Apple’s design studio, central to its innovation and product appeal for decades, has been hollowed out following Jony Ive’s exit. Incoming CEO John Ternus aims to restore the team’s influence and rebuild its leadership before he takes charge in September 2026.
- Design team lost nearly all senior Ive-era designers.
- Influence on executive decisions has sharply declined.
- John Ternus plans a major team restructuring starting September 2026.
What happened
Since Jony Ive stepped back from daily duties in 2015 and eventually left Apple in 2019, the company’s industrial design team has experienced a gradual but profound decline. Leadership changes saw Evans Hankey take over but without a seat on the executive team, signaling a reduced status for design in corporate decision-making. As Hankey departed in 2022, a wave of senior designers from the Ive era followed suit, either moving on to new ventures or retiring.
The lack of a permanent, high-profile design leader and the appointment of less experienced management led to further talent loss, including Alan Dye’s departure to Meta in late 2025. This exodus weakened the team’s capacity to innovate, resulting in fewer notable product redesigns and diminishing the studio’s historical role as a trendsetter in technology design.
Why it matters
Apple’s industrial design has long been a key differentiator that helped shape its brand identity and market leadership. The diminishing influence and morale within the design team threaten to slow innovation and product evolution at a time when tech rivals continue pushing fresh concepts and new form factors.
The sidelining of design at the executive level reflects a strategic shift under CEO Tim Cook’s tenure, where operational and supply chain priorities seemingly took precedence over design-driven innovation. This shift has tangible repercussions on Apple’s ability to sustain its reputation for groundbreaking, user-focused hardware.
What to watch next
John Ternus, set to become Apple’s CEO on September 1, 2026, has acknowledged the design team’s crisis and is preparing an extensive reorganization to revitalize the group. His leadership style and priorities will be closely watched as indicators of whether Apple will return design to a central role in its strategic vision.
Industry observers will also monitor Apple’s upcoming product cycles for signs of renewed innovation and major design refreshes. The retention and recruitment of senior design talent alongside Ternus’s plans for structural changes will be critical to rebuilding the company’s famed design culture.