File: Apple Creative Director Alan Dye celebrates the launch of the July issue at the new WIRED offices on June 24, 2015 in San Francisco, California.
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appleAlan Dye, head of user interface design, will reportedly join the team. metaamidst notable changes in executive talent in Silicon Valley.
Apple confirmed Dye’s departure, and CEO Tim Cook said in a statement that the company prioritizes design and has a strong team. Dai will be replaced by veteran designer Stephen LeMay, according to a statement.
“Steve LeMay has played a key role in the design of every major interface at Apple since 1999,” Cook said in a statement.
Compared to other companies in Silicon Valley, Apple has always emphasized design as one of its strengths to customers and investors. Apple prominently features design executives discussing interface changes at its launch events.
Most recently, in June, Dye announced a redesign of the Apple software interface for iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch. This is called Liquid Glass. The company described it as an “elegant” new design with translucent buttons, updated app icons, and smooth animations.
Dai said this is the “next chapter” for the company’s software and “sets the stage” for the next era of Apple products.
“Our new design blurs the line between hardware and software, creating a more enjoyable experience than ever before while remaining approachable and easy to use,” Dai said at the launch.
The Liquid Glass update that shipped with new iPhones in September received mixed reviews.
Apple will introduce liquid glass at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 9, 2025 in Cupertino, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
For years, Apple’s design has been personified by executive Jony Ive. He left Apple in 2019 and now works with Sam Altman on developing artificial intelligence hardware at OpenAI.
Mr. Dye took over user interface design and became one of the leaders of the design studio in 2015 when Ive stepped away from his day-to-day role. According to LinkedIn, Dai joined Apple in 2006 and has worked on software for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Vision Pro.
He was also partly responsible for the first iPhone, which ditched the home screen button at the bottom of the device in 2017 and replaced it with a software-based swipe-up motion.
Meta has said in recent years that it wants to become a major manufacturer of hardware, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said Apple is one of the social networking company’s biggest competitors.
Meta currently makes several virtual reality headsets under the Oculus brand, and recently scored its first hardware hit with the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, stylish sunglasses with a camera and the ability to run AI models that answer questions. Ray-Ban’s parent company announced in July that sales of the device have tripled in the past year.
Bloomberg first reported the move.
According to the report, Dai will head Meta’s new design studio and be responsible for designing hardware, software and AI integration. Mehta did not respond to requests for comment.
