Abidur Chowdhury, celebrated designer behind iPhone Air, leaves Apple

Abidur Chowdhury, the celebrated designer of iPhone Air fame, has left Apple, unsettling the consumer electronics giant’s design team, news agency Bloomberg reported on November 18. 

Chowdhury, an industrial designer, was instrumental in developing the iPhone Air and had even fronted its global introduction.

His exit has been confirmed by people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg’s report said. It underscores the rapid turnover inside one of the company’s most influential teams at a time when design continuity is already under strain.

Chowdhury’s profile had grown quickly within Apple. In September, the company tapped him to appear in a two-minute launch video explaining the design principles behind the iPhone Air -- a prominent assignment traditionally reserved for senior figures.

The event also featured a separate film narrated by Molly Anderson, Apple’s new design chief, highlighting the visibility afforded to those chosen to front product unveilings.

Apple declined to comment on the departure.

Chowdhury had spent more than six years with the company after joining in 2019, coinciding with the exit of Jony Ive, the long-time design leader whose influence dated back to the Steve Jobs era.

Chowdhury was closely involved in the development of the iPhone Air, a device praised for its design despite sales that have not matched expectations. According to various reports, a second-generation model is scheduled for 2027. His decision to leave, sources said, is unrelated to the phone’s commercial reception.

The departure adds to a broader reshaping of Apple’s design organisation. Since Ive’s exit, many veterans of the original team have retired or moved on, including several who joined Ive’s independent firm, LoveFrom.

The current group is now a mix of industry recruits and younger designers who have risen through the ranks. That shift has come alongside turbulence across the wider product design structure, including at the user interface division led by Alan Dye, where several senior figures have moved on.

The changes reached the upper echelons of Apple’s leadership last week. Jeff Williams, the long-serving chief operating officer who had oversight of the design team, stepped down.

In July, Apple said that following his departure, the design organisation would report directly to Chief Executive Tim Cook -- a structural change aimed at streamlining decision-making across hardware, software and manufacturing.

For Chowdhury, the move marks a new chapter in a career that began far from Cupertino. Born and raised in London, he built an early reputation as an emerging product designer with a string of awards, including the Red Dot Design Award in 2016, the James Dyson Foundation Bursary, the 3D Hubs Student Grant and the Kenwood Appliances Award.

A graduate of Loughborough University’s Product Design & Technology programme, he worked at Cambridge Consultants, Curventa and Layer before establishing his own studio, advising startups and tech firms.

His shift to an artificial intelligence startup comes at a moment when Apple is balancing the legacy of its celebrated design culture with the realities of a leadership transition. The company’s design group has long been central to product development, working closely with engineering and manufacturing teams to shape devices used by hundreds of millions of people.

Source: Economic Times
--Agencies