Apple Vision Pro Executive Reportedly Departs for OpenAI

Paul Meade, the Apple vice president overseeing the development of the Vision Pro headset, is leaving the company to join OpenAI’s hardware team, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Meade also reportedly led the creation of Apple’s upcoming AI-powered smart glasses, which the company plans to launch in 2027. While the premium-priced Vision Pro failed to gain significant traction, Apple is betting that more affordable smart glasses will help it compete with Meta’s wearable devices. Gurman frames Meade’s departure as a consequence of John Ternus’s imminent elevation to Apple CEO. Ternus has been reorganizing the hardware engineering team, leaving some vice presidents feeling they were demoted. OpenAI, meanwhile, is already collaborating with former Apple chief design officer Jony Ive on an AI device. Sam Altman has described it as “more peaceful and calm than an iPhone,” though reports last autumn indicated the company was struggling to finalize its design. TechCrunch has reached out to Apple and OpenAI for comment.

via TechCrunch AI