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Meta has poached top Apple design executive Alan Dye, in a blow to the iPhone maker as the social media group steps up its efforts to sell wearable artificial intelligence-powered devices.<\/p>\n
Dye, who has led Apple\u2019s user interface design team since 2015, will head up a new design studio at Meta<\/a>, overseeing design, software and AI integration across its product suite. <\/p>\n His appointment marks a coup for the $1.6tn social media platform. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has said wearable devices \u2014 which he believes will one day replace smartphones \u2014 are vital to his bet on \u201csuperintelligence\u201d. <\/p>\n On top of aggressively developing AI models<\/a>, Meta in September released its first smart glasses with an inbuilt display, which overlays text messages, video calls or responses from its AI assistant on one of the lenses.<\/p>\n Zuckerberg on Wednesday said that the company wanted to \u201ctreat intelligence as a new design material\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re entering a new era where AI glasses and other devices will change how we connect with technology and each other,\u201d he said in a post on Meta\u2019s text app Threads. \u201cThe potential is enormous, but what matters most is making these experiences feel natural and truly centred around people.\u201d<\/p>\n Apple confirmed Dye\u2019s departure and said he would be replaced by Stephen Lemay, a user interface designer who has worked for the company for almost three decades.<\/p>\n Dye will join the effort to develop Meta\u2019s consumer devices, including the display glasses launched this year, its current line of Ray-Ban smart glasses and its Quest virtual reality headsets. He will report to chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth, who heads up Meta\u2019s Reality Labs department.<\/p>\n It marks the second high-profile departure from Apple this week after its AI chief John Giannandrea<\/a> announced he would retire next spring. The iPhone maker has lagged behind rivals on the development and integration of AI into its devices.<\/p>\n