New Delhi: Meta has officially hired Alan Dye, Apple’s longtime head of human interface design, and it is officially confirmed by Apple’s spokesperson, as the Facebook owner accelerates efforts to build AI-powered consumer devices. Alan Dye, who will be joining Meta as chief design officer on December 31, started at Apple in 2006 and has led its human interface design team since 2015. During his tenure, he helped shape the look and feel of Apple’s flagship products, including the Vision Pro headset, iPhone X and Apple Watch, and oversaw major redesigns of its operating system and applications.
Meta’s poaching of Alan Dye underscores its push to expand consumer hardware beyond its smart glasses, as the company bets on the consumer wearables market and seeks to create a broader product lineup beyond social networking. Meta currently has partnerships with the EssilorLuxottica brands Ray-Ban and Oakley to make AI-powered smart glasses, and it has announced that veteran designer Stephen Lemay will succeed Alan Dye.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has released a statement in which he said that, “Steve Lemay has played a key role in the design of every major Apple interface since 1999.” The move comes amid an intensifying talent war in Silicon Valley, where the tech giants are competing to secure the top talent to gain an edge in the AI race. Meta has been aggressively hiring and striking deals with startups as it seeks to position itself ahead of rivals in developing next-generation hardware and software experiences. Alan Dye’s departure adds to a string of senior exits at Apple in recent months, including longtime Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and AI chief John Giannandrea.
