Apple’s iPhone design chief headed to LoveFrom to work with Jony Ive on AI devices

Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Tang Tan, Apple’s chief iPhone and Apple Watch designer, is leaving the company in February. Now, more details have emerged to reveal that Tan is headed to LoveFrom to be reunited with Jony Ive.

As reported by Bloomberg, Tan will work with Jony Ive at LoveFrom, alongside OpenAI’s Sam Altman, to “work on a new artificial intelligence hardware project.” This comes after The Information reported in September that Ive and Altman were in discussions about collaborating on some sort of hardware project that integrated OpenAI technology.

Tan, who currently holds the title of VP of product design at Apple, will lead hardware engineering at LoveFrom for this artificial intelligence hardware project.

As part of the effort, outgoing Apple executive Tang Tan will join Ive’s design firm LoveFrom, which will shape the look and capabilities of the new products, according to people familiar with the matter. Altman, an executive who has become the face of modern AI, plans to provide the software underpinnings, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the endeavor isn’t public.

In all, more than 20 former Apple employees have joined the design firm.

The Apple departures have continued more recently. Patrick Coffman, one of Apple’s most important user interface design leaders, has left. Colin Burns, a former design executive at the British Broadcasting Corp. who joined Apple after Ive stepped down, is departing in January. He runs Apple’s Interaction Architecture team, which is responsible for exploring early hardware and software concepts. 

Shota Aoyagi, another member of Ive’s storied industrial design team at Apple, has also exited. He just started at LoveFrom.

During his time at Apple, Tan worked across a variety of Apple products, including the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods. He’s been credited with making “critical decisions about Apple’s most important products.”

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