Tang Tan
, the design chief for
iPhone
and Watch at Apple, is leaving the company this coming February. He is headed to LoveForm, reuniting with another
Apple
veteran,
Jony Ive
, where he will be heading the work on an upcoming “artificial intelligence hardware device,” for which Ive is collaborating with Sam Altman, the CEO of
OpenAI
.
Tan, as reported by Bloomberg, will lead the hardware designing at LoveForm, working on the look and shape of the upcoming products.
While at Apple, Tan worked on the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods.
Ive's upcoming line of AI products is considered his most ambitious project since leaving Apple in 2019 to start LoveForm, his design company. He and Altman have had a brainstorming session lately to discuss the development of this "hardware for the age of AI."
This device, which The Information calls the “iPhone for AI,” would offer a "natural and intuitive way" to interact with artificial intelligence; people familiar with the development say it would be how the first iPhone changed mobile computing with its touchscreen.
The project is said to be bankrolled by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, who is looking to invest $1 billion, and it is reported that Arm, the chip designer in which SoftBank holds a stake, may also be involved.
Ive aims to turn his AI device work into a new company, although it is still in the early stages of development. as. The focus right now is on hiring talent and creating concepts. If a hardware product is ever created, it will take years before it is brought to market.
Currently, the firm is said to be conceptualising devices for the home.
Sam Altman
’s OpenAI will provide software for these products, people familiar with the development told.
English (US) ·