Meta Hires Apple Design Lead to Enhance VR/AR Experience

Alan Dye, Apple's Vice President of Human Interface Design, has been hired by Meta, according to Bloomberg. Dye played a crucial role in shaping the aesthetics and functionality of Apple's product lineup since the departure of Jony Ive in 2019.

He will report to Meta's Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth and lead a new design studio focused on hardware, software, and AI products. This studio will also feature former Apple designer Billy Sorrentino, Meta's interface design lead Joshua To, industrial design team leader Pete Bristol, and metaverse design and art teams led by Jason Rubin.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the new studio on Threads, stating that it aims to blend design, fashion, and technology to innovate future products and experiences. He emphasized the vision of treating intelligence as a new design material, exploring its potential when abundant and human-centered.

The move comes as Meta seeks to expand its consumer hardware offerings in the rapidly evolving VR and AR market. Meta's previous successes include the Quest virtual reality headsets and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

With Dye's leadership, the studio will likely contribute to future iterations of Meta's Ray-Ban Display and the upcoming Neural Band accessory. Meanwhile, Stephen Lemay, a senior designer at Apple since 1999, will replace Dye at Apple.

The shift of talent from Apple to Meta is not unprecedented; Evans Hankey, a former head of industrial design at Apple, left in 2022 to collaborate with Jony Ive and is now part of a team at OpenAI developing new hardware.

The hiring of Dye is particularly significant as Apple is rumored to be developing products that would increase competition with Meta, including the Vision Pro and its own smart glasses. The recruitment of Dye signals Meta's commitment to enhancing its position in the competitive VR and AR landscape, which is attracting increasing consumer interest.