Abidur Chowdhury, the industrial designer behind the iPhone Air introduction, has left Apple to join a rising AI startup, marking a major design team shift, Bloomberg is reporting.

According to sources familiar with the matter, Chowdhury has joined an emerging artificial intelligence startup. His departure has stirred interest internally because he was considered a rising star on Apple’s industrial design team.

Chowdhury not only contributed to the development of the iPhone Air, but also appeared in Apple’s September event video, presenting the design journey and features in a roughly two-minute clip. His exit follows a six-year tenure at Apple, where he joined in 2019, around the same time legendary designer Jony Ive departed the company.

Chowdhury’s decision to leave is said not to be

See Full Page