Hajas, whose popular MobileNotifier software – which bypasses the normal iOS messaging interface on jailbroken iPhones – has been downloaded by several hundred thousand users, told his fans in a blog posting that he had "other opportunities" to pursue and that he was leaving the MobileNotifier project.
"Stay hungry and stay foolish," he said, referring Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' speech at Stanford University back in 2005.
According to some newswire reports, Hajas confirmed he was joining Apple in a Twitter message, although that tweet has since been deleted.
The Electronista newswire notes that Apple's recruitment of Hajas carries a degree of irony, "as Apple has usually tried to discourage jailbreaking and loading apps from outside of the App Store".
"At one point, it pushed Toyota out of a jailbreak app ad deal under concerns it might legitimize the option. Now, however, it may see one of its larger interface breakthroughs come from the same jailbreak community", says the newswire.
According to the International Business Times, meanwhile, whilst it is unlikely that Hajas will be involved in the developments behind the next version of the iPhone and iPad's operating system – iOS 5.x – "he will be assisting Apple to revamp its iOS notification [system]".
Apple, says the newswire, is expected to announce a refurbished notification system for iOS 5 at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) later today.