Apple Music Gets New Co-Heads in Latest Leadership Shuffle

Wednesday April 30, 2025 2:41 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Apple is making another round of leadership changes across two key divisions ahead of its earnings report on Thursday, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

apple park at night 1
The company's Apple Music division will now be co-managed by longtime Apple executive Rachel Newman and former TikTok music veteran Ole Obermann. Both will report to Oliver Schusser, who has taken on additional responsibilities over the past year including Apple TV+ and sports initiatives.

The restructuring appears designed to ease Schusser's workload as he continues to oversee the Beats brand and international services while reporting to Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of online services.

On the global affairs front, Apple is adjusting how it manages government relations teams worldwide. The heads of Europe and Asia will now report directly to Lisa Jackson, a former Obama administration official who reports to CEO Tim Cook. Previously, these teams reported to Nick Ammann, vice president of global policy.

Ammann, who still reports to Jackson, will now oversee the India and China government affairs teams. He'll also remain Apple's main liaison with the Trump administration, a role he held during Trump's first presidency.

The reshuffling follows other recent leadership adjustments at Apple, including changes to its retail division, and reorganizations of its Siri and robotics teams.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17's Scratch Resistant Anti-Reflective Display Coating Canceled

Monday April 28, 2025 12:48 pm PDT by Juli Clover

Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors. Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...

• 111 comments

What's Next for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3

Friday April 25, 2025 2:44 pm PDT by Juli Clover

This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too. 2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3 Apple didn't update the...

• 65 comments

iPhone 17 Reaches Key Milestone Ahead of Mass Production

Monday April 28, 2025 8:44 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report. iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...

• 27 comments

20th Anniversary iPhone Likely to Be Made in China Due to 'Extraordinarily Complex' Design

Monday April 28, 2025 4:29 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Apple will likely manufacture its 20th anniversary iPhone models in China, despite broader efforts to shift production to India, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In 2027, Apple is planning a "major shake-up" for the iPhone lineup to mark two decades since the original model launched. Gurman's previous reporting indicates the company will introduce a foldable iPhone alongside a "bold"...

• 122 comments

iPhone 17 Air Launching Later This Year With These 16 New Features

Thursday April 24, 2025 8:24 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device. Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...

• 101 comments

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...

iPhone 17 Air USB-C Port May Have This Unusual Design Quirk

Wednesday April 30, 2025 3:59 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Apple is preparing to launch a dramatically thinner iPhone this September, and if recent leaks are anything to go by, the so-called iPhone 17 Air could boast one of the most radical design shifts in recent years. iPhone 17 Air dummy model alongside iPhone 16 Pro (credit: AppleTrack) At just 5.5mm thick (excluding a slightly raised camera bump), the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air is expected to become ...

• 122 comments

Top Rated Comments

bluecoast

10 hours ago at 03:44 am

Does anyone senior at Apple use their services properly?

I mean with music, anything more than to play me the latest hits / album in x genre?’ (See also: Siri)

This is a serious question, as if I was in charge of Apple Music I think I’d notice quite quickly that it’s sub par.

Apple Music’s experience seems stuck around 2019 on iOS and around 2020 on the Mac.

Pros - their djs (if you like that sort of thing), classical app, dj mixes, lossless. Atmos I guess.

Cons: everything else is sub par compared to Spotify. Ux. music recommendations, navigation.

If you pay for Apple Music outside of a bundle you’re drinking the kool aid.

Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Mrkevinfinnerty

10 hours ago at 03:18 am

Pound for pound one of the worst pieces of subscription software you will ever find. They should hire some decent product managers.

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Mrkevinfinnerty

8 hours ago at 05:29 am

Does anyone senior at Apple use their services properly?

I mean with music, anything more than to play me the latest hits / album in x genre?’ (See also: Siri)

This is a serious question, as if I was in charge of Apple Music I think I’d notice quite quickly that it’s sub par.

Apple Music’s experience seems stuck around 2019 on iOS and around 2020 on the Mac.

Pros - their djs (if you like that sort of thing), classical app, dj mixes, lossless. Atmos I guess.

Cons: everything else is sub par compared to Spotify. Ux. music recommendations, navigation.

If you pay for Apple Music outside of a bundle you’re drinking the kool aid.

A huge issue for Apple Music is there is far too much focus on 'content'. You only have to look who has been put in charge here. Rachel Newman former 'global head of content and editorial'

As you say the UX, recommendations engine etc are far behind Spotify. I see Zane Lowe's latest interview with Chappell Roan or whoever and I wonder who is actually watching it, are people watching that in the music app on their phone? The whole thing seems like a bit of a vanity project.

The software should be front an centre, it should be the star. People are much less concerned about editorial content from their streaming services, the market has shown that, Spotify are dominant and have very little by way of that kind of thing.

Spotify don't always get it right, the Tik Tok style feed was a mess, but you do at least feel like there are people working on the app. I get none of that from Apple Music when they do actually do something it feels like the Music division have been asked to contribute some bullet points to a slide at the WWDC keynote.

They aren't MTV or Pitchfork, they are a software service for listening to/discovering music. Prioritise making that great.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

nt5672

8 hours ago at 05:12 am

Nothing will improve until Cook is gone. He has no idea about maintaining a Tech ecosystem, innovation, or really anything outside of reducing costs by restricting features and abandoning retail app software development once the software product is released. He is a short term manager with no long term vision or strategy.

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

TechWhisperer

8 hours ago at 05:34 am

Same meat, different gravy isn't cutting it anymore. Apple needs fresh blood in its executive ranks, not just another reshuffle of the same familiar faces. Tim Cook has had a remarkable run, but his extended tenure is starting to feel like an inability to let go of the reins. The time has come for Cook to enjoy the fruits of his labor and step aside.

A new generation of executives with bold visions could reinvigorate Apple's product lines and services before the company's legacy of excellence fades further from memory.

Apple Music sucks!

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

gsmornot

7 hours ago at 05:47 am

I feel like I am starting my day with complaints but I agree here, Music is not a great application. Sound quality is great, if you know what you want to listen to it's fine but, discovery and general layout is poor at best. I feel like I really struggle with it. I dont have CarPlay but have an iPad mini on a dash mount in the car. Trying to navigate music is just too hard unless I am sitting still. I realize it's not made for that but if it at least had radio selections or programed channels that were better I could live with those.

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Read All Comments