This news story follows the recent developments in Apple, after the company announced the indefinite delay of the new features of Siri, which may be postponed until 2027. Additionally, some executives may have to take responsibility for the situation.
Reputable journalist Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reported that Apple is reshuffling high-level executives as a result of the Siri features being pushed back. The most affected individual is John Giannandrea, the head of AI, who has been reassigned to oversee AI research and explore opportunities in the robotics business. Apple is not opting to remove him from the company, as it would negatively impact the company’s AI reputation. Giannandrea, a former head of search and AI at Google, has been closely watched since joining Apple in 2018.
The new executive in charge of developing Siri is Mike Rockwell, who currently oversees the Vision Pro product. Despite Vision Pro not being a successful product yet, Rockwell has demonstrated his ability to create new products from scratch, manage large engineering teams, and solve complex problems. However, his lack of AI background may pose a challenge.
This change makes Rockwell the fifth head of the Siri team at Apple, with Siri being introduced in 2011 under the leadership of Scott Forstall, then handed over to Eddy Cue, and later to Federighi in 2017, and now to Giannandrea.
Apple has also transferred executives from Vision Pro to Rockwell’s new Siri team, including Aimee Nugent and Kim Vorrath, who previously worked together on Vision Pro.
TLDR: Apple is facing delays in Siri’s new features, leading to a reshuffling of high-level executives, with Mike Rockwell taking charge of Siri development without an AI background. Executives from Vision Pro are also joining his team.
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