Apple loses another key executive! Report: Vision Pro and smart glasses leader moves to OpenAI

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The wave of executive departures at Apple continues to spread. Paul Meade, the top executive responsible for Vision Pro headset and smart glasses business, is about to leave to join OpenAI, further weakening Apple’s competitive strength in the AI hardware field.

According to Bloomberg citing sources, Apple Vice President Meade will leave Apple this week and subsequently join OpenAI’s hardware division to participate in its upcoming line of AI smart devices.

Meade’s departure is a significant blow to Apple. He led Vision Pro hardware engineering for seven years and was also in charge of developing Apple’s screenless smart glasses—a product regarded as Apple’s key entry into the AI wearable track next year, and a critical chip against Meta.

After the news broke, Apple’s stock price gains narrowed during trading on Friday, but the subsequent rally resumed and the stock ultimately closed up 3.14%.

OpenAI said it will launch several brand-new AI hardware products in the coming years.

Previously, John Ternus, who had long overseen all hardware engineering at Apple, took over as CEO on September 1 this year, triggering adjustments in senior leadership. Several vice presidents saw their responsibilities changed, while Meade and multiple hardware leaders were demoted.

Apple’s Internal Restructuring, Some Executives Demoted

Meade’s departure is closely related to a recent controversial round of internal restructuring at Apple.

John Ternus, who had long overseen all hardware engineering at Apple, became CEO on September 1 this year, which led to high-level organizational adjustments. Chip division head Johny Srouji replaced Ternus as Chief Hardware Officer, and immediately carried out large-scale restructuring of the hardware engineering department, with several vice presidents having their responsibilities changed; some executives felt they were demoted.

Under the new structure, Meade and a number of hardware leaders no longer report directly to Srouji, but must now go through newly appointed Vice President of Hardware Engineering Tom Marieb, who reports to Srouji—effectively moving this group of executives one level down the organizational hierarchy.

After Meade’s departure, his main responsibilities will be taken over by longtime deputy Fletcher Rothkopf, who is currently responsible for product design for Vision Pro and the smart glasses.

OpenAI Accelerates Recruitment of Apple Hardware Talent

After Meade joins OpenAI, he will work alongside several former Apple colleagues, including Jony Ive, Tang Tan, and Evans Hankey. These three previously oversaw all of Apple's design, hardware product design, and industrial design, respectively. They jointly founded an AI hardware startup, which was acquired by OpenAI last year for $6.5 billion.

This personnel change continues the trend of Apple executives moving to OpenAI.

Earlier media reports indicated that OpenAI has been continuously poaching grassroots technical talent from Apple’s hardware engineering department. Another exception at the vice-president level is Alan Dye, who previously headed Apple’s human interface team and joined Meta last December. However, cases of Apple vice presidents jumping to competitors have always been rare.

OpenAI said it is simultaneously developing several new devices, which are expected to be launched over the next few years.

Clouds Over Vision Pro Prospects, Apple Shifts Its Roadmap

Meade’s resignation is a reflection of the continuous setbacks in Apple’s headset business.

His predecessor, Mike Rockwell, has already left the position, turning to lead the Siri business and taking several Vision Pro executives with him while splitting the Vision product group into separate hardware and software departments.

After the launch of Vision Pro, sales were sluggish, and Apple has made significant adjustments to its product roadmap, shifting focus from enclosed headsets to glasses-shaped devices.

In the past two years, Apple has started and halted several headset projects, including a lighter, cheaper version that was originally planned for launch in 2027. According to Bloomberg, Apple is currently re-evaluating the direction of enclosed headsets, and the latest test models are expected to be launched no earlier than 2028 to 2029.

Meanwhile, Apple is working on various new AI products, including smart home devices, desktop robots, wearable pendants, and new AirPods with cameras and environmental sensing. However, the continued loss of core hardware talent has cast further uncertainty on whether these ambitions can be achieved as planned.

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