Apple Executive Dan Riccio Reportedly Shifting Focus to AR/VR Headsets
Last month, Apple announced that its hardware engineering chief Dan Riccio would be transitioning to a new role focusing on a "new project," and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today claimed the focus area will be AR/VR headsets.
From the report:
Riccio's move is similar to the approach taken last year by Phil Schiller, the company's former marketing chief. Both executives left senior roles but held on to areas that needed extra oversight. In Schiller's case, it was the App Store and public relations, and for Riccio, it’s the AR and VR headsets. This strategy helps keep key longtime executives at the company.
Apple's work on its first headset, a high-end VR-focused device with some AR capabilities, has faced development challenges, and people within Apple believe Riccio's extra focus could help. While he has ultimate oversight of the project, it is led day-to-day by Mike Rockwell, an Apple vice president who has well over a thousand engineers working on the two devices.
Apple is widely rumored to be working on multiple AR/VR wearables, including a mixed reality headset for release as early as next year and sleeker AR glasses coming at some point later. Last week, The Information claimed that the first headset could cost $3,000 and will be equipped with more than a dozen cameras, two ultra-high-resolution 8K displays, advanced eye-tracking technology, interchangeable headbands, and more.
The report also claims that Apple has advised staff that Johny Srouji, the company's Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies, will now be overseeing a team working on in-house displays and camera technology. The move could suggest that Apple is "getting closer to shipping its first devices with fully custom displays," following rumors that next-generation iPad Pro and Mac models will feature Mini-LED displays.
Apple announced that John Ternus will become its Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, although Apple's executive leadership page still lists Riccio in this role for now. Ternus joined Apple's Product Design team in 2001 and has been a vice president of Hardware Engineering since 2013, the company said.
Related Stories
Memojis and SharePlay could be central to the FaceTime experience on Apple's long-rumored mixed-reality headset, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Gurman, who often reveals accurate insights into Apple's plans, has previously said that Apple's mixed-reality headset will focus on gaming, media consumption, and communication. The headset itself is rumored to run "rOS" or "realityOS,"...
Apple's widely-rumored AR/VR headset is coming at the end of 2022, with shipments to ramp up in the first quarter of 2023, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In a research note with TF International Securities, obtained by MacRumors, Kuo said Apple's headset will feature two "3P pancake lenses," which have a folded design that allows light to reflect back and forth between the display and...
Apple's long-rumored AR/VR headset could be delayed until 2023 after being beset with issues during the development process, according to Bloomberg.
Concept render based on purported leaked information by Ian Zelbo Citing people familiar with Apple's plans, the report claims that Apple originally planned to launch the headset in 2021 and ship it this year. The company then set its sights on...
Apple may not begin production on its upcoming AR/VR headset until the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today in a note sent out to investors. That would likely result in the device launching late in 2022 or in early 2023.
Before launching the headset, Apple wants to have "complete software, ecosystem, and services," which Kuo cites as the reason why Apple ...
Tuesday December 21, 2021 7:05 am PST by
Sami FathiAs 2022 is shaping up to finally be the year Apple announces its long-awaited and rumored AR/VR headset, a new set of artistic renders have offered us our best look yet at what Apple's first headset will look like, based on credible reports citing sources from within the company.
The renders, created by concept maker Ian Zelbo, are based on details provided in a report from The Information...
Some Meta employees are being aggressively pushed to apply for other jobs at the company and embrace the recent drive toward augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), while others are choosing to defect to competitors such as Apple, The New York Times reports.
Since Facebook rebranded as Meta and lauded the future of the "metaverse," the company is said to have undergone a sweeping...
Apple's rumored augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headset will focus on gaming, media consumption, and communication, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Concept render of Apple's rumored AR headset by Antonio De Rosa Gurman, who often reveals accurate insights into Apple's plans, outlined the broad use-cases that users can expect from the company's mixed reality headset in...
Tuesday December 7, 2021 11:27 pm PST by
Sami FathiApple is already working on its second-generation AR headset, which will feature a lighter design, adopt a new battery system, and a faster processor, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today in an investor note obtained by MacRumors.
Apple is widely expected to launch its first-generation AR-focused device in 2022. That device has been previously reported to feature a processor with Mac-level...
Popular Stories
Apple has "started to record" its virtual September event, where it's expected to announce the upcoming iPhone 14 lineup, the Apple Watch Series 8, and a new "rugged" Apple Watch model, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says the event, which is expected to take place in the early part of September, is already under production, implying...
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models are rumored to be available in a refreshed range of color options, including an all-new purple color. Most expectations about the iPhone 14 lineup's color options come from an unverified post on Chinese social media site Weibo earlier this year.
Overall, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro's selection of color options could look fairly similar to those of the ...
With the fifth beta of iOS 16, Apple has updated the battery icon on iPhones with Face ID to display the specific battery percentage rather than just a visual representation of battery level. The new battery indicator is available on iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models, with the exception of the 5.4-inch iPhone 12/13 mini. It is also available on the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max, XS and XS Max, and...
Apple this week brought back one of the most highly requested features from iOS users since the launch of the iPhone X in 2017: the ability to see your battery percentage directly in the status bar.
Ever since the launch of the iPhone X with the notch, Apple has not allowed users to show their battery percentage directly in the status bar, forcing them to swipe down into Control Center to...
Apple today seeded the fifth beta of iOS 16 to developers for testing purposes, introducing some small but notable changes to the iOS operating system.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up everything new in the fifth beta below.
Battery Percentage in Status Bar
The battery icon in the status bar now displays the exact battery percent, a feature that ...
The camera bump on the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro Max is expected to be the largest rear lens housing Apple has ever installed on its flagship smartphones, and a new photo offers a rare glimpse at just how prominent it is compared to Apple's predecessor device.
iPhone 14 Pro Max dummy (left) vs iPhone 13 Pro Max All iPhone 14 models are expected to see upgrades to the Ultra Wide camera on the...
While the iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8 are expected to be announced in September as usual, there are several more Apple products rumored to launch later this year, including new iPad and Mac models and more.
Beyond the iPhone and Apple Watch, we've put together a list of five Apple products that are most likely to be unveiled by the end of 2022.
Second-Generation AirPods Pro
Apple...
Top Rated Comments
That’s like trying to imagine Uber before the invention of the smart phone and apps. “You mean, I have to call someone from a list of people who want to give me rides with their personal car, and they’ll come to me after I’ve given them my address and then they’ll take me to where I need to go, and then I have to pay them. Do they give me change? What do you mean “rate them”? Do I call someone to tell them how my ride went?”
Applications that we haven’t even thought of today will be invented once there’s lightweight AR glasses that have become ubiquitous. Overlaying information on the real world has the incredible potential of merging the internet with real life.
Where you needed to go to a browser to “use” the internet before, apps evolved to serve you data in niche ways. Where you use apps confined to a glass slab you carry with you, you’ll have useful information served to you, in context, overlaid on the world in your view.
Thoracic surgery comes to mind, where a surgeon can summon up records, information, photos, videos, databases, colleagues, and much more during a complex procedure. Or someone inspecting an industrial plant being able to benefit from information/images, previous inspections, etc. Or a car/airplane mechanic being able to access information/images/videos during a complex repair. Or an architect inspecting the framing of a home or building before proceeding to the next construction stage. I can easily see musicians, artists, and craftspeople using AR. There are plenty more situations both benefiting commercial/consumer uses.