Apple has a new head of user interface. And while the name Steve Lemay may not ring a bell for most people, in Applu this man is an absolute legend. After all, there aren't many people who Steve Jobs he personally came up with the nickname, and it wasn't so bizarre that it caught on throughout the company. Lemay was in Applu was better known as "Margaret", a story that perfectly captures the punk atmosphere of the early years of iPhone development.
Lemay is not in the first place Applu is no newcomer, but what's more, he's not even the face from the outside that you'd expect Apple He was brought in as a reinforcement after the recent departure of Alan Dye. He has been with the company since 1999 and has been involved in everything we now consider DNA Applu from OS X via iOS until visionOS. What's even more paradoxical is that it was never much heard of, yet it influenced the lives of hundreds of millions of users.
Apple He speaks about Lemay unusually openly. Tim Cook When announcing his departure, Dye described him as a designer who "plays a key role in the design of every major interface Applu since 1999". Colleagues speak similarly enthusiastically about him. One former member of the UI team even wrote that Lemay was "the best designer he had ever worked with" and that he literally "explained to him what design really means".
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From OS X to Apple Vision Pro
Lemay started at a time when Apple tried to rise from the ashes and OS X was born under the hands of the design stars of the time. It gradually became part of all major systems, i.e. macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS i visionOS. You can find his name on hundreds of patents that Apple had it registered over the years.
It probably won't surprise you that he is among the people who helped create the original iPhone interface that rewrote the rules of the mobile world at the time. Lemay worked alongside names like Ken Kocienda and Imran Chaudhri. Just for fun, this man is also behind one of the most praised UI details of recent years – the virtual shadow Apple Pencil For iPad.
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Where did the nickname "Margaret" come from?
As for his aforementioned nickname from the Steve Jobs era, its origin is kind of funny. There were two Steves on the design team – Lemay and Jobs. And when someone asked Jobs something, Lemay would unknowingly answer a few times. Of course, Jobs lost his patience, and he once famously blurted out: “From now on, you’re Margaret.”
From that point on, Lemay was internally known as “Margaret,” and the nickname stuck. Whether it was a prank, a test of attention, or just typical jobsan abbreviation, it perfectly describes the atmosphere of that time Apple team. Everyone worked hard into the night, making history, and at the same time managing to laugh amidst the chaos.
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The quiet genius who now controls the AI of the entire Applu
Lemay has never been one to make himself known. He has no public networks, there are interviews minimum and most people won't hear his name until nesta fundamental event. And it has now occurred because of (or perhaps rather thanks to) Dye's departure. Apple is going through a turbulent period, with several long-time leaders leaving. However, it seems that the company does not want to change its design DNA, but on the contrary, it is strengthening it with the people who were at the birth of that DNA.
And Lemay is exactly the kind of person you want at the helm when you want to keep design Applu consistent, thoughtful and always one step ahead of the competition. It's not about a star from the outside, but about someone who understands Applu more than anyone else. So let's be surprised by what this change in management, which is imperceptible to users, Applu will cause in the coming years. But perhaps we have some really interesting things in store,
