Abidur Chowdhury, an Apple designer who played an important role in bringing the iPhone Air to life, has reportedly left the company. Only a few months after the launch of the iPhone Air, he reportedly left the tech giant for an AI startup. While this report may seem like a major blow to Apple’s design team, that might not actually be the case.
Apple iPhone Air designer has left the tech giant, report states
A recent report from Bloomberg states that the designer who introduced the brand new iPhone Air during the September 2025 Apple event has left the company to work for an AI startup. Although the report claims that Apple designer Abidur Chowdhury’s departure has caused concern at Apple, the impact on the tech giant may be less significant than it appears. Though higher compensation elsewhere may have influenced the move, the company may not be worried about Chowdhury’s exit.
Chowdhury joined Apple’s design team in 2019, which is the same year Apple’s Jony Ive left to start his own design firm. Since then, Chowdhury seems to have done well at Apple and had a key role in the iPhone Air’s design, as only a few employees get the opportunity to speak at Apple Events, especially while introducing a new product. Reports suggest that very few employees who worked under Ive are still at the company, and Apple has seen many high-profile designers leave over the last few years.
The iPhone Air is Apple’s latest variation of the iPhone, introduced in September 2025. This is Apple’s thinnest iPhone ever, starting at $999 for the 256GB model, and going up to $1399 for the 1TB variant. Along with the iPhone Air, Apple also introduced the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max on September 9, 2025, all coming with Apple’s latest AI called Apple Intelligence.
Originally reported by Elton Fernandes on Mandatory.
