Abidur Chowdhury, the industrial designer who became the public face of Apple’s slimmest iPhone yet, is leaving the company to join an artificial intelligence startup, adding to a growing wave of big-name design exits from Cupertino.
Bloomberg first reported that Chowdhury, who introduced the iPhone Air on stage at Apple’s September keynote this year, has moved to an undisclosed AI venture. Apple has so far declined to comment on his departure.
Abidur Chowdhury: From “face of iPhone Air” to AI’s next chapter
Chowdhury’s exit comes just months after he fronted one of Apple’s most closely watched launches of 2025: the iPhone Air, a thinner and smaller iPhone built with a titanium frame and priced at ₹1,19,900 for the 256GB model.
On stage, he described Apple’s goal as creating “an iPhone that feels like a piece of the future,” underscoring the company’s push towards ultra-slim hardware that still promises durability and all-day battery life. The iPhone Air is roughly one-third thinner than earlier models, uses AI-powered imaging to improve photos from its single telephoto camera, and relies on software optimisations to offset a smaller battery.
Internally, Chowdhury was seen as one of the most promising voices in Apple’s post-Jony Ive design era. His growing influence meant that news of his decision to leave “made waves” inside the industrial design studio.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has reported that while the iPhone Air’s design was developed within Apple’s team, sales have trailed internal expectations. However, he also stressed that Chowdhury’s exit is not linked to the device’s commercial performance.
A London-trained designer with a decorated portfolio
Before he was associated with Apple’s thinnest iPhone, Chowdhury had already built a résumé that blended academic rigour with award-winning product work.
Born and raised in London, he studied Product Design & Technology at Loughborough University. During his time there, he collected several prestigious honours, including a Red Dot Design Award (2016), a James Dyson Foundation bursary, a 3D Hubs Student Grant and the Kenwood Appliances Award.
He later settled in San Francisco, building a career around “creativity and problem-solving” that would eventually find a natural home at Apple.
Before joining the iPhone maker, Chowdhury worked with UK-based consultancies such as Cambridge Consultants, Curventa and Layer, and also ran his own studio, delivering projects for agencies and startups.
He joined Apple in 2019 as part of its industrial design group, shortly after Jony Ive’s departure, and over six years contributed to several hardware projects before the iPhone Air made him visible to a global audience.
On his personal site, Chowdhury outlines a design philosophy focused on creating products people “can’t bear to be without”, a line that neatly captures Apple’s long-stated ambition to build emotionally resonant hardware rather than mere gadgets.
A sensitive moment for Apple’s shrinking design bench
Chowdhury’s move lands at a delicate time for Apple’s design organisation. Since Ive’s exit, the company has seen a steady stream of senior designers and rising stars leave its ranks.
Several high-profile Apple designers have gone on to join Ive’s own design firm, which is now owned by OpenAI, underlining how the centre of gravity for some top design talent has shifted away from traditional hardware giants.
Chowdhury’s departure adds one more name to that list. Within Apple, according to multiple reports, it is being read as another blow to an already leaner design bench, especially because he represented the next generation of leadership within the studio, and not merely a veteran from the Ive era.
Apple has not issued a public statement on his exit, and his LinkedIn profile, as of the latest coverage, still lists Apple as his employer. The AI startup he has joined has also not been identified in public reports.
Why an iPhone designer is heading to AI
While the destination remains unnamed, the direction of Chowdhury’s move is clear: from hardware design at one of the world’s most recognisable consumer brands to the fast-moving world of artificial intelligence.
His decision is a part of a broader industry pattern, in which accomplished designers and engineers are increasingly drawn to AI startups that promise a chance to shape the next wave of user experiences.
For Apple, the timing is striking. The company is preparing what has been widely described as a new phase of AI-driven devices and services, yet it is losing a designer who helped define the look and feel of one of its most futuristic iPhones.
The legacy of iPhone Air
The iPhone Air itself remains an important marker of where smartphones are heading: lighter, thinner, more battery-efficient, and deeply integrated with AI, particularly in imaging.
Bloomberg reports that despite critical praise for its design language, the iPhone Air has seen weaker-than-expected sales so far. But those familiar with Chowdhury’s exit have stressed that his decision was not linked to those numbers.
Instead, his move appears to sit squarely inside a larger story: the gravitational pull of AI on some of the best-known names in traditional consumer tech.
For Apple, the challenge is straightforward but significant, how to retain and nurture creative talent at a time when AI startups are pitching themselves as the place where the next decade of product ideas will be born.
For Abidur Chowdhury, the leap is more personal, but no less symbolic. After helping Apple deliver an iPhone that he described as “a piece of the future”, he is now stepping into an industry that is racing to define what that future looks like beyond the glass and metal of a smartphone.
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