The best people to ask about Steve Lemay, the new head of user interface design at Apple, are the people who’ve worked with him.
Spoiler alert: They seem absolutely thrilled. The word “excited” keeps coming up in their comments on the change in leadership.
Here’s what the people in a position to really know Lemay have to say about him.
Steve Lemay brings new leadership to Apple’s interface design
Apple built a reputation for brilliant user-interface design, starting with the Mac and continuing to iPhone and other products. A well-designed UI is critical because it determines how effectively people can use their computers. A powerful feature is useless if it’s hard to find, confusing or frustrating.
Alan Dye served as vice president of human interface design at Apple since 2015, but this week Meta poached him. There’s seemingly little sadness at his departure. In fact, many on social media seem downright giddy.
Primarily, that’s because Dye is the public face of the Liquid Glass design language that debuted this fall in iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe. While the new look found many fans, others criticize it heavily.
Dye’s background isn’t in user interfaces. Before Apple, he worked at Kate Spade, a company that makes handbags, clothing and home goods. Previously, he worked at Ogilvy & Mather, a marketing company.
Apple UI designers love Steve Lemay
With Dye leaving, Steve Lemay will take over as head of interface design at Apple. It’s a critical position: He’ll determine how well iOS and macOS work for years to come. Fortunately, his fellow designers think he can handle it. More than that, actually — they think he’s the best person for the job.
“Steve’s been my manager for my entire 15 year career so far at Apple, and I could not be more excited for this new era,” Chan Karunamuni wrote on X.
Another member of the interface design team at Apple chimed in.
“Steve’s the best manager I’ve ever had and is the perfect person to lead the team,” wrote Brandon Walkin on X. “Like Chan, I’m extremely excited about the new era of design at Apple.”
… and so do his former co-workers
Some of Lemay’s former co-workers also sang his praises.
“Steve Lemay is by far the best designer I have ever met or worked with in my entire life,” Ben Hylak, a former member of the UI design team, wrote on X. “Literally taught me what design is. Incredibly exciting for Apple.”
Dorian Dargan, another previous co-worker, also said Lemay’s rise portends good things for Cupertino.
“Steve is goated (original iPhone design team) and doesn’t stop until things are simple and intuitive,” Dargan wrote on X. “He’s a generational talent and the best interaction design leader I’ve worked with in my career. Apple Human Interface Design is in great hands.”
The future looks bright for Apple’s UI team
Many of Lemay’s current co-workers are unwilling to comment publicly — Apple is a company noted for its secrecy and does not welcome comments by rank-and-file employees on high-profile corporate leadership changes. But Daring Fireball’s John Gruber spoke off the record to many employees.
“Everyone I’ve spoken to is happy — if not downright giddy — at the news that Lemay is replacing Dye,” Gruber wrote.
Development of next year’s iOS 27 and macOS 27 will reportedly emphasize removing bugs and improving performance than on adding new features to the operating systems. If true, this seems an ideal time for a new vice president to assume leadership of the human interface design team.
Lemay can spend much of the next year improving the look and feel of Apple’s operating systems — and polishing the shiny new Liquid Glass interface — without being overly distracted by a need to design UIs for new Apple apps.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
