Who is Alan Dye? Apple’s key design executive behind liquid glass, Apple Watch UI, iOS7, poached by Meta
Alan Dye, Apple’s key design executive behind some of the company’s most iconic launches since the Steve Jobs era, is leaving the company to join tech rival Meta Platforms, Bloomberg and CNBC reports.
Bloomberg was the first to report that Mark Zuckerberg’s company was being poached. His departure from Apple was confirmed by a spokesperson, who confirmed that long-time designer Stephen Lemay will now take on the role.
In an official statement to Bloomberg News regarding CEO Tim Cook’s replacement for Dye, Apple said: “Steve Lemay has played a key role in the design of every major Apple interface since 1999. He has always set an extraordinarily high bar for excellence and embodies Apple’s culture of collaboration and creativity.”
“Design is the foundation of who we are at Apple, and today we have an extraordinary design team working on the most innovative product line in our history,” he added in the statement.
According to Bloomberg, Apple shares fell by approximately 1% to $284.15 in New York on December 3, while Meta fell by 1.2% to $639.60.
Who is iconic Apple designer Alan Dye, who is preparing to leave the company?
Alan Dye joined the company in 2006, under Steve Jobs’ chairmanship, and worked on the company’s packaging and unboxing experience. Apple Design’s official account said in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on December 4 that it “helped shape first impressions of Apple.”
- In 2013, Dye helped redesign the iOS7 flat user interface (UI), new icons, typography, and layout under the direction of Tim Cook.
- In 2015, he was appointed head of Apple’s user interface design team. Apple Design said he is the “core leader of the Apple Watch user interface,” adding that this includes watch faces, small-screen user experience (UX), and user interface.
- In 2022, he led the creation of Dynamic Island, which Apple says “blurs the line between hardware and software.”
- He added that he led the user interface design for the spatial computing user interface in 2023, “making the Vision Pro user’s eyes visible to the outside world.”
- The design team said Dye was involved in the Apple Vision Pro launch in 2024 and helped “integrate eye/hand interactions and immersion.”
- The company added that Dye led the design of Liquid Glass, “Apple’s largest cross-platform UI refresh” in 2025, and helped unify the design language for iOS, iPadoS, MacOS, watchOS and TVOS.
Apple Design pays tribute to Alan Dye’s time at the company: “Alan Dye’s Apple Journey: From a mind behind Apple boxes to iOS 7 flat design, from Dynamic Island to Liquid Glass.”
What will Alan Dye do in Meta?
The report stated that Meta held Dye responsible for the hardware, software and artificial intelligence integration design for its interfaces. Mark Zuckerberg welcomed Dye to the company in a Dec. 3 social media post and said he would launch a new creative studio, adding that the plan was to “elevate design within Meta.” He did not share details.
The report stated that Dye’s primary focus as chief design officer, effective December 31, will be to innovate Meta’s consumer devices with AI features, and that he will also report to Meta’s Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, who also oversees Reality Labs, which develops Meta’s wearable devices (smart glasses and VR headsets).
Dye is also joined at Meta by another colleague from Apple, Billy Sorrentino, who has been a senior director on Apple’s design team since 2016. Also joining Dye are Meta’s current design leaders Joshua To, Jason Rubin and Peter Bristol.
Meta loses Alan Dye to ‘big blow’
The Bloomberg report called Dye’s move to Meta a “major coup” that strengthens the company’s push into AI-integrated consumer devices.
He added that this is a new blow for Apple after legendary executive Jony Ive left the company in 2019. He added that Dye had taken on a more important role, especially after Ive’s departure, so the loss would be felt. The CNBC report said Ive is currently working with Sam Altman on AI hardware at OpenAI.
In November of this year, Jeff Williams, the company’s chief operating officer since 2015, retired; and AI chief John Giannandrea also announced his departure this week. In 2024, Apple’s former hardware chief Dan Riccio also retired.
Additionally, as CEO Tim Cook approaches retirement age, other prominent names Johny Srouji (Apple’s silicon chief) and Lisa Jackson (Apple’s head of government environmental initiatives) are “evaluating their futures at the company,” according to the Bloomberg report.
(With input from Bloomberg)
