Apple Appoints Vision Pro Leader to Head Siri Development

According to a recent Bloomberg report, Apple is making a significant leadership change by replacing the head of Siri. This shake-up occurs shortly after the company announced a delay in the rollout of its much-anticipated AI features. Mike Rockwell, who has been leading the Vision Pro development, is set to take over from John Giannandrea as the new leader of AI and Siri.

The decision to replace Giannandrea stems from Apple CEO Tim Cook's reported loss of confidence in Giannandrea's ability to steer the company's AI initiatives forward. Earlier this month, Apple informed Daring Fireball that the launch of generative AI enhancements for Siri would be pushed back to "the coming year" due to development taking "longer than we thought." The tension within the Siri team was palpable during a meeting where Apple's senior director, Robby Walker, described the AI development situation as "ugly," as reported by Bloomberg.

As a result of this shake-up, John Giannandrea will no longer oversee the Siri team. Instead, Paule Meade, who has been managing hardware engineering for the Vision Pro under Rockwell's leadership, will step in as the head of the Vision Pro Group, according to Bloomberg.