# Joe Weil

> Joe Weil is the CEO of Unplugged, a privacy-first smartphone company that makes the UP Phone - an open-source Android device stripped of Google services, built with a hardware battery disconnect switch, on-device firewall, and a no-surveillance business model. Before leading Unplugged, Weil spent roughly a decade at Apple leading zero-to-one special projects for Apple Services, and before that built Psycho Films LLC, directing music videos for Kendrick Lamar, 21 Savage, A$AP Ferg, and Big Sean. He left Apple, by his account, after watching the company shift into political activism, soft censorship, and deep integration with China.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at Unplugged
- **Organizations:** Unplugged, Psycho Films LLC, Apple
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Film/Communication (estimated), University of Southern California
- **Known for:** Directed Kendrick Lamar's 'For Free? (An Interlude)' music video (2015), one of Lamar's most celebrated visual works, Directed music videos for 21 Savage, A$AP Ferg, Big Sean, and other major hip-hop artists through Psycho Films, Produced 'The Crew League,' a first-of-its-kind basketball competition series with prominent rap artists

## Career timeline

- **~2010-2013** — Studied at University of Southern California; early work at Trojan Vision Television and SchoolTube, Inc.
- **~2013-2014** — Worked at Showtime Networks in production/creative roles
- **~2014** — Founded Psycho Films LLC as President, Director, and Producer
- **2015** — Directed Kendrick Lamar's 'For Free? (An Interlude)' music video alongside The Little Homies
- **~2015-2016** — Directed music videos for 21 Savage & Metro Boomin ('My Dawg'), A$AP Ferg ('Jet Lag'), Big Sean with Hit-Boy ('What A Life')
- **~2016-2017** — Produced 'The Crew League,' a basketball competition series featuring Jack Harlow, 21 Savage, and Quavo
- **~2015-2024** — Joined Apple, eventually leading zero-to-one special projects for Apple Services for roughly a decade
- **2025 (early)** — Joined Unplugged as incoming CEO to lead relaunch and restructure operations
- **2025-08-12** — Officially appointed CEO of Unplugged; UP Phone relaunch and press release announced simultaneously

## Achievements

- Directed Kendrick Lamar's 'For Free? (An Interlude)' music video (2015), one of Lamar's most celebrated visual works
- Directed music videos for 21 Savage, A$AP Ferg, Big Sean, and other major hip-hop artists through Psycho Films
- Produced 'The Crew League,' a first-of-its-kind basketball competition series with prominent rap artists
- Led zero-to-one special projects for Apple Services for approximately a decade
- Led Unplugged's UP Phone relaunch in 2025 - independent testing by Raxis showed it blocked all third-party tracking vs. iPhone's 3,181 DNS requests to tracking domains
- Established Unplugged's zero-revenue-from-customer-usage business model, replacing ad/data monetization with hardware and subscription revenue

## Latest updates

- **2025-08** — Officially appointed CEO of Unplugged; announced UP Phone relaunch priced at $989 with UnpluggedOS, on-device firewall, battery disconnect switch, and US assembly plans
- **2025-08** — UP Phone available for pre-order at unplugged.com and Best Buy; shipping begins mid-September 2025
- **2025-09** — Appeared on Julian Dorey Podcast (Episode 339) discussing anti-surveillance technology and allegations related to company connections
- **2025-11** — Appeared on Dale Stark Show (Episode 10), discussing career journey including Apple tenure and personal history

## Links

- Website: https://unplugged.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-weil-29a68017
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/TheHomieJoeWeil
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehomiejoeweil/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/joe-weil
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-16