Applerecently revealed it is shuffling its executive lineup, and in the process, it also revealed it is working on a new project. Now,Bloomberghas shared some details about what that mysterious new effort involves.
Applespecifically announcedthat Dan Riccio, its senior VP of engineering for Apple hardware since 2012, is leaving his role to lead an unnamed project at the company. It said he’d be “creating something new” and would report directly to CEO Tim Cook, according to apress release. Apple didn’t elaborate, which begs the question: What will Riccio be dedicating all his time to going forward?
Well, Bloomberg thinks Riccio is now overseeing the company’s work on augmented and virtual reality products. While Mike Rockwell still runs Apple’s AR and VR unit and is remains responsible for daily developments, Riccio has “ultimate oversight” of the new hardware.
Currently, Apple is rumoured to be developingheadset-like goggles possibly capable of running augmented reality app or virtual reality apps, or both.The latest reportssuggest Apple’s first device will be a mixed-reality device that should launch in 2022 for about $3,000.
For Riccio to be assigned a new role dedicated to one project only, it has to be something more thanMacBook refreshesand item trackers, so an AR/VR headset certainly makes sense. Riccio has been a leader in designing, developing, and engineering almost all of Apple’s products – from the first-generation iMac to the more recent5G iPhone lineup,M1-based Macs, andAirPods Max.
Apple has said he “scaled up” the company’s ability to innovate.
