Abidur Chowdhury, the industrial designer behind the iPhone Air and featured prominently in its September 2025 launch, has left Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, XETRA:APC) to join an AI startup, according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter.
Per the report, Chowdhury’s exit has drawn attention inside Apple, in part because he was seen as one of the most promising figures in the company’s industrial design ranks.
He joined Apple in 2019, shortly after the departure of longtime design chief Jony Ive, and rose quickly during a period marked by turnover and restructuring in the design organization.
During his tenure, Chowdhury became the lead designer of the iPhone Air, Apple’s thinnest and lightest iPhone, and served as the voice in the product’s marketing introduction video.
While the device’s industrial design received widespread praise, its sales have reportedly fallen short of internal expectations, a situation attributed to broader market and economic pressures rather than issues with the product itself. Sources told Bloomberg that Chowdhury’s departure is unrelated to the phone’s commercial performance.
Apple’s industrial design team has been reshaped significantly since Ive’s exit in 2019, with several senior designers retiring or moving to other ventures, including Ive’s new firm.
Apple is reportedly working on a second-generation iPhone Air, targeted for 2027.