Apple’s Vision Pro VP makes move to OpenAI
In a move both unwelcome and unsurprising, Apple’s Vision Pro and smart glasses hardware chief, Paul Meade, is leaving Apple to go work at OpenAI. He was promoted to his position back in 2019.
Paul Meade quits
A ten-year Apple staffer, Meade held vice president status, so his departure is clearly unwelcome. It is, however, also a little unsurprising, given recent stories claiming new Vision Pro devices have been put on hold and smart glasses development continues, though are unlikely to ship before 2028.
I imagine after working in. hardware design for a decade, the executive wanted to do that thing in which good artists ship. And he has not had the opportunity to ship.
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Apple won’t be happy.
A move to join the ranks of Apple alumni now hosted at OpenAI marks a continued brains trust of talent from Cupertino, and while I don’t actually think OpenAI has the long term future the hype predicts, there’s little doubt that whatever hardware Open AI, Jony Ive, and now Meade to manage to ship will be looked at, talked about, and used.
Which is what product hardware developers like to see happen to the things they build. Meade will take his position at OpenAI next week.
Bloomberg reports that Meade’s responsibilities are now being assumed by his longtime deputy, Fletcher Rothkopf, who is also in charge of product design for Vision Pro and the smart glasses.
His exit follows a wider restructuring after John Ternus was promoted to CEO.
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