Meta has recruited Alan Dye, Apple’s longtime head of user interface design, marking a major win for Mark Zuckerberg’s company as it ramps up efforts to build wearable devices powered by artificial intelligence. Dye, who led Apple’s design team since 2015, will run a new Meta design studio overseeing hardware, software, and AI integration across its product ecosystem.

Zuckerberg said the move reflected Meta’s ambition to “treat intelligence as a new design material.” In a post on Threads, he added: “We’re entering a new era where AI glasses and other devices will change how we connect with technology and each other… what matters most is making these experiences feel natural and truly centred around people.”

Dye will report to Meta’s chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth, who heads the Reality Labs division responsible for AI glasses, Ray-Ban smart glasses, and Quest virtual reality headsets. His appointment follows Meta’s September launch of smart glasses featuring an in-lens AI display that can project messages, calls, and assistant responses.

Apple confirmed Dye’s departure, naming veteran designer Stephen Lemay as his replacement. Chief executive 

Tim Cook praised Lemay for shaping “every major Apple interface since 1999” and for upholding Apple’s culture of “collaboration and creativity.” 

The announcement comes amid wider leadership changes at the iPhone maker, including the retirement of chief operating officer Jeff Williams and the upcoming departure of AI chief John Giannandrea, who will be succeeded by former Microsoft and DeepMind executive Amar Subramanya.

Meta’s recruitment of Apple talent has accelerated in recent months. In addition to Dye, the company has hired former Apple designers Billy Sorrentino, who worked on VisionOS for the Apple Vision Pro headset, and Ruoming Pang, who led Apple’s AI models team and joined Meta’s elite TBD Labs. Some Apple alumni have also moved to OpenAI following its acquisition of a hardware start-up run by former Apple design legend Jony Ive.

The series of high-profile moves highlights the intensifying competition between Big Tech giants to hire elite designers and AI engineers. For Meta, which is betting heavily that AI-powered wearables could one day replace smartphones, Dye’s arrival underscores Zuckerberg’s “superintelligence” vision, one where intelligent, socially aware devices become central to how people interact with technology.

Citations:

Murphy, Hannah, and Rafe Rosner-Uddin. “Meta poaches senior Apple designer Alan Dye to support AI glasses push.” Financial Times, 3 December 2025, https://www.ft.com/content/b9b1d92a-7856-4058-adde-417a0b24fe62. Accessed 3 December 2025.