iPhone Air designer Abidur Chaudhry leaves Apple just months after launch, looks to future in AI
Abidur Chaudhry, the lead industrial designer who introduced the iPhone Air during Apple’s September 2025 event, has left the company to join an artificial intelligence startup.
Abidur Chaudhry, the designer who revealed the iPhone Air design video at Apple’s September event, has left the company to join an artificial intelligence startup. According to Bloomberg, his exit has “caused waves” inside Apple, following his growing influence within the tech giant’s closely guarded design organization. Apple, known for its carefully crafted industrial design culture, has faced steady departures from this division over the past several years.
Bloomberg reports: “Abidur Chaudhry, an industrial designer, recently left the iPhone maker for an artificial intelligence startup, according to people familiar with the move. Given his rising profile within the design team, his exit caused a stir internally.” Interestingly, Choudhary’s departure comes just months after he introduced the iPhone Air during the company’s autumn 2025 launch.
Abidur Chaudhary’s work in Apple
Choudhary joined Apple in 2019, shortly after the exit of famed design chief Jony Ive – the man behind the iPhone and many of Apple’s most iconic products. However, Chaudhary’s departure marks another blow to the iPhone maker’s design department. Indeed, in the years since, Apple’s industrial design group has been going through a transition, with many longtime designers either retiring or following Ive into new ventures. During his time at Apple, Chaudhary emerged as a standout figure, described as playing a “pivotal role in developing the iPhone Air” and shaping both its physical identity and the story surrounding its launch.
The iPhone Air represented a significant change in Apple’s smartphone strategy. It is Apple’s first device that prioritized thinness, lightness, and a streamlined form factor. Reviews also praised the thinnest iPhone, its design, particularly the comfortable feel in the hand and the sophisticated silhouette.
Although reports clarify that Choudhary’s departure is not related to the iPhone Air’s commercial performance or any specific product issue, Bloomberg says “his departure is unrelated to the phone’s debut, which has drawn praise for its design despite low sales.”
Still, modest sales of the iPhone Air have raised questions about consumer appetite for ultra-thin premium phones — a category Apple is still working to define. Analysts have blamed economic headwinds and a crowded premium smartphone market for the soft demand rather than any defect in the device. Nonetheless, Choudhary and his team have been credited with pushing Apple’s industrial design language at a critical point for the company.
Notably, Apple’s design group has experienced a widespread pattern of turnover since 2019, with many high-profile designers moving on to new ventures, including former colleagues who joined Jony Ive’s firm. The loss of emerging talent like Chaudhary adds more challenges to Apple’s design leadership, especially as the group adjusts to reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook following Jeff Williams’ retirement.
Chaudhary’s departure also comes amid broader industry competition for AI talent. Tech companies of all sizes are rushing to recruit engineers and designers to strengthen their AI capabilities, and Apple has already seen high-profile exits from its AI and machine learning teams.
