Abidur Chowdhury, a prominent designer with contributions to the iPhone Air, has departed Apple and joined an undisclosed artificial intelligence startup. This information originates from sources within the company, as reported by Bloomberg.
The following video features Chowdhury in the introductory segment for the iPhone Air. While not the sole architect of the design, his departure has reportedly influenced the design team, as indicated by internal sources.
Chowdhury’s tenure at Apple commenced approximately six years ago, coinciding with the departure of Jony Ive, a renowned designer, who subsequently established his independent creative agency, LoveFrom. Notably, a project Ive was involved with, designated “io,” was acquired by OpenAI; however, Ive and LoveFrom remain independent entities.
Regarding the iPhone Air, it is important to note that the reason for Chowdhury’s departure is reportedly unrelated to the device’s sales performance. While details on sales remain proprietary, it has been confirmed that Apple has not ceased development of the iPhone Air product line. There are rumors of a delay for the iPhone Air 2, but no cancellation has been announced. Conversely, the outlook for Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Edge is less definitive.
Source (paywall)
Apple iPhone 17 Air
