eNews
iPhone Air designer Abidur Chowdhury quits Apple
CUPERTINO: Apple has lost one of its rising stars. Abidur Chowdhury, the industrial designer who helped build the iPhone Air and fronted its slick launch video, has quit the California giant to join an artificial intelligence startup, the LA Times reported on Tuesday, 18 November.
The move has caused a flutter inside Apple, say people familiar with the matter, given Chowdhury’s growing clout within the design ranks. He was hand-picked to introduce the iPhone Air at the firm’s September 2025 event, appearing in a two-minute film detailing the device’s design journey, an assignment usually reserved for the company’s most trusted creatives. Apple refused to comment.
Chowdhury, born and raised in England, studied product design and technology at Loughborough University. He began his career as an industrial design intern at Cambridge Consultants in 2015, followed by a stint at Curventa in 2016. In 2017, he joined Layer Design as an industrial designer before moving into freelance consulting in 2018. Apple hired him in January 2019, shortly after design chief Jony Ive’s departure marked the end of an era stretching back to Steve Jobs.
During his six-plus years in Cupertino, Chowdhury played a key role in shaping the iPhone Air and contributed heavily to its marketing push, according to the news report. His LinkedIn profile still lists him as an Apple employee as of 18 November 2025.
His exit is said to be unrelated to the phone’s debut. Apple is already gearing up for a second generation of the iPhone Air in 2027, Bloomberg reported. Silicon Valley is now watching what Chowdhury cooks up next, as his shift from hardware hero to AI adventurer signals that the real design battles may only just be starting.
eNews
Swiggy sees record orders during India vs New Zealand T20 final
Chicken biryani tops match-day menu as fans order 7,500 times per minute at peak.
MUMBAI: India’s T20 final didn’t just break stumps, it broke Swiggy’s delivery records, proving cricket fans celebrate victories with plates, not just flags. Swiggy, India’s leading on-demand convenience platform, reported a sharp spike in food orders during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final between India and New Zealand. On 8 March 2026, overall orders rose 23.2 per cent year-on-year compared with the same date in 2025, driven by fans turning living rooms into mini stadiums complete with match-day feasts.
Key highlights from the evening:
- Orders during peak match hours (7–10 pm) were 2.1 times higher than pre-match levels.
- The highest order rate hit 7,500 orders per minute at 19:45.
- Chicken biryani reigned supreme as the most-ordered dish, followed by masala dosa, chicken fried rice, garlic breadsticks and paneer butter masala.
While metros such as Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad led volumes, the cricketing fever spread nationwide. Among emerging cities, Thiruvananthapuram, Surat and Rajkot recorded the strongest order growth. Smaller markets including Shillong, Agartala and Port Blair also showed significant appetite, underlining the expanding footprint of quick-commerce food delivery across India.
The surge reflects a growing trend of pairing major sporting events with doorstep delivery, turning big matches into shared, convenient celebrations. In a night where every boundary mattered, Swiggy proved the real MVP might just be the delivery partner who kept the snacks and the vibes flowing without missing a single wicket.
