The discussions here are for information purposes only, and not meant as investment advice at any time. Thanks for joining us here)
