Overview
- Paul Meade, Apple’s vice president who led hardware engineering for the Vision Products Group, was reported on Friday to be leaving Apple and will start at OpenAI’s hardware unit next week to work on a new family of AI-powered consumer devices.
- Meade oversaw engineering for the Apple Vision Pro and led work on the company’s planned display-free smart glasses, positioning him as a central figure in Apple’s spatial-computing efforts.
- Fletcher Rothkopf, Meade’s longtime deputy who runs product design for Vision Pro and the smart-glasses effort, is set to absorb many of Meade’s responsibilities inside the Vision Products Group.
- Reports link Meade’s departure to a recent Apple hardware reorganization tied to John Ternus’s impending CEO transition and Johny Srouji’s move to chief hardware officer, a shake-up that prompted Apple to raise retention bonuses for key design staff.
- The hire continues OpenAI’s push into hardware after its 2025 acquisition of Jony Ive’s io and a sustained recruitment of former Apple designers, a trend that could speed competition in lighter, AI-enabled eyewear and other consumer devices while reshaping Apple’s talent pool.