Apple announced that Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams will step down at the end of 2025. After that, the design team will report directly to CEO Tim Cook for the first time. Sabih Khan will become Apple's new COO.
In addition to his main role, Williams was responsible for the design direction after Jony Ive left in 2019. At that time, Apple divided the responsibilities between two executives: VP of Industrial Design Evens Henkey and VP of Interface Design Alan Dye. Both reported directly to Williams.
After Henke left the company in 2023, Apple did not appoint a new chief designer, the role was eliminated. Since then, responsibility for industrial design has passed entirely to Williams.
Apple has now confirmed that Tim Cook will personally oversee the design department following Williams' departure, an unusual move for a company that has traditionally given its design department a separate reporting line.
Williams will also continue to oversee the development of the Apple Watch and Apple's health initiatives until his departure. The company has not yet revealed who will lead these areas after him.
Recall that Apple recently introduced a new design system called Liquid Glass, which is supposed to unify the look of iOS, MacOS, and other operating systems of the company. The release received mixed reviews among users, so Apple designers continue to work on new beta versions.