Apple's Head of Home Hardware Leaves for Smart Ring Maker Oura

[MacRumors]

Brian Lynch, the senior director on Apple's home hardware engineering team, is leaving Apple for smart ring company Oura, reports Bloomberg. Lynch accepted a role as Oura's senior vice president of hardware engineering.

Oura has poached several employees from Apple over the last few years. Lynch's departure is apparently causing "fresh upheaval" on Apple's home products team as it is aiming to debut new home devices. Apple is rumored to be working on a smart home hub, but its launch has been pushed back due o Siri development delays.

The hub launch is now planned for September 2026, with other devices like a home security and automation sensor and a more advanced tabletop robot in development for 2027. Apple also has plans for smart glasses, a wearable AI pendant or pin, and AirPods with cameras.

Lynch worked at Apple for over 20 years, and prior to overseeing smart home devices, he was on Apple's now-shuttered car development team. Lynch worked under Matt Costello, who also oversees audio engineering and Beats devices. Costello reports to John Ternus, Apple's hardware engineering chief.

Article Link: Apple's Head of Home Hardware Leaves for Smart Ring Maker Oura

 

[Think|Different]

Maybe they're rightfully frustrated but I wouldn't being going to Oura right now, myself...

 

[KENESS]

I'm not impressed with Apple's Home hardware landscape right now, so this may be a good thing.

 

[TheGhostWalker]

Tim Cooks resignation can't be far away now

 

[Falco McGregor]

"Fresh upheaval" feels like Gurman spinning a narrative in the absence of facts beyond simply reporting on an employee departure, which happens at every tech company all the time.

What's funny about Gurman's reporting on Apple departures is that he never breathlessly reports them for other companies he covers. For example, Gurman wrote extensively about Apple AI researcher Ruoming Pang who left Apple for Meta, but there were crickets from him when Pang left Meta for OpenAI just seven months later.

 

[hieranonymous]

"Fresh upheaval" feels like Gurman spinning a narrative in the absence of facts beyond simply reporting on an employee departure, which happens at every tech company all the time.

What's funny about Gurman's reporting on Apple departures is that he never breathlessly reports them for other companies he covers. For example, Gurman wrote extensively about Apple AI researcher Ruoming Pang who left Apple for Meta, but there were crickets from him when Pang left Meta for OpenAI just seven months later.

Isn’t that a function of Apple being his main beat?

 

[hieranonymous]

Bro was probably tired of watching every product he develops languish in the pipeline.

 

[KENESS]

Isn’t that a function of Apple being his main beat?

He's supposed to be reporting the story, not trying to create it.

 

[Falco McGregor]

Isn’t that a function of Apple being his main beat?

He also writes pretty extensively on Meta as well, which was why him not reporting on Pang's departure from there after 7 months and a reported $200 million salary package felt odd.

 

[hieranonymous]

He's supposed to be reporting the story, not trying to create it.

Right, but something that happened at Meta seven months later isn’t part of his beat. [ETA: Apparently it is. My bad.]

 

[hieranonymous]

He also writes pretty extensively on Meta as well, which was why him not reporting on Pang's departure from there after 7 months and a reported $200 million salary package felt odd.

Ah, gotcha. I only know about him through MacRumors. I didn’t know he even covered other tech companies extensively.

 

[red elma]

From  to Oura? OK...

 

[Michael Scrip]

RE: Smart home stuff

I'd love to see Apple get into the smart home game. Not just with a "HomePad" or whatever... but all the accessories.

It's amazing how dozens of little companies can sell home products like door locks, light bulbs, and smart plugs... but trillion dollar Apple can't...

 

[Rradcircless]

Probably got tired of having his hardware be delayed by the Siri department's vaporware.

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

I dislike any home stuff, so invasive. Will never understand people having indoor cameras in the living rooms and private spaces.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

Apple had a Head of Home Hardware?

 

[WilliApple]

Have fun!
And we will have fun hopefully with a physical tv 🤞

 

[tennisproha]

This feels like Apples software woes creeping into hardware now.

 

[HouseLannister]

He finished the HomePad over a year ago, so maybe he was just bored.

 

[jz0309]

people come and go, ints a 100k+ employee base ...
$$$ and Sr VP sure were enticing, wondering if Oura is up to something beyond the ring ...

 

[btrach144]

Really need Apple doorbell and apple security cameras that work with HKSV.

Logitech can't be bothered to release support for WPA3 or other modern security standards.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

people come and go, ints a 100k+ employee base ...
$$$ and Sr VP sure were enticing, wondering if Oura is up to something beyond the ring ...

They are hoping to win the race for bringing a new Apple TV to market

 

[dannyyankou]

"Fresh upheaval" feels like Gurman spinning a narrative in the absence of facts beyond simply reporting on an employee departure, which happens at every tech company all the time.

I don't know about that.

upheaval | ˌəpˈhēv(ə)l | noun a violent or sudden change or disruption to something

If you take the definition at face value, I think the head of home hardware leaving Apple is a violent or sudden change or disruption to their home products.

 

[syklee26]

Apple, the best executive search firm in the world.

 

[deconstruct60]

He also writes pretty extensively on Meta as well,

Meta or "Meta's overlapping products with Apple". I suspect there are slow days where can't squeeze any juice out of non-existant Apple info and he drifts into Apple competitors and write about something there that somewhat links back to Apple.

So in Meta's case if Apple is working 'secret' mix reality project than anything AR/VR related at Meta is something he is nosey about. Roku product update.... overlap with AppleTV.

Any tech company with very low overlap with Apple does he write anything?

which was why him not reporting on Pang's departure from there after 7 months and a reported $200 million salary package felt odd.

In part, because he is not the AI tech guy at Bloomberg. Gurman wrote a bit for Macrumors and more for 9to5Mac while in school and parlayed that into a job at Bloomberg after graduating. He has a fancier title at Bloomberg now but the moves at other tech companies are not thrown around on "Meta=rumors.com" or "9to5-Meta". It is a bit of a feedback cycle. Mac rumors sites link to him. That gets him higher link traffic at Bloomberg... he leverages that into more leaks .. rinse and repeat.

He basically is running a mini-Macrumors at Bloomberg. Most of it isn't really 'news'.