Meta Hires Apple Design Exec Alan Dye for Reality Labs

Apple’s Former Design Lead Joins Meta

Alan Dye, a prominent design executive who spearheaded Apple’s user interface development for the past ten years, is transitioning to Meta. This information was reported by Mark Gurman of Bloomberg.

This recruitment represents a substantial gain for Meta, particularly as the company intensifies its focus on consumer-facing hardware. These include innovations such as smart glasses and virtual reality headsets.

Focus on AI Integration

Dye’s primary responsibility at Meta will be enhancing AI functionalities within these devices. He will directly report to Andrew Bosworth, the company’s Chief Technology Officer.

Steve Lemay will succeed Dye at Apple. According to a statement from Apple CEO Tim Cook to Bloomberg, Lemay has been instrumental in the design of every significant Apple interface since 1999.

Meta’s Competitive Strategy

Meta appears to be actively seeking talent from its competitors to bolster its position in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. This strategy was previously demonstrated through the recruitment of researchers from OpenAI earlier this year.

Reports suggest a unique recruitment tactic employed by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who allegedly personally delivered homemade soup to an OpenAI employee as part of the outreach effort. OpenAI’s chief research officer, Mark Chen, has reciprocated this gesture with promising Meta recruits.

New Creative Studio at Reality Labs

Following the announcement of Dye’s departure, Zuckerberg revealed the formation of a new creative studio within Reality Labs. This studio will be under Dye’s leadership.

He will collaborate with Billy Sorrentino, a former Apple designer previously leading interface design for Reality Labs, and Joshua To, who also held a leadership role in interface design within Reality Labs.

The studio will also incorporate Meta’s industrial design team, headed by Pete Bristol, and its metaverse design and art teams, led by Jason Rubin.

Vision for the Future

Zuckerberg articulated that the studio’s objective is to integrate design, fashion, and technology to shape the next generation of Meta’s products and user experiences.

“We envision intelligence as a novel design component,” Zuckerberg stated on Threads, “and are exploring the possibilities when it’s readily available, highly capable, and centered around human needs.”

He further emphasized Meta’s commitment to elevating design within the organization and assembling a team possessing strong craftsmanship, creative vision, systemic thinking, and extensive experience in developing iconic hardware and software products.

This article has been updated to include further details regarding Meta’s strategic initiatives.